Nurse Inventor Spotlight Series: Monica Cummins

The Nurse Inventor Spotlight series features Cleveland Clinic nurses who have embarked on the innovation journey. Here, they share what they find inspiring about their role, how they identified an unmet need, what innovation means to them and how their solution could affect both patients and caregivers.

In our inaugural Nurse Inventor Spotlight feature, Monica Cummins, MSN, APRN, ACCNS-AG, PCCN, discusses her role, her personal innovation journey, her sources of inspiration and more.

Q: What’s your background and role? How long have you been with Cleveland Clinic?

A: I will be with Cleveland Clinic for nine years this August, since 2015. I started on a Cardiovascular Surgery Stepdown Unit at the Main Campus after graduating with my BSN from Ohio University. I became an assistant nurse manager on the unit in 2018, and in 2021 transitioned to a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Intern in the Heart Vascular Thoracic Institute (HVTI) when I started my graduate program. I graduated with my MSN in May 2023 as an acute care CNS, where I continue to support the Cardiothoracic Surgery and Thoracic Surgery Stepdown units in HVTI.

Q: What do you find most inspiring about your job?

A: As a CNS, I have a wide breadth of opportunities and autonomy in my role to support patients, nurses, and the health system. I collaborate with different teams and specialties for projects, but my favorite part is supporting nurses in evidence-based practice to generate great outcomes.

Q: What does “innovation” mean to you?

A: It is advancement; to ask why, generate ideas, look at the environment, and see the needs. It could be creating a new product or a novel process, redesigning to progress for improvement and uniqueness.

Q: Are there any innovative nurses or individuals in your field that you are following? What about them do you find inspiring?

A: Our Nursing Innovations team here are inspiring; I follow along with newsletters and the annual all-day Nursing Innovation Summit to hear the wonderful ideas coming from our own health system. The American Nurses Association has a lot of great resources to utilize from articles, podcasts, and events. The most inspiring is how nurses are highlighted to be the drivers for innovation. Last month I spoke with a nurse who had an idea for a new product, and I advised them to submit their idea to the Step Forward portal because I have a feeling that it could change a lot of things for patients, and nurses too.

Q: How did you get started on the innovation journey?

A: I have always been someone to ask why, and what could we do better or how can we improve this? As a CNS, this spirit of clinical inquiry and leading change is in our nature.

Q: When did you come up with the idea? What has the timeline been like for you?

A: I started by submitting my idea to the Step Forward portal in May of 2022 and then meeting regularly with Karen Schaedlich, MSN, RN, Innovation Coordinator within the Nursing Institute to cultivate my idea and prepare my Invention Disclosure Form (IDF), which is the formal submission of an idea to Cleveland Clinic Innovations. At the beginning of 2023, my IDF was presented to Cleveland Clinic Innovations. Upon review, they decided that there was not enough information on the problem my solution aims to solve to move forward. This helped me rethink the process, especially with support from Karen, who serves as an advocate and offers guidance for nurses when they have a potentially commercially viable idea. I now understand the benefit of starting a research project and collecting additional data to provide the necessary information to move the innovation process forward.

Q: How did Nursing Innovations/Cleveland Clinic Innovations help you solve the problem?

A: Karen provided frequent check ins and hands on support in completing the IDF, she is a cheerleader for Nursing. She helped connect me with the Innovations Engagement team and that step led to discussions with other key members of the Innovations team to shape my innovation further.

Q: What problem were you seeking to solve? How did you come across the problem?

A: In one of our CNS meetings, we were discussing opportunities for survey readiness related to the medication administration process, and I reflected on gaps with my experience working at the bedside. I remembered how time-consuming crushing medications for patients could be for nurses. In addition, there are multiple steps in the process to administer crushed medications safely to patients that could be improved.

Q: How did you discover the solution?

A: I thought through all the steps in the medication administration process related to crushing medications, then reviewed the evidence in the literature and other best practices. I examined all potential errors throughout the process and brought them together to see what could be combined and removed, to optimize it all into one step for efficiency and safety. I also asked, “Who should be doing this? Could there be a change in process?”

Q: How will your solution impact patients or caregivers?

A: My solution should impact nurses by decreasing time spent on the process and allow nurses the needed time to complete interventions and increase patient care time. Also, it should decrease the risk of errors and safety events for patients, and it may increase cost savings from avoiding complications and waste. Through research, we will learn if the suggested impacts emerge!

Q: What did you learn or find the most surprising about the innovation journey?

A: The time and patience needed to truly understand the problem, as that is a catalyst for solution development. Another surprise on this journey is the understanding of other roles and their processes. If you’re not a nurse you may not understand the need for change in our workflows or practices and may need additional evidence to support and endorse. Research, gathering evidence, and demonstrating the value for change to support nursing takes a lot of time, patience, and passion.

Q: How was the process of using the Nursing Institute’s Step Forward Portal?

A: The Step Forward portal (on the home page of the Nursing Institute Intranet site) is a simple, organized way to present your innovative ideas; the portal breaks down the ideas into five different themes to enhance completion. After submitting your idea into the theme section, questions about it are answered such as, “Is this a new idea?” “Is it an information technology fit idea?”. Overall, this portal is user-friendly and a great part of the process. All submissions are then responded to by Karen Schaedlich, with appropriate next steps.

Q: What advice would you give nurses who may be interested in innovating?

A: Ask questions and ask, “Why not?”. Do not be discouraged, even when many people tell you no. Be your own cheerleader and seek support from others who can share your vision and passion and help you navigate through the innovator journey. It may go in a different direction you thought of initially to build your vision, but feedback can help build a better product or solution. When you think of a new solution, remember, you are an innovator; share your ideas!