Nurses as User-Innovators

“All I did was roll and tape these towels to support the NICU patient’s feet”

“Really? You think this is innovative? All I did was wrap the trachea tube around my stethoscope to protect the tubing.”

There I was listening to these nurses next to their patients essentially describing how they were making for their patients, without even flinching. My team and I spent 60,00 miles last year finding and having conversations like these throughout hospitals around America. We heard stories about the devices, the patients that inspired them, the tools and the process. Our challenge was not finding these examples of making, but rather convincing the nurses who made them that—yes!—silk tape and towels as patient support structures are a healthcare innovation worth noting. It’s the everyday making that’s saving our patients, not just the grandiose ideas that are incubated over 10 years. We call them MakerNurses.

Professor Eric…