Elevating Nurses as Innovative Changemakers Ahead of 2020

In the history of nursing, there has never been a more significant time to spotlight and empower nurses as innovative leaders transforming health. Today, in the US and around the world, health systems are increasingly strained by greater patient, resource and systematic demands. Nurses are the largest and most trusted members of the health workforce, but despite invaluable hands-on patient experience, resourcefulness and an innate innovative mindset, the impact of nurses in improving healthcare is greatly underestimated and their expertise is underutilized. Even more challenging – nurses often don’t see themselves as vital players and innovators in solving the greatest challenges in healthcare. It’s time to change that, and on the weekend of November 15, we took a major step forward.

Johnson & Johnson, a proud supporter of the nursing profession for over 120 years, and the Society for Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Leaders (SONSIEL), a new grassroots organization uniting nurse innovators and leaders around the world, partnered to lead the inaugural SONSIEL Nurse Hackathon. This event provided a springboard for over 200 nurses from around the world to come together, brainstorm and demonstrate how their thinking and know-how can lead to powerful innovative solutions to pressing challenges in healthcare today. 

Hackathons are a well-known approach to solving various challenges, where problem solvers of a variety of backgrounds and disciplines come together to “hack” solutions. But healthcare hackathons don’t focus on nurses as key contributors, despite their deep patient experience and resourcefulness. We were thrilled to come together for a nurse-dedicated hackathon, and the event proved to be a thought-provoking example of the profound impact of nurse-led innovation.

Why now? The World Health Organization’s designation of 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, spotlighting the nursing profession and 200th birth anniversary of one of the original nurse innovators Florence Nightingale, invites us to look at the impact of nursing and nurse innovation throughout history. However, it also creates a great responsibility for organizations like Johnson & Johnson and SONSIEL to champion and shape what the next 200 years of the nursing profession should look like. 

We believe the current burden on our healthcare systems and those on the frontlines of care, especially nurses, is too great to ignore. Together, we are defining the Year of the Nurse as a year to champion, elevate and empower nurses as innovative leaders who transform healthcare. 

We believe the future is what we saw in the room this past weekend at our Nurse Hackathon – nurses doing what nurses do best day in and day out, tapping into their expertise, innovative thinking and collaboration skills to find solutions to improve how they are able to care for their patients and strengthen health systems. 

What we heard at the beginning of the weekend from some of the nurses was frustration with their current working environment where their ideas and suggestions to improve care delivery often fall on deaf ears. Over the course of the weekend, we saw a transformation occur where strangers with different levels of professional experience bonded together to brainstorm, develop and pitch incredible solutions to the real problems they face every day. Equally important, the nurses walked away from the event energized, determined and with a renewed sense of purpose.

We see the profound potential of nurse innovation and are committed to elevating and empowering nurses to bring their healthcare ideas to life. We’re calling on you to join us in this journey. 

We’re calling on:

• Nurses, to believe in your innate innovative mindsets, be bold to bring your ideas to implementation and actively seek out opportunities for career and innovation advancement. 
• Health systems, to create cultures of innovation within by sponsoring nurse-led innovation events like Hackathons and other idea-generating initiatives that include professionals from multiple disciplines. 
• Nursing schools, to add innovation, leadership and entrepreneurial courses and opportunities into their curriculum so nurses enter the workforce with an innovation mindset. 
• Healthcare companies, to add more nurses to leadership positions throughout their organizations and provide them with opportunities to widely share their expertise.  
• Media, to incorporate more nurses as expert sources in their healthcare content. 
• Governments, to champion policies that best support nurses and healthcare systems in delivering care. 

We believe if more nurses are empowered to impact lives at a bigger and broader scale, the potential for a stronger healthcare system, improved patient outcomes and a more engaged nursing workforce is tremendous. 

To the nurses who recognize the opportunities to transform health, who want to advance your ideas and your careers – we see you and support you. And we can’t wait to see what you accomplish in 2020 and beyond. 

Lynda Benton, Senior Director, Johnson & Johnson, Corporate Equity

Rebecca Love, President SONSIEL