Onward and Upward: Three Must-Do’s from the Year of the Nurse to Escalate Momentum in Nurse Innovation

The below article is a co-authored piece from Lynda Benton of Johnson & Johnson and Rebecca Love, RN, MSN, FIEL, of SONSIEL.

When the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, nobody could have anticipated just how meaningful that title would be.

In November 2019, immediately following our first nurse hackathon, we reflected on the WHO designation and declared that the Year of the Nurse would be a year for our organizations to elevate, champion and empower nurses as innovative leaders who transform healthcare. It became our mission to encourage the broader healthcare community to do the same. We knew the year 2020 would be an opportunity to not only celebrate nurse innovators throughout history, but also shape what the future of nurse innovation could be.

While no one could have predicted the scope and scale of challenges COVID-19 would present this year, nurses have risen to meet them, working long, stressful hours; problem-solving in real time; leading COVID-19 command centers; organizing massive drives to collect personal protective equipment; taking on new leadership roles; and collaborating in new teams—all with a focus on delivering exceptional patient care to those at their most vulnerable.

If there was a silver lining to COVID-19, it might be that the world gained a new appreciation for the importance and impact of nurses in healthcare. Against the backdrop of the worst pandemic in a century, nurse innovation made incredible strides. Multidisciplinary innovation teams were formed in record time in hospitals across the country, nurses were empowered to innovate, and health systems increased their recognition of the tremendous value of their frontline nurses.

But this new way of working and higher level of appreciation is arguably fragile, as it is still in progress and very new. Based on what we have observed and heard directly from nurses on the front lines, as well as those in supporting roles behind the scenes, we have distilled our insights to three must-do’s to help solidify and propel the recognition, support and empowerment of nurses beyond this year:

1.    Continue to elevate the voices and presence of nurses in healthcare

Rarely in history have nurses been recognized by their peers and the public to the degree they are now—as we know from the Woodhull study, nurses have seldom been quoted as health experts in the media. But due in large part to the pandemic, nurses are being sought out to share their insights and experiences like never before because the world is realizing that nurses offer a unique perspective, given their proximity to patients and time spent in providing direct patient care.

In alignment with Johnson & Johnson’s broader commitment to supporting the frontline, the SEE YOU NOW podcast series played a vital role this summer sharing the inspiring and educational stories of nurses amid COVID-19, such as Mount Sinai Hospital ICU nurses Simone Hannah-Clark, BN, RN, CCRN and Carlos Trochez, Jr. BSN, RN, whose heartbreaking and inspiring experiences on the front lines broke through the noise in mainstream media, and veteran school nurse Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, who shared the tremendous burdens facing today’s school nurses.

We are excited to see more nurses recognized on a global scale for their efforts, including emergency room nurse Amy O’Sullivan who made TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and more nurses moving into leadership positions, such as Jane Hopkins, RNMH, a nurse with a background in mental health who was recently named to President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board.

This level of inclusion and recognition must continue if we want to improve patient care, disseminate vital information, and improve our collective response to COVID-19 and other health challenges.

2.    Champion and support a culture of innovation within health systems

Nurses have always been innovators—even when differential thinking wasn’t encouraged. But when the COVID-19 pandemic began to manifest in health systems across the country almost overnight, providing an environment that supported innovative thinking and action became critical. Many healthcare systems have worked to remove barriers, burdens and distractions, allowing nurses to focus on how to deliver the best patient care and adjust to constantly changing circumstances. This shift has begged the question: How can we continue to foster a culture of innovative thinking and action, within the context of improving overall patient care and outcomes?

Health systems are starting to recognize the value of a culture of innovation and have begun creating innovation committees to help facilitate the exchange of information, empower nurses and other innovators, and demonstrate the value of intradisciplinary teams. The Cleveland Clinic’s Office of Nursing Research & Innovation and Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Innovations in Care Delivery are striking examples of how a healthcare system can create a space that actively encourages nurse-led innovation—through a dedicated innovation center and financial support to help bring ideas to life.

In talking with and listening to nurses throughout the pandemic and through virtual events like SONSIEL’s monthly Meet-Ups, which regularly convene hundreds of nurses from around the world, we have come to understand nurses’ hunger to share information and learn from one another—in everything from how they’re addressing the challenges of COVID-19 and innovating solutions to how they are simply coping during this period of unparalleled stress and pressure.

Health systems around the world can greatly benefit from understanding this hunger and implementing more supportive cultures of innovative and collaborative thinking. Inspiration can be found in opportunities to help nurses take their innovative solutions from ideation to implementation—events such as the NurseHack4Health hackathons that convene multidisciplinary teams and provide a springboard for developing ideas and the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge series, which invite nurses to pitch their ideas to improve patient care and provide awardees with funding and mentorship.

3.    Empower nurses by investing in development of the nursing workforce

In the early stages of COVID-19, there was a massive learning curve for nurses on the front lines. In just a matter of days, nurses who didn’t work in the ICU had to quickly learn ICU patient care, how to properly don and doff PPE, and how to prone patients with higher body masses to improve their oxygenation. Nurses around the world rose to the challenge, but the pandemic brought to light the need for continued education, cross training and career development. While this pandemic is not yet over, we need to ensure our frontline is trained and ready for whatever may come next.

On an educational level, we are failing our nurses when we present them with one-path careers and don’t expose them to different care settings, specialties or alternative tracks. Our nurses have learned a lot this year on their own under intense pressure, but to help prepare future nurses for new health crises and better equip practicing nurses, we must invest in ongoing training, educational and developmental opportunities that will strengthen current skill sets and enable nurses to practice with confidence.

Looking Ahead

As the WHO has named 2021 the Year of Health and Care Workers, we hope that the above must-do’s can serve as a roadmap for how we can reinforce the strides nurse innovation has taken this year, as well as chart an instrumental course for nurses in the coming years and inspire the next generation.

To nurses on the front lines: you have shown us so much this year. Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do and know that both Johnson & Johnson and SONSIEL will never stop supporting you and your ideas. We can’t wait to see what you accomplish in 2021 and beyond.

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

Rebecca Love, RN, MSN, FIEL, President, SONSIEL