The world is innovating fast, and healthcare has to innovate with it. Consequently, the medical profession changes as well. For the past few months, I have worked with my team on a concept called Innovation Friday, as a response to this fast-changing world. The issue we want to address is that there is currently (too) little attention for innovation in education. There are many good ideas that do not always get a stage, causing them to be lost.
To innovate, you first need to know the challenges doctors face in the field. That is why Innovation Friday consists of two meetings with medical residents, followed by an implementation process of 9 months. During the first meeting, the residents were instructed to work in groups to discuss the obstacles they encounter in practice. For the second meeting, they were asked to come up with possible solutions to these problems. Afterwards, time is set aside for good ideas to be implemented: time that is not usually available. The ultimate goal is to make this a recurring programme that is integrated into the training to become a medical specialist.
Innovation Friday has much potential, as it gives medical residents the chance to exchange information and knowledge with other doctors and to learn unique skills. Furthermore, its highly rewarding and motivating to experience that you can actually improve your daily practice and healthcare in general.
It is a process of change and it is new, so there are always challenges. Within the hospital, we are often already working with limited capacity, which makes it difficult to arrange time and support. Resources and people have to be made available in order to invest in such a project. With the Department of Internal Medicine, we took the plunge and set up a successful pilot project.
The Innovation Center has supported and advised us in setting up Innovation Friday. They also facilitated sessions during the days themselves, encouraging the medical residents to bring out the best in themselves. As a result, they came up with several innovation projects that we are now implementing. Their input also improved the content of the programme itself.
I found the collaboration very pleasant. The contact with the Innovation Center is low-threshold, they think along well and they are very concrete. They have delivered exactly what we needed. You can tell that the experts at the Innovation Center have a lot of knowledge and experience of what is going on in the organisation and what possibilities there are. I am convinced that your chances of success are significantly higher if you involve the Innovation Center at an early stage of the project.
I am convinced that your chances of success are significantly higher if you involve the Innovation Center at an early stage of the project. I found the collaboration very pleasant. They delivered exactly what we needed.
