NurseHack4Health

NurseHack4Health is a hackathon event presented by Johnson & Johnson, Society of Nurse Scientists Innovators Entrepreneurs & Leaders (SONSIEL), Microsoft and Dev Up

What is a hackathon?

A hackathon is a weekend event that brings nurses and people from other professions together in-person or virtually to take on human health problems by creating solutions in a supportive setting with colleagues and mentors. Learn more about the upcoming NurseHack4Health hackathon taking place November 13-15 at NurseHack4Health.org.
How do you prepare?

Participants don’t need to come with an idea—just be ready to join a team and dive in to develop a solution. By the end of the hackathon, the goal is for teams to have minimum viable products (MVPs) that can be fast-tracked for further development and implementation in a healthcare setting.
Why should you attend?

Attending a hackathon is a great way to bond, brainstorm, develop and pitch healthcare solutions that will forever change the way you think about a problem, your perceived value and impact and your vision for your future in nursing and healthcare!

Learn more about the Hackathon Skill Set and Resources available

What to Expect

Hackathons champion nurse-led innovation by bringing nurses together with people from different professions, in-person or virtually, to “hack” real solutions to health problems in a supportive team setting with peers and mentors. Participants don’t need to come with an idea – just be ready to join a team, examine the problem and dive in to develop a solution. By the end of the hackathon, the goal is for teams to have minimum viable products (MVPs) that can be fast-tracked for further development and implementation in a healthcare setting.

Attending a hackathon is a great way to bond, brainstorm, develop and pitch healthcare solutions that will forever change the way you think about a problem, your perceived value and impact, and your vision for your future in nursing and healthcare!

Watch our NurseHack4Health May 2020 video
Innovation Skills

What does it take to make the most of a hackathon experience? Understanding fundamental innovation skills—such as problem solving, risk-taking, collaboration and strategic planning—can help you make the most of your time participating in a hackathon.

Even when you develop a valuable idea, sometimes figuring out what to do next can feel overwhelming.

Get started today and explore how to unlock your potential to spark innovative health solutions and improve patient care. Be sure to check out the section on Design Thinking for Health – a must-read before any hackathon! Learn more:

-What skills should nurse innovators develop and grow?
What Makes a Good Pitch

Pitching your idea to a panel of judges is a critical part of the hackathon process. The judges are often well-respected industry experts who will examine how well your idea meets hackathon criteria, such as its viability or impact on human health.

Each team typically has three to five minutes to present to the judges and answer questions. Assembling a rock star team and developing a valuable idea are critical; however, sometimes teams fall short in making a compelling pitch. Learn more:

–How to Tell Stories that Influence People and Inspire Action

–NurseHack4Health Pitch Template

–Pitch Deck Dos and Don’ts

–How to Win a Pitch
Open Source Innovation

Hackathons can have different goals, such as launching a start-up business or generating ideas for the open market to adopt. As a participant, it’s important to understand your responsibilities as well as the desired hackathon output.

“Open source” means that no one legally owns or has intellectual property associated with the ideas. People come together to hack for social good and ideas are publicly available to any individual or organization to quickly use or adapt to help solve problems. For NurseHack4Health, participants are asked to post their ideas on GitHub, a collaborative hosting platform where hackers can iterate collectively. Learn more:

–What is Open Source

–Open Source Resources

–GitHub Learning Lab
Minimum Viable Product

The goal of many healthcare hackathons is for teams to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). A minimum viable product has just enough core features for the solution to be demonstrated or used. Developers then typically deploy the product to potential customers or early adopters who are more likely to give feedback and be able to grasp a product vision from an early prototype. The advantage of developing an MVP is to quickly get a working solution for a pressing problem into the healthcare setting. Learn more:

–Forbes: What Is A Minimum Viable Product, And Why Do Companies Need Them?

–LEANSTACK: What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

– CleverTap: What Is A Minimum Viable Product + Methodologies For Marketers

Watch our November 2019 Hackathon Highlights

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NurseHack4Health

What is a hackathon?

How do you prepare?

Why should you attend?