NEW ORLEANS, La. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — When a nurse saw she was spending hours away from patients looking for the right tools, she decided to take matters into her own hands. See the invention she created that could improve patient care around the country.
Dawn Nix, RN, the inventor of MultiNix, has been a nurse for over 19 years.
“So, I went into nursing, honestly, to help people. My mom’s a nurse. My grandma’s a nurse,” shared Dawn.
But after treating patient after patient she started wondering if there may be a better way. She often found herself searching the hallways for equipment. That was wasted time that she could be spending with patients.
“Having to go out of a room to look for something because I can’t untwist an IV, these things cause ripple effects in our delivery of care,” explained Wayne Nix, RN, Dawn’s husband.
Wayne is also a nurse. So, they decided to team up to find a solution. They invented the MultiNix tool, it’s like a swiss-army knife for nurses that contains 15 different tools in one.
“Plyers, scissors, rulers, pupil measuring, jar opening, hex wrench, an oxygen wrench, a vial opener,” said Wayne.
For Dawn, the switch from nurse to entrepreneur was an easy one. It all tied back to the same goal helping patients get better care.
“So, this could save hours, ideally, in the hospital every day,” Dawn stated.
Dawn Nix’s MultiNix tool was recently bought by Medline, a medical distributor. They hope to see nurses across the country using it soon.
Contributors to this news report include: Breanna Molloy, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor; and Wladimir Moquete, Videographer.
FROM NURSE TO ENTREPRENEUR: GETTING PATIENTS BETTER CARE
REPORT #2789
BACKGROUND: Nursing is the nation’s largest healthcare profession with more than 3.1 million registered nurses practicing nationwide. Due to the vast range of specialties and complex skills, each nurse displays their own specific strengths, passions, and expertise. Responsibilities can range from making acute treatment decisions to providing inoculations in schools. The key characteristic in every role is the skill and drive that it takes to be a nurse. Through the monitoring of patients’ behavior and knowledge-based expertise, nurses are best placed to take an all-encompassing view of a patient’s well-being. All nurses complete a program of extensive education and study, and work directly with patients, families, and communities using the core values of the nursing process. There are three categories of nurses: registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses.
(Source: https://www.aacnnursing.org/Students/Your-Nursing-Career-A-Look-at-the-Facts and https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/)
CHALLENGES OF NURSING: Even before COVID-19, nurses had some of the most stressful jobs. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is set to be among the fastest-growing professions by 2026. There are many challenges that come with nursing. First and foremost, many nurses agree that losing patients hurts the most. The shifts nurses are given can be mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting, without them even being able to use the restroom at times. Sometimes, it can wear on nurses with the lack of respect and verbal/physical abuse from families, management, and fellow healthcare workers. There are times when helping people doesn’t seem to be the priority, rather making a profit does. Also, seeing nurses as a cost rather than the frontline workers they serve as is a challenge. Another big challenge is having to deal with all the technology that keeps nurses from providing hands-on care with patients. The digital system to store health records requires more time in the patient’s chart and less time in the patient’s room.
(Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/registered-nurses-worst-part-being-nurse-jobs-2019-5)
TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS AND NURSING: While some nurses have reservations about the technological advances in healthcare, a survey of 600 nurses showed that 82 percent believe that technology positively impacts patient care. They felt the tools available in health systems helped add time back into their day, which may help nurses from leaving their practice setting due to burnout. An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s medical history and can improve patient care by improving the accuracy and clarity of medical records, and making data easily accessible to healthcare providers, doctors, and patients. New technologies can also decrease the chance of human error, especially with nurses who work long hours. Routine procedures are simplified, such as automated IV pumps that can measure the dosage of medication given to patients. This creates a quicker process for changing drip amounts and dosage. These emerging technologies in telehealth can help mitigate the burden put on nurses since it takes fewer nurses to provide adequate care.
(Source: https://avanthealthcare.com/blog/articles/how-technology-is-impacting-nursing-practice-in-2019.stml)
* For More Information, Contact:
Wayne Nix, RN, Inventor and Founder
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