Turning Ideas into Innovations (Podcast)

Innovation requires passion, patience and persistence, says Karen Schaedlich, MSN, RN, innovation coordinator in the Office of Nursing Research & Innovation at Cleveland Clinic. She believes nurses are well-positioned to solve problems through innovation.

“On average, nurses do about four workarounds per shift,” she says. “I’m not creating new innovators. I’m just helping nurses recognize that in themselves and take time to stop, determine how they can move forward and then cultivate those ideas.”

In the latest episode of Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Essentials podcast, Schaedlich shares insight on nursing innovation, including:

• What makes nurses uniquely qualified to develop new products and processes in healthcare
• The steps to take to move innovations from ideas to implementation
• Advice for nurses with novel ideas
• How nurse leaders can create a culture that encourages innovation

Click the podcast player above to listen to the episode now, or read on for a short, edited excerpt. Check out more Nurse Essentials episodes at my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/nurse-essentials or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast excerpt

Podcast host Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC: I'm sure we have people listening right now that are saying, "I'd love to be an innovator. I'd love to be part of this. I just don't think I have any fresh ideas." What are some things that they could do to sort of get those nursing creative juices flowing?

Schaedlich: One thing that I would say that's kind of concrete is to have a piece of paper in your pocket. As you're going throughout the day, if you're identifying a problem that frustrates you – maybe you do it five times a day or it just stops your day – write it down. Don't think about it, maybe. Just keep going –keep writing those things down.

Then at the end of the week, month you can look down and see what are the things that keep popping up, that you keep writing down. That's probably where your passion lies. And so, how can you help think of the opportunities? That is a good, concrete way.

But always, just having an inquisitive mindset I think is so important. If something's not fully meeting the needs, ask yourself why.

I talked to somebody in the Netherlands, and he was saying a nurse came and said, "I have no ideas, I have nothing. I just want to go home. My knees hurt." And he asked, "Well, why do your knees hurt?" She was like, "Well, I had to get down on the floor about eight times today looking at something."

One thing led to another, and here she had an innovation to keep them from having to look at something that was pretty much on the floor. So, you never know what your ideas are going to stem from.