University:
City Colleges of Chicago
Course:
NURS 213 | Advanced Medical Surgical
Academic year:

2019
Views:

323

Pages:

1
Author:

Alma Stephenson

Role and Responsibilities of a Nurse Innovator Nurse innovators are nurses who use their creativity to solve a problem or improve upon an existing service or strategy. Regardless of their title, any nurse can be an innovator in their practice. Through technology, they can influence both the delivery and quality of patient care in a positive way. Nurse innovators create, advocate, and cultivate ideas, concepts, and processes that elevate nursing practice. Innovators will be able to communicate, collaborate, think critically, solve problems, and make decisions. Nurse innovators often hold influential positions in management, national committees, or other workgroups dedicated to improving and implementing new patient care and healthcare delivery strategies. As a result of these nurses, patient outcomes are improved, productivity is increased, and costs are reduced. All registered nurses serve as change agents, inspiring processes and leveraging technology to improve care delivery and care provider outcomes (Williams, et al 2016). In order to be a catalyst for the larger innovation process, nurse innovators must exhibit characteristics of innovation and team collaboration (Cianelli et al. 2016). Divergent thinking, taking risks, and tolerance for failure are skills nurses need when transitioning into the innovator role. Divergent thinking is the most crucial of these skills for innovation, which involves exploring many possible solutions to generate creative ideas. For innovation and change to occur, healthcare employees and nurses must be encouraged to develop creative thinking skills (Cianelli et al. 2016). "Nurses who are innovators must demonstrate tangible risk-taking behaviors, engage in ongoing learning, and acknowledge innovative risk-taking behavior among employees" (Cianelli et al. 2016, p. 7). Employee engagement and mentoring can lead to increased innovation in an organization by allowing staff to use their skills and talents. To promote innovation, nurses need to be educated on new concepts and processes. Innovation will be made more effective if innovators try out projects on a smaller scale before expanding them.