When you hear the word “hackathon,” you may not necessarily envision a room full of nurses brainstorming ideas. Traditionally, hackathons were created as a way for computer programmers to gather and collaborate to solve a problem. Participants at a hackathon try to “hack,” or “solve” a challenge. At the “Nurse Hackathon: Nurses Hacking HealthCare” event hosted by Northeastern University, nurses are the ones leading the problem solving, developing solutions to issues in healthcare.
“Nurses are natural innovators, because we are trained to solve problems,” said Rebecca Love, RN, MSN, ANP, director of nurse innovation & entrepreneurship at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. “Most nurses don’t think about taking their critical thinking skills a step further and actually developing a product or service that can be implemented on a larger scale. Through the Hackathon, we hope to revolutionize nursing education to change the current perceptions around nursing and present nurses as agents of change.”
Love is a nurse entrepreneur and organizer of the Nurse Hackathon. The event is designed to promote collaboration within the healthcare sector and inspire the nursing community to take on a leadership role in evolving new innovations in healthcare. This year, the Nurse Hackathon is scheduled for March 24-26, 2017 and will focus on the evolving field of “telehealth” and healthcare within the “home” for older adults. For more information or to register for the event, visit www.Northeastern.edu.
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