Abstract
Organizations that foster psychologically safe environments create space for innovative cultures to emerge. The prioritization of nurse-led innovation signals broader cultural values around learning, a willingness to invest in people and their ideas, and an organizational focus around growth and operational excellence. Embracing innovative behaviors can propel emerging areas of nursing science, practice, and workforce solutions. This month's Magnet® Perspectives explores innovation and the critical role of nurse leadership in shaping today's healthcare environment, and the future of nursing.
The rapidly evolving ecosystem surrounding healthcare is not slowing down anytime soon. Successfully navigating these demands and disruptions starts with embracing a more modern alignment that engages those closest to the work around purpose and innovation initiatives that are focused on continuous development. Whether you are innovating out of necessity or are fortunate enough to have an internal structure such as Magnet® designation to support nursing excellence and innovation, you can redefine your organization by embracing a robust innovation strategy that supports patients and families as well as customers, while developing clinicians and meeting business imperatives.
Cultivate Psychologically Safe and Innovative Cultures
The professional environments and cultures we experience are a culmination of individual and collective beliefs, knowledge, values, and organizational decisions made over time. As values, beliefs, and practices change, professional cultures also continue to evolve and adapt. Psychological safety expert Amy Edmundson states, “Without innovation, no organization can survive over the long-term.”1 When working to create a culture of innovation, start by leaning into environments focused on new knowledge, innovations, and improvement.2 Magnet-designated organizations focus on integrating evidence-based practice and research into care delivery and operational workflows, setting the stage for innovation-focused cultures to emerge.3
Interdisciplinary practice is supported by psychologically safe environments that advance teamwork, innovative thinking, and a robust solution-oriented climate for real-time problem solving.4 Consider building an open forum for nurses and clinicians to engage and disseminate their ideas, lessons, failures, and successful solutions in a space (in-person or virtual) where individuals can learn from each other and advance internal knowledge with organizational leaders.1 Building an organizational community focused on innovation is a wonderful way to attract, develop, and retain internal organizational talent.
Innovative Nurse Leaders
The complexity across healthcare is only increasing, and nurses are actively leading during a time where industry, technological, political, environmental, and community forces are converging around daily operational decisions. Visionary nursing leadership at all levels has never been more important. Decades of research have directly tied nursing leadership to positive outcomes for patients and staff.4 Healthcare environments are technical and highly optimized for efficiency, which can peel away creativity, curiosity, and, at times, even humanity.5 Leaders focused on creating environments where individuals and teams thrive starts with helping individuals rediscover qualities that bring meaning and humanity back to the work we do.5 Innovation is a space where making change or advancing work does not have to be a solitary process carried solely by leadership. As we innovate across healthcare, it is important to remember that we must design our work, initiatives, and systems for the outcomes we hope to achieve and involve bedside providers to be successful.
Brilliance of Nurse-Led Ideas and Solutions
Nurses are leading and developing solutions to complex problems requiring future-focused thinking, creativity, and expansive innovative frameworks to advance health.6 An expanded model to explore is partnership-based medicine,7 which highlights the unique aspects and contributions of nurses and nursing, interprofessional practice, and fully actualized health professionals at all levels. Hierarchical structures often require nurses to transcend educational, organizational, and systemic barriers. Broader solutions can be activated by nurses through a robust innovation framework that transcends clinical and nonclinical practice areas, expands knowledge of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial skills, and broadens exposure to transdisciplinary partners to move our profession beyond hacking and workarounds.8 The potential for health and healthcare will be fully realized when the innovative abilities and value of nurse-led innovation are fully embraced across every healthcare setting and the broader healthcare ecosystem. The uncertainty of today calls us to take actions that are future focused, embrace innovation, and help to advance the collective nursing voice.9 The work being led by nursing leaders and nurses from across our country is critically important to the health of people and the communities we serve. The American Nurses Association is doing a national multiyear scan for nurse innovators, organizations that are supporting nursing innovation, or innovative nurse-led initiatives or programs. Reach out to us at www.nursingworld.org/innovation, and submit your name and work via our Contact Us page. We are excited to hear how you are advancing nursing, care delivery, and healthcare.6
Footnotes
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
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