I N N OVAT I O N A N D H O L I S T I C C A R E
Innovation A Symphony of Collaboration ■
Jean S. MacFadyen, PhD, RN
Holist Nurs Pract 2014;28(6):341–343
Have you ever heard of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, or Henry Ford? What is your knowledge of Dr Spencer Silverman, Dr Douglas Englebart, or Dr Claude Beck? The first 3 are probably known by all. Thomas Edison is associated with inventing the electric light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell is associated with inventing the telephone. And Henry Ford is credited with inventing the process by which the automobile was able to be manufactured at an affordable price. Of lesser fame, but of no less significance, is Dr Spencer Silverman, the inventor of the Post-it note in the 1970s.1 Dr Douglas Englebart is credited with inventing the first patented computer mouse in 1964.2 And Dr Claude Beck is referred to as the inventor of the first cardiac defibrillator that was used successfully on a human in 1947.3 The literature is replete with many discussions about who invented what and what was first. The discussion here will not get engaged in those controversies. But focus will be on what all of these inventors have in common. Do you know what it is? All of the aforementioned persons get credited with being an “inventor” of something and attention is drawn to their name when the innovation is discussed. But each one of these inventors had a team of people who made the invention possible. Each innovation required a “symphony of collaboration.” Edison was especially assisted by Lewis H. Latimer, part of team Author Affiliation: College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article. Correspondence: Jean S. MacFadyen, PhD, RN, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 245 N 15th St, Mail Stop 501, Bellet Bldg, Philadelphia, PA 19102 ([email protected]). DOI: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000056
called “Edison’s Pioneers.”4 Latimer is particularly known for his development of the carbon filament used in incandescent light bulbs. He also assisted Edison in filing his patents.5 Interestingly enough, Latimer also help Alexander Graham Bell. Latimer is credited with drafting the blueprints for the telephone.5 Ford benefited from the work of a host of engineers and an assembly line of workers who proved his point.6 Silverman was part of a research team at the 3M Company that was developing low-tack, pressure-sensitive adhesives.1 Englebart was a part of the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) and was greatly assisted by his lead engineer Bill English.2 Beck designed the defibrillator, but it was built by his friend James Rand (of the Rand Development Corporation).3 Have you ever thought about who gets the credit when a new idea/product is successfully launched in the health care market? There is an old saying, “Success is the mother of many and failure is an orphan.” One always hopes that the inventor is appropriately recognized, for without his or her clever, imaginative thinking, we would not have the innovations with which we can now deliver health care in a more effective/efficient manner. But the innovation process that brings new ideas/products to market is actually an excellent example of teamwork. Collaboration is imperative in the innovation process, as the process has many constructs filled with persons who have both singular and multiple skills. There is the inventor who creates the invention and may or may not bring the idea to market, depending on his or her skills and/or objectives. There is the intra/entrepreneur who may also be the inventor but commonly is the person who orchestrates the process of bringing new ideas to market. A well-orchestrated team with such skills as engineering, manufacturing, 341
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
342
HOLISTIC NURSING PRACTICE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
distribution, finance, marketing, etc, can refine the inventor’s ideas and make the inventor’s ideas a reality. It is important to recognize and celebrate “the team,” for without that collaboration ideas frequently remain just that, “an idea.” Imaginative ideas are challenging and they keep life from becoming boring and mundane. The real excitement, however, is to see those ideas take shape and become solutions to persistent problems that frustrate and exhaust the patience of most health care workers. It is just such a collaborative environment that will develop nursing and move it forward in a healthy and dynamic manner. There are many change theorists who have dissected the change process into various steps and explored its development from many perspectives. Kurt Lewin is one such theorist. Lewin was concerned with studying forces that drive, restrain, and create equilibrium.7 He folded those concepts into describing the change process as “unfreezing, change, refreezing.”7 In essence, this means using multiple people and situations to influence change. The inventor or primary change agent does not accomplish his or her goal alone. The inventor coaxes, cajoles, and otherwise prods/pushes persons to drive change, creating an environment that is conducive to “unfreezing.” The “change” is then introduced and forces are in place to cause a “refreezing,” that is, permanently changing an idea/system to a more effective, cost-efficient system that can be sustained over a long period of time. An excellent, current example of Lewin’s change theory is a wonderfully innovative, holistic nursing project, the Plainfield Health Connection. This program is a part of the JFK Medical Center (JFK) in Edison, New Jersey. The objective of the program is to link the population to primary care, thereby improving the health of the uninsured and underinsured residents in Plainfield, New Jersey while indirectly reducing health care costs through the reduction of inappropriate use of the emergency department for primary care services. The 91% minority population8 of Plainfield is at risk for developing heart disease, asthma, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.9 The program started seeing its first patient in early June 2014. The champion of the Plainfield Health Connection is Noreen Occiphinti, MSN, RN. She is a highly experienced and talented, intra/entrepreneurial registered nurse (RN) who has worked her way through the health care system, first as licensed practical nurse, then an RN, then an RN with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and now an RN with a
master’s degree in nursing. A vital collaboration within JFK and the use of 3 major grants have helped her team fly with success because she saw a need; she validated her assessment; and she has passionately pursued its reality. The team’s intimate understanding of the population helped it construct a delivery system that is affordable for those it serves and is sustainable as a part of the JFK system. Noreen has championed the concept, but it is the team that has allowed a harmonious “score” to be written. The Plainfield Health Connection is a holistic model that has excellent potential to be duplicated in other cities of the United States, if not in the world. Are you a budding intra/entrepreneur with ideas on how to better meet the needs of the population you serve? There are many circumstances that prevent ideas from moving into action. The demands of everyday life can be overwhelming. Funds to pursue an idea are often limited because of financial debt, frequently accumulated from school bills. There is a family to feed, a mortgage to pay, and children to clothe and educate. With all best intentions, exhaustion, from trying to meet all the needs in one’s life, often plays a key role in keeping ideas in the repository of “things to do.” But have you ever thought of developing a team that can bring viability and visibility to your ideas? Do you really have to pursue innovation by yourself? Or, could you be a conductor of a symphonious collaboration? Noreen’s passionate persistence, her innate ability to lead, and her desire to be a team player exemplify what any nurse can do with the same motivation. Noreen is holistically addressing the health care needs of the population she serves. She understands the need for a health care service that is close to home so that traveling expenses are not exorbitant; she understands the need for a consistent evaluation of health issues and affordable medications; she understands the need for emergency care if necessary; and she understands that she will not be able to continue to exist without teaching her population the need for self-care and personal responsibility for their own health. Do you think you could do the same thing? Of course you can! What is holding you back? Noreen’s dream did not come to fruition overnight. She has a family and had to hold off on certain things because of their needs. Noreen knows the need for exposure to broad concepts that are best learned in an academic setting, but her education has delayed the opening of the Plainfield Health Connection. Noreen understands the political system and the need to position her ideas
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Innovation
in a manner that is positively received. This too takes time. But she has continued to persist. Be encouraged; contact Noreen; her e-mail is [email protected]. She would love to talk with you about your ideas and how to develop them. Go visit this program; watch how her team works. Your idea will need a team, and your team will need a conductor (inventor) to first create the “score” (innovation) and then manage its many configurations. Learn to use Kurt Lewin’s forces to generate sustainable, imaginative programs that will invigorate and better serve today’s and tomorrow’s health care needs.
REFERENCES 1. MIT. Inventor of the Week: Art Fry and Spencer Silver: the Post-It notes. http://archive.today/nD1u. Published 2012. Accessed July 25, 2014.
343
2. Edwards B. The computer mouse turns 40. Macworld. http://www. macworld.com/article/1137400/mouse40.html. Published 2008. Accessed July 31, 2014. 3. Defibrillator. http://web.archive.org/web/20061004052211/http: /thebakken.org/artifacts/Beck-defibrillator.htm. Published 2004. Accessed July 24, 2014. 4. The invention of the Light light Bulbbulb: Davy, Swan and Edison. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/edison/lightbulb .shtml. Accessed July 26, 2014. 5. Inventors of telephone and light bulb had something in common. http://www.pleasantonexpress.com/news/2013-01-30/Living/Inventors_ of_telephone_and_light_bulb_had_somethin.html. Accessed July 26, 2014. 6. Automobile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile. Accessed Retrieved July 24, 2014. 7. Change Theory. http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/change_ theory.html. Accessed July 22, 2014. 8. US Census Bureau. American FactFinder. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. Published 2011. Accessed May 1, 2014. 9. National Institutes of Health. Health Disparities Fact Sheet. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2010.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Innovation A Symphony of Collaboration ■
Jean S. MacFadyen, PhD, RN
Holist Nurs Pract 2014;28(6):341–343
Have you ever heard of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, or Henry Ford? What is your knowledge of Dr Spencer Silverman, Dr Douglas Englebart, or Dr Claude Beck? The first 3 are probably known by all. Thomas Edison is associated with inventing the electric light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell is associated with inventing the telephone. And Henry Ford is credited with inventing the process by which the automobile was able to be manufactured at an affordable price. Of lesser fame, but of no less significance, is Dr Spencer Silverman, the inventor of the Post-it note in the 1970s.1 Dr Douglas Englebart is credited with inventing the first patented computer mouse in 1964.2 And Dr Claude Beck is referred to as the inventor of the first cardiac defibrillator that was used successfully on a human in 1947.3 The literature is replete with many discussions about who invented what and what was first. The discussion here will not get engaged in those controversies. But focus will be on what all of these inventors have in common. Do you know what it is? All of the aforementioned persons get credited with being an “inventor” of something and attention is drawn to their name when the innovation is discussed. But each one of these inventors had a team of people who made the invention possible. Each innovation required a “symphony of collaboration.” Edison was especially assisted by Lewis H. Latimer, part of team Author Affiliation: College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article. Correspondence: Jean S. MacFadyen, PhD, RN, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 245 N 15th St, Mail Stop 501, Bellet Bldg, Philadelphia, PA 19102 ([email protected]). DOI: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000056
called “Edison’s Pioneers.”4 Latimer is particularly known for his development of the carbon filament used in incandescent light bulbs. He also assisted Edison in filing his patents.5 Interestingly enough, Latimer also help Alexander Graham Bell. Latimer is credited with drafting the blueprints for the telephone.5 Ford benefited from the work of a host of engineers and an assembly line of workers who proved his point.6 Silverman was part of a research team at the 3M Company that was developing low-tack, pressure-sensitive adhesives.1 Englebart was a part of the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) and was greatly assisted by his lead engineer Bill English.2 Beck designed the defibrillator, but it was built by his friend James Rand (of the Rand Development Corporation).3 Have you ever thought about who gets the credit when a new idea/product is successfully launched in the health care market? There is an old saying, “Success is the mother of many and failure is an orphan.” One always hopes that the inventor is appropriately recognized, for without his or her clever, imaginative thinking, we would not have the innovations with which we can now deliver health care in a more effective/efficient manner. But the innovation process that brings new ideas/products to market is actually an excellent example of teamwork. Collaboration is imperative in the innovation process, as the process has many constructs filled with persons who have both singular and multiple skills. There is the inventor who creates the invention and may or may not bring the idea to market, depending on his or her skills and/or objectives. There is the intra/entrepreneur who may also be the inventor but commonly is the person who orchestrates the process of bringing new ideas to market. A well-orchestrated team with such skills as engineering, manufacturing, 341
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
342
HOLISTIC NURSING PRACTICE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014
distribution, finance, marketing, etc, can refine the inventor’s ideas and make the inventor’s ideas a reality. It is important to recognize and celebrate “the team,” for without that collaboration ideas frequently remain just that, “an idea.” Imaginative ideas are challenging and they keep life from becoming boring and mundane. The real excitement, however, is to see those ideas take shape and become solutions to persistent problems that frustrate and exhaust the patience of most health care workers. It is just such a collaborative environment that will develop nursing and move it forward in a healthy and dynamic manner. There are many change theorists who have dissected the change process into various steps and explored its development from many perspectives. Kurt Lewin is one such theorist. Lewin was concerned with studying forces that drive, restrain, and create equilibrium.7 He folded those concepts into describing the change process as “unfreezing, change, refreezing.”7 In essence, this means using multiple people and situations to influence change. The inventor or primary change agent does not accomplish his or her goal alone. The inventor coaxes, cajoles, and otherwise prods/pushes persons to drive change, creating an environment that is conducive to “unfreezing.” The “change” is then introduced and forces are in place to cause a “refreezing,” that is, permanently changing an idea/system to a more effective, cost-efficient system that can be sustained over a long period of time. An excellent, current example of Lewin’s change theory is a wonderfully innovative, holistic nursing project, the Plainfield Health Connection. This program is a part of the JFK Medical Center (JFK) in Edison, New Jersey. The objective of the program is to link the population to primary care, thereby improving the health of the uninsured and underinsured residents in Plainfield, New Jersey while indirectly reducing health care costs through the reduction of inappropriate use of the emergency department for primary care services. The 91% minority population8 of Plainfield is at risk for developing heart disease, asthma, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.9 The program started seeing its first patient in early June 2014. The champion of the Plainfield Health Connection is Noreen Occiphinti, MSN, RN. She is a highly experienced and talented, intra/entrepreneurial registered nurse (RN) who has worked her way through the health care system, first as licensed practical nurse, then an RN, then an RN with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and now an RN with a
master’s degree in nursing. A vital collaboration within JFK and the use of 3 major grants have helped her team fly with success because she saw a need; she validated her assessment; and she has passionately pursued its reality. The team’s intimate understanding of the population helped it construct a delivery system that is affordable for those it serves and is sustainable as a part of the JFK system. Noreen has championed the concept, but it is the team that has allowed a harmonious “score” to be written. The Plainfield Health Connection is a holistic model that has excellent potential to be duplicated in other cities of the United States, if not in the world. Are you a budding intra/entrepreneur with ideas on how to better meet the needs of the population you serve? There are many circumstances that prevent ideas from moving into action. The demands of everyday life can be overwhelming. Funds to pursue an idea are often limited because of financial debt, frequently accumulated from school bills. There is a family to feed, a mortgage to pay, and children to clothe and educate. With all best intentions, exhaustion, from trying to meet all the needs in one’s life, often plays a key role in keeping ideas in the repository of “things to do.” But have you ever thought of developing a team that can bring viability and visibility to your ideas? Do you really have to pursue innovation by yourself? Or, could you be a conductor of a symphonious collaboration? Noreen’s passionate persistence, her innate ability to lead, and her desire to be a team player exemplify what any nurse can do with the same motivation. Noreen is holistically addressing the health care needs of the population she serves. She understands the need for a health care service that is close to home so that traveling expenses are not exorbitant; she understands the need for a consistent evaluation of health issues and affordable medications; she understands the need for emergency care if necessary; and she understands that she will not be able to continue to exist without teaching her population the need for self-care and personal responsibility for their own health. Do you think you could do the same thing? Of course you can! What is holding you back? Noreen’s dream did not come to fruition overnight. She has a family and had to hold off on certain things because of their needs. Noreen knows the need for exposure to broad concepts that are best learned in an academic setting, but her education has delayed the opening of the Plainfield Health Connection. Noreen understands the political system and the need to position her ideas
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Innovation
in a manner that is positively received. This too takes time. But she has continued to persist. Be encouraged; contact Noreen; her e-mail is [email protected]. She would love to talk with you about your ideas and how to develop them. Go visit this program; watch how her team works. Your idea will need a team, and your team will need a conductor (inventor) to first create the “score” (innovation) and then manage its many configurations. Learn to use Kurt Lewin’s forces to generate sustainable, imaginative programs that will invigorate and better serve today’s and tomorrow’s health care needs.
REFERENCES 1. MIT. Inventor of the Week: Art Fry and Spencer Silver: the Post-It notes. http://archive.today/nD1u. Published 2012. Accessed July 25, 2014.
343
2. Edwards B. The computer mouse turns 40. Macworld. http://www. macworld.com/article/1137400/mouse40.html. Published 2008. Accessed July 31, 2014. 3. Defibrillator. http://web.archive.org/web/20061004052211/http: /thebakken.org/artifacts/Beck-defibrillator.htm. Published 2004. Accessed July 24, 2014. 4. The invention of the Light light Bulbbulb: Davy, Swan and Edison. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/edison/lightbulb .shtml. Accessed July 26, 2014. 5. Inventors of telephone and light bulb had something in common. http://www.pleasantonexpress.com/news/2013-01-30/Living/Inventors_ of_telephone_and_light_bulb_had_somethin.html. Accessed July 26, 2014. 6. Automobile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile. Accessed Retrieved July 24, 2014. 7. Change Theory. http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/change_ theory.html. Accessed July 22, 2014. 8. US Census Bureau. American FactFinder. http://factfinder2.census.gov/ faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. Published 2011. Accessed May 1, 2014. 9. National Institutes of Health. Health Disparities Fact Sheet. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2010.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
