The Value and Power of Hackathons in Nursing

Hackathons have been around since the early 2000s, but it wasn't until the last decade that nurses engaged in these events in a meaningful way. In 2016, the first national Nurse Hackathon took place at Northeastern University and started a movement of nurse-led hackathons throughout the country and now globally. The Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders (SONSIEL) has been running the Nurse Hack 4 Health since 2019 in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft. Other nursing schools, organizations and programs now run hackathons as well.

Hackathons and other innovation events are so important because studies have shown that exposure to, attendance at, and offerings of these types of events increases a nurse's innovativeness and confidence (see references below).

The next in-person mini NH4H w ...