Fill in the blanks: The world faces a shortage of___ million nursing staff

The second or the third or for that matter the fourth wave (no one can say with any amount of certainty) of the pandemic, has caught everyone completely clueless. Everyone seems to be in a complaining mood. Very few are talking about solutions.

In that respect, a brief talk by Dr. Devi Shetty (I received a forward on one of the WhatsApp groups that I am a part of), comes as a breath of fresh air. He has pointed out the huge shortage of manpower that we face (and will face) in the healthcare domain and has suggested the way forward. (Min 27:45 to Min 44:00 :)

Last April, I had read a McKinsey report citing, ‘The World faces a shortage of 6 million nursing staff to be able to deal with the pandemic’. I am certain, given the unprecedented tsunami engulfing India right now, that number would have gotten enhanced by a multiple.

The following thoughts stem from my takeaways from the abovementioned references.

For tackling the acute shortage of nursing staff, Edtech ventures need to look beyond their obvious markets of schools, universities and students. If 6 million+ new nursing staff has to be created, then we have to train at least 25% more than the required number.

Physical/offline training is impossible, given the situation. Online educational courses are the only feasible option and need to be created at that scale. But there’s a catch: Nursing skills can’t be learnt in a sterile online setting by sitting in front of a computer/mobile screen.

Nursing needs the student (would-be nurse) to get a feel of the setup around a patient’s bed, the ICU, the OPD, the operating theatre etc. Here’s where AR/VR (Augmented & Virtual Reality) comes into the picture.

So, such Edtech companies need to embed AR/VR content into the ‘Nursing’ courses. But, hold on, are such AR/VR experiences enough to learn the intricacies of patient care? No.

A nurse has to feel the patient, palpate certain organs, perform invasive procedures such as intubation etc.

Can these be understood by a mere exposure to an AR/VR enabled setting? After all AR/VR get a person close to the real thing, but THAT’S NOT THE REAL THING.

So, how do we give a REAL TOUCH & FEEL experience to the would-be ‘Nurses’?

This is where 3D printing comes into the picture. 3D printed human anatomy could be used along with the online AR/VR enabled online sessions. The challenge is to create 3D printed human anatomy (at scale) at the locations where these ‘student nurses’ are taking these online sessions, i.e. in their homes.

How can this be achieved? Easier said than done!

• Local 3D printing studios need to be roped in. There is also a network of ‘MakerSpaces’ spread around, at least in the metros. These MakerSpaces have a few 3D printers each. All these entities should be roped into the Edtech company’s network, by creating win-win scenarios.
• A learning experience that embeds regular online sessions with AR/VR and 3D printed human anatomy (sourced locally, through smart sourcing) seems to be a concept Edtech companies must explore now. The sooner the better.

Any #Edtech venture/startup is free to pick this up and create a product around this concept

Leave your thoughts in the comments below :)