Course Objective #5

Reflections on Course Content

• In Week 4 when learning about change, we learned about Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory, and particularly about the role of “innovators.” Innovators are often the first people to adopt change or are even responsible for introducing innovations. Learning about this made me reflect on how nurses are uniquely positioned to become “innovators” because we are often the ones who interact with healthcare technology the most and see gaps in technology systems (LaMorte, 2019). 

• In Week 7 I was really intrigued by all of the different futuristic technology we discussed that is being integrated into the nursing space. I really enjoyed learning about the Mabu robot and how elderly people have really welcomed Mabu into their homes and embraced the technology. 

• In Week 7 we also discussed how in topics of technology integration into the nursing environment, sometimes nurses can feel as if their jobs are being replaced by robots, but I really reflected on and appreciated the approach we learned in class: that embracing the integration of technology can help free up time from certain tasks so that we can spend more relational time with patients and have reduced patient assignments. Increased technology integration can also bring exciting new opportunities for nurse intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship, such as the “nursing robot resource team” that I posted about in the Week 7 discussion forum. 

Reflections on Personally Discovered Content

Reflection #1

After Week 7, I wanted to find out if there were any conferences or events geared towards nursing entrepreneurs. I stumbled across a TED Talk that discussed nurse hackathons. I had never heard of a hackathon before, but I learned it was an event where nurses came together to brainstorm healthcare innovations (TEDx Talks, 2018). This TED talk relates to objective 5 because it explores how important consulting nurses are for healthcare tech companies, and it also explained how events like nurse hackathons create opportunities for nurses to think about the “big picture” and creatively collaborate with other nurses to foster innovation and nurture their intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial spirits.

Reflection #2

The above short film, with the right interpretation, can be a great metaphor for the value of intrapreneurship. To begin, try viewing the stork as a nurse, the cloud as a hospital, and the cloud's creations as new technologies being introduced by the hospital. Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, new technologies introduced by a hospital really just make a nurses job harder. In the film, the stork is loyal to the cloud and attempts to make the new technologies work, but eventually, the stork reaches a breaking point. The film makes you believe that the stork has abandoned the cloud/hospital for something better (as many would), but instead we see the stork come up with a new “innovation” and work with the cloud to start to reach better outcomes together. With this interpretation, this film shows the value of having intrapreneurial spirit and staying the course with your organization to try to innovate and improve your workplace.