USF Health College of Nursing hosts first symposium with Edgility Cognitive Healthcare

In conjunction with Edgility Cognitive Healthcare, the USF Health College of Nursing hosted the first Disruptive Digital Transformation in Nursing Symposium on October 14, 2021 at Embarc Collective.

Edgility’s CEO Balajii Ramadoss and USF Health College of Nursing’s Dean Usha Menon initiated the partnership in April 2021. Edgility is an outcomes-centric data platform and technology company that works closely with hospitals and community practices to optimize technology to improve health outcomes.

Through this collaboration, the “Health Re-Imagined: The Digital Incubator” program will train nursing students to tackle health care’s biggest challenges through the use of innovative technology. The goal is to help nursing students develop a strong understanding of technology, design thinking and problem-solving skills to enhance patient care and safety.

“Innovation is a lot more practical and it’s happening on the bedside every day,” said Ramadoss. “By openly talking about innovation and exposing nursing students to it, we are taking a small step to do better.”

The program’s Principle Investigator Dr. Elizabeth Jordan, USF Health College of Nursing associate professor and senior associate dean, said the first annual symposium served as an opportunity for healthcare leaders to come together to discuss the challenges nurses face every day.

World-renowned patient safety champion and keynote speaker, Dr. Peter Pronovost, shared two case studies to discuss the functionality of inter-professional teams and principles to optimize patient centered care.

Pronovost challenged the audience to create an “I will…’ statement and asked, “What defects are you going to solve?”

“Our healthcare system needs you,” he explained. “The culture that makes patient experience safe is the same culture that makes employee experience better and that culture starts by leading with love.”

University Hospitals Vice President of Center for Emergency Medicine Melissa Cole said the change in culture starts with empowering nurses. Nurses are “in the weeds” and see the problems of the healthcare system firsthand.

“What if we all felt empowered to make a difference?” she asked. “When I think of the trillion-dollar problem, it’s a complex multifactorial problem that is deeply rooted in many of our old ways of doing things. We really need to dig out of it and I think nurses are in critical positions to solve these problems.”

The long-term goal of the college’s partnership with Edgility is to foster educational opportunities and develop a certificate program to provide students with the opportunity to interact with experts, get personalized feedback from course facilitators and learn from seasoned practitioners.

Lisa Meyer, chief outcomes officer at Edgility, said she believes nurses are vital to solving this persistent healthcare problem.

“Even if you’re not a nurse, you still have a seat at the table,” she said. “Now is the time to blaze the trail and we are excited for this partnership to continue growing.”

Menon said she hopes the symposium will spark a conversation and inspire students, faculty and staff to begin brainstorming projects that directly address problems the healthcare system is currently facing.

“My hope is that at the next symposium, we can present these projects,” Menon explained. “We need to think outside of the box, not just for the sake of innovation, but to actually impact patient care!”

Menon closed the symposium by announcing the first-ever 2021 Nurse Disruptor of the Year Awards to Meyer and Jordan for their continued efforts in making this program and partnership a success.