Frontline Frustrations Spark Innovative Solutions

Michael Pickett, MSN, APRN, CPNP

Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesia - Perioperative Section
Texas Children’s Hospital
RediStik® Task Trainer Series Product and Design Co-Lead
ANA Innovation Advisory Committee Member
[Business, Intrapreneurship, and Entrepreneurship]
Global HOPE - Innovation Advisor
Innovative Solutions Council – Innovation Advisor

RediStik® A Full Circle Story

Time for a Change

Twenty years into my healthcare career as a pediatric nurse practitioner, I knew a change was needed to further my own personal and professional growth. What I didn’t know was that change would be becoming a leader of frontline innovation in healthcare. I was given valuable advice by a mentor who taught me “Innovation cannot be done alone.” I quickly learned in the beginning of my innovation journey, if there is something you are passionate about, just get started and as you gain momentum you will figure out the next steps. It is best to be proactive, persistent, and start working to come up with solutions by collaborating with others who have the same interest.

The RediStik® Journey

My first leap into the innovation world was creating simulation task trainers I wish would have been available when I was a new nursing graduate. I was taught by experienced nurses the art of starting PIVs and accessing Ports. These nurses were the best at what they did, but they were teaching me on very sick children with parents at their bedside. The idea of developing next generation trainers sparked the interest I had in product design. The need for the trainers was evidenced by the consensus from frontline staff that echoed time and time again: the currently available PIV and Port trainers were not realistic. 

This sparked the innovation journey to develop trainers that fit our frontline staff needs and prove to myself I could accomplish my new goals. I would have never dreamed 5 years ago that I would have received the International IMSH 2020 SimVentor Award and  ANA Innovation Team 2022 Award, sponsored by Stryker, presented at four international conferences and be the first nurse to trademark and commercialize a new design with Texas Children’s Hospital. Nor could I have imagined that I would have developed skills in prototyping, manufacturing, bridging design gaps between engineering and frontline staff, videography/editing, survey development, contract negotiations, and marketing to create the RediStik® Wearable PIV, Port and CVC Trainers. This has been a truly collaborative project involving the next generation simulation trainers piloted in Sub-Saharan Africa at our Global HOPE clinics and over 14 specialty areas in Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) in Houston.

Check out our videos highlighting the final design and quality improvement outcomes in Houston and Sub-Saharan Africa.  The Global HOPE team published their results decreasing IV start attempts and IV extravasations on children with cancer in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing.

Based on the amazing quality improvement and pilot outcomes (100% of staff surveyed recommended to their colleagues for training), we decided to commercialize the designs and trademarked the RediStik® brand.  The successful commercial launch exemplified amazing collaboration bringing together Sawbones® (who manufactures and distributes the trainers), frontline staff, TCH entrepreneurship, nursing leadership, legal, and marketing departments. The RediStik® Trainers are available for purchase from Sawbones®  and are now being used throughout the Texas Children’s system and other institutions globally.

Winning the ANA Innovation Team 2022 Award, sponsored by Stryker gives me an amazing opportunity to give back to the clinical areas who helped develop and validate the RediStik® Wearable Trainers. With the award, we will be able to have an even larger impact on nurses and patients both locally and abroad. 

The most rewarding element of my innovation experience has been the opportunity to learn new skills and develop amazing relationships by collaborating with hundreds of nurses and content experts to help bring an idea to life. Seeing these solutions being implemented and loved makes it all worth the effort. I have had the privilege to involve my two teenage sons in the innovation journey as well. Together we have experienced the ups and downs of product development and implementation. Seeing my children learn from our collective wins and losses continues to be one of my proudest accomplishments.

Tips creating new products, gaining institutional support, and implementing into a healthcare system. (Lessons learned co-creating eight designs at TCH)

Proof-of-Concept Development and Implementation Guide

• Identify and Validate Need/Gap
  • Interdisciplinary resources and user feedback
    • Innovation/Quality Improvement/Research Dept, Supply Chain, Biomed, Respiratory Therapy, Educators, Sim Center, Frontline Clinicians etc.
    • Identify educational/safety/quality improvement initiatives
    • Ensure no solution exist prior to moving to product development (product development takes time, resources, and funding)
  • Product Development
    • First principle and user-centered design = great final products
    • Simulation to test prototypes
    • Start with simple prototypes to test concept - refine as gain momentum
      • Helps garner support and funding
      • Expand focus group as product improves
      • Loop in legal/Innovation and leadership before pilot
    • Pilot or IRB Study
      • Learn indications for use, how product impacts workflow, and finalize product
      • Data supports leadership confidence and implementation
    • Implement, Share and Grow
      • Legal approval and Hospital product/equipment committee approval to implement within institution
      • QI initiatives
      • Marketing (conferences/social media)
      • potentially commercialize

Connect on linkedin, order your own RediStik® Wearable Trainers from Sawbones and visit www.texaschildrens.org/redistik to check out our testimonials, presentations on the innovation process, teaching videos created by nurses, innovation stories, and other products I have co-created.