Educating Nursing and Health Care Professionals to Create Sustainable Change Through Innovation Education

Abstract

Background: Health care needs new solutions to address enduring challenges faced by our nurses, health care professionals, patients, and populations. This paper describes the need for preparing nurses and health care professionals with health care innovation education. Method: One School of Nursing formalized innovation education through a new health care innovation online graduate certificate program. The Health Care Innovation certificate program is a 12 credit, four course online program open to nurses and health care professionals aiming to create positive change in the health care industry. Results: Graduates of the Health Care Innovation Certificate program reflected on 1) their motivations to pursue the program; 2) how the program helped inform their innovation knowledge to develop their innovations; and 3) how the program supported their life transformative education. Conclusion: There is great potential to drive positive change for our health care industry through the availability of formalized innovation education for nurses and health care professionals in the United States. [ J Nurs Educ . 2024;63(X):XXX–XXX.]