#@intro2d

This picture is an example of a “WOW” also known as a workstation on wheels. These computers are new to my department and came with our electronic health record system change that we experienced almost two years ago. Prior to this change we did not have medication or patient scanning in our department. We simply printed out our medication order, went to the pyxis, obtained medications and used our paper order as our way of verifying the patient and medication safely. Changing over to the new electronic health record system EPIC was a big change for our department and staff members and these Wow’s didn’t help due to one main reason, the scanner was attached to the computer.  

I would have to go back to the identification stage of the design process as I was able to identify the problem within my first couple of hours of my shift when we were using this new system of scanning the patient and medication. The scanner is attached to the computer with a short straight cord. You must be close to the patient to be able to scan them and then the medication. The problem is that emergency department rooms are small, and patients are usually bed bound and may not be able to move their extremities to assist you in scanning their bracelet. There were and still are many times that my computer either comes rolling into my patients’ feet at the end of the stretcher, or into a visitor by accident due to me pulling the scanner closer to the patient. When we identified this problem to our management team, we asked why we didn’t have wireless scanners like the rest of the WOW’s in other units do. We were then given longer, spiraled cords due to the amount of cost it would be to change out all the scanners in our department. If our nurses were involved in the identification stage of the design process this could have been something that was foreseen, and we could have acted on this design prior to it being instituted into our department, saving the hospital time, and money. 

With the SCAMPERING method in mind I would use SUBSTITUTE toward a solution to this problem. I would substitute the scanners in our department to wireless scanners. We have an overabundance of computers and we can take the eight computers that are used by nurses daily for scanning and slowly start to change them over to wireless scanning. This would improve our employee satisfaction and may also improve our scanning percentage that at times suffers due to the amount of limited space and fast paced environment we work in. Some nurses chose to “click off” the medication versus scanning, or even scan the patient’s bedside labels due to the straight and spiral cords that do not allow the nurse to reach the patient. This poses a threat to our patient’s and patient safety that could be corrected by simply changing over to eight wireless scanners. The cost of the wireless scanners should never outweigh the cost of patient safety.

This photo of my front door of a 3 story apartment building with the door handle on the left is simple. The door swings in and to the right. My apartment is on the first floor and the door to get into the living room in my apartment is on the right behind the front door while it is open and the staircase is on the left side of the entryway and there is only room for the door to swing open. There is another door on the left but it goes into the bedroom and is not functional. 

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is a ornamental style of art that became popular between 1890 and 1910. It was popular throughout the United States and Europe. This style of art is known for its use of long line and often shown in jewelry, interior design, glass, jewelry, and design posters. 

Art Deco

Art Deco is a popular style of American architecture that began in the 1920′s - 1930′s. Art Deco was known for the vertical lines, bright colors, abstract geometric ornamentation and building setbacks. 

Punk

Punk art was a way of rejecting values that was beyond music, known to have started in the late 1970′s. The use of highly theatrical costumes, cosmetics, clothing, and hairstyles was a type of style that is still seen today.

SCAMPER - Elements analysis - redesign

Here is a photo of a new ‘waiting area’ for Emerson Hospital urgent care in Littleton, MA that just opened last year (photo smugmug.com). Thinking about elements, the colors in this space are mainly cool, blues and greys, with a touch of the hue yellow on the back wall that is very light and may be to try to make the space feel warm and comfortable. 

Using SCAMPER and thinking about substituting the element of color and shape in a space, the second waiting area the colors of the chairs and brighten the intensity of the yellow on the wall. In the image below, the space is also a waiting area with the same space, chairs and desk but designed with elements of warm colors, the chairs are still chairs but look more comfortable and inviting and less of a barrier to coming in when you need to be comforted when you are sick. This is important because patients are already tense and anxious when coming to the doctor and just the mere beginning of trying to make a patient feel comforted with furniture that is easy to clean, floors that are nob-skid but feels like you are being cared for as soon as you walk in is something that healthcare is lacking. According to Naccarella in  “DESIGN MATTERS FOR NURSES”, indoor environment quality is “the aesthetics and maintenance of the workplace serve as a daily reminder of the value their employers place on their work.” Not only does this second space convey value, it conveys what nursing is, which is caring.

Reference 

Portfolio #3: Elements

Pattern & Texture-

This mirror/jewelry holder on my wall represents a simple 2-dimensional pattern that repeats circles in a circular motion and is a clear use of pattern. I found that the mirror made me look at the circular shapes and recognize that the circular flowers are made from the repeated circles in a pattern that created the flower.

@intro2d #portfolio3

Pattern & Texture-

This basket has a clear use of pattern as well from the weaving of this material but also has a clear texture of rough feeling that we can sense visually and by touch. This pattern is textured and has a rhythm of a repeated weave. Even though this texture and pattern are only one color you can sense exactly how sturdy it should be and how it feels and even what it is for. The handle mimics the pattern of the weave as well. 

@intro2d #portfolio3

One object

Cardiac monitors are a great piece of medical equipment. They are versatile and extremely important in many patient settings. Cardiac monitors are in every room in the emergency department, and intensive care unit in the hospital I work in. Our telemetry floor also has in room bedside monitors that are just for cardiac rhythms. In the ED, and ICU our cardiac monitors provide us with cardiac rhythms, pulse oximetry, respiratory, and blood pressure readings. We also have options for temperature, and capnography if needed for certain patients. Depending on the setting and patient these monitors offer a array of functions that are crucial to the care of our patients. 

Cardiac monitors are touch screen, to turn it on touch the screen and it will show the main screen. You then can attach the leads, oximetry reading, and blood pressure cuff to the patient. The tabs at the bottom change your settings to different profiles, measurements, or alarms to better fit your patient needs. 

The first picture I chose was a actual example the cardiac monitors we use in the emergency department I work in. These monitors have many functions and you can see some options along the bottom of the monitor, it is touchscreen and every room in the department has the same monitor. The second picture shows an example of a patient room with a cardiac monitor attached to the wall. These monitors are great to have in each room but are sometimes difficult or reach with many family members, or chaotic situations. The third and sixth picture shows a monitor that is changed to the pulse oximetry and blood pressure profile and just a cardiac rhythm. If you look at the wave you can see that it is not a steady wave and fluctuates. This is another complication of the monitors that at times they offer false, inaccurate readings. The fourth picture shows a nurse and many patient windows. We have this setup at our nursing stations that show us every patients cardiac monitor readings. You can imagine how many alarms can go off at once on a busy shift. Nurses need to make sure that they are simply not just clicking to turn the alarm off but checking on their patient. Lastly the fifth picture shows a nurse who seems stressed, the cardiac monitors offer great features but at times can be stressful not only for our patients but for staff as well. 

Some objects that would be effective for our audience include the actual cardiac leads that attach to the patient, along with the oximetry probe and blood pressure cuff. We could also show the stickers that our applied to patients and offer demonstrating the application so that our audience can see this may affect their care. Being attached to a cardiac monitor can be a scary, unfamiliar situation. Educating others on the needs and benefits of these machines can allow our patients to have better experiences.