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Nursing Inventions That Can Help Improve Health Care

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Nursing Inventions That Can Help Improve Health Care

Introduction

Nursing as an art requires a nurse to be creative and have an artist mindset. A nurse

should not see the things for what they are but for what they could be (Hanssmiller, &

Pulcini, 2020). Examples of early nursing inventions include the Henry Street Settlement in

the U.S., established by Lillian Wald in 1893, and the Frontier Nursing Service established by

Mary Breckinridge in 1925 (Hanssmiller, & Pulcini, 2020). Wald and Breckinridge are an

example of how nurses can be innovative and improve health care.

Inventions

Pressure injuries are sores that happen on areas of the skin under pressure. The

pressure can result from lying in bed, sitting in a wheelchair, or wearing a cast for a long

time. The use of bundles and user-friendly pathways can help eliminate cases of pressure

injuries in hospitals. Donabedian’s model of Structure Process, and Outcomes can be used in

development and implementation of project that eliminates such cases. As seen from a

freestanding pediatric hospital in the southern United States which reported a 117% increase

in reported hospital acquired pressure injuries between 2013 and 2015 (Rowe, McCarthy, &

Huett, 2018). Implementation of the nurse driven pathway led to a 57% decrease in reported

hospital acquired pressure injuries as well as a 66% increase in pressure ulcer prevention

bundle compliance.

Development and implementation of this pathway can be adapted to help provide

guidance across the continuum (Rowe, McCarthy, & Huett, 2018). This will result in

improvement of health care in an area. There will be an increase in bundle compliance for

pressure ulcer prevention and a decrease in reported hospital acquired pressure injuries.
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References

Hassmiller, S. B., & Pulcini, J. (2020). Advanced Practice Nursing Leadership: A Global

Perspective.

Rowe, A. D., McCarty, K., & Huett, A. (2018). Implementation of a nurse driven pathway to

reduce incidence of hospital acquired pressure injuries in the pediatric intensive care

setting. Journal of pediatric nursing, 41, 104-109.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2018.03.001