A Typology of Innovations in Nursing

Abstract

Objective: The purposes of this project were to identify innovations conceived from nurse faculty at a college of nursing and nurses in an academic medical center, examine their characteristics, and create a typology of nursing innovations.

Background: Innovation is a crucial component for progress in healthcare. Jobs to Be Done Theory suggests that to make progress in nursing, workers must be solution focused to answer problems.

Methods: This qualitative study used directed content analysis to evaluate survey responses of nurses in 1 university's academic and practice setting about solutions or innovations to achieve progress in their jobs.

Results: Fifty-seven examples of situations needing an innovative solution were coded and categorized by challenges to yield an 8 characteristic typology in nursing innovation.

Conclusions: These findings serve as a guide for nurse executives to understand and leverage how innovations are conceptualized and translated in academia and practice.