Contributor: Olivia Lemberger, PhD, RN, NPD-BC
Innovation Scientist for the American Nurses Enterprise
I recently went on a birding trip, a recreational trip where you observe and identify birds in their natural environment. I do not consider myself a birder, but I was intrigued to learn more about birds after hearing a story about a pigeon named Cher Ami. In 1918, Cher Ami was one of 600 Army Signal Corps pigeons sent to France to assist with communication during World War I. Under the command of Major Charles Whittlesey, the 77th Division became trapped behind German lines while navigating the Argonne Forest. Maj. Whittlesey wrote a final desperate message: “We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it” (Larsen n.d.). He attached the note to Cher Ami’s leg and released the bird into the sky. The message carried by Cher Ami saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers. Cher Ami was awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm by the French government and was honored again in 2019 with the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery.
During the birding trip, we were all asked to share our spark bird – the bird that first sparked our interest in birding. Several birders shared spark birds with a wide array of colors (e.g., scarlet macaw, crimson rosella), birds with unique sounds (e.g., goldfinch, wood thrush), and birds that were rarely seen (e.g., loggerhead shrike, golden pheasant). When it was my turn to share, I stated pigeon. Let’s just say I received a cacophony of exasperated sighs.
The spark bird question led me to consider a question related to my current focus as an innovation scientist: Who is my spark innovator, the innovator who first sparked my interest in innovation? I worked in the Emergency Department as a nurse for over 10 years before I learned that it was Anita Dorr, an ED nurse, who innovated the crash cart. Anita had an extraordinary nursing career. She was the co-founder of the Emergency Nurses Association, a champion for professional development, and a health equity activist. After becoming increasingly frustrated at routinely collecting supplies for critical patients, Anita and her husband John prototyped the first crisis cart, now known as the crash cart, in their garage.
Anita’s innovation is an exemplar of the theory “Power as Knowing Participation in Change“, developed by Elizabeth A.M. Barrett, centered on power-as-freedom. The four qualities that define power include awareness, choices, the freedom to act intentionally, and involvement in creating change (Barrett, 2003). There are existing synergies between healthcare environments that support cultures of change and the cultivation of innovative ideas. As Anita Dorr role-modeled in her innovation of the crash cart, our power as nurses is our capacity to knowingly participate in change.
I didn’t know it at the time, but Anita’s innovative journey would profoundly alter my life. After learning about her innovation, I embarked on a curiosity expedition to see if Anita existed in isolation or if other nurses like her were using innovation as a methodology, practice, or behavior to advance our profession. I discovered so many stories of nurse-led innovation that I decided to curate an open-access repository, the Nurse Innovator Index so that others could learn about the transformative contributions of nurse innovators, entrepreneurs, and scientists.
The pigeon, Cher Ami, saved many lives. Anita Dorr’s innovation, the crash cart, continues to save lives. The gravity of their innovative contributions and unique talents transcend generations, geographic locations, and time. What are your unique talents? What are some of the ideas that you have been thinking about? What might be possible if you shared your talents and ideas with the world?
Cher Ami means dear friend. Although I have never met Anita Dorr, I consider her a dear friend. I consider Anita a dear friend because she positively changed the trajectory of my life. I recently visited the Emergency Nurses Association headquarters after hearing that Anita’s crash cart is prominently on display. Standing before the crash cart, I was humbled by its brilliance and simplicity. I will never be able to thank Anita in person, so I would like to take this opportunity to offer a collective thank you to the innovative nurses past, present, and future. Thank you for your bold ideas, generosity of spirit, and the legacy of your wisdom. Your imagination continues to transform and inspire our global healthcare ecosystem.
In order to build the healthcare ecosystem we all want to work in, we must imagine it first.
References
Barrett, E. A. M. (2003). A measure of power as knowing participation in change. In O. L. Strickland &
C. Dilorio, (Eds.), Measurement of nursing outcomes (Vol. 3: Self care and coping, pp. 21-39). New York: Springer.
Jezierski M. (1996). Anita Dorr: her legacy to ENA. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 22(3), 258–260.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0099-1767(96)80129-2
Larsen, E. (n.d.). National Museum United States Army. Cher Ami 77th Division 1918-1919.
https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/cher-ami/
Lemberger, O. (2020). Nurse Innovator Index. https://nurseinnovatorindex.com/
Mims, K. Y. (2015). First Foot Forward. ENA Connection.
https://www.enaconnection-digital.org/enaconnection/april_2015/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1053481#articleId1053481
New York State Emergency Nurses Association. (n.d.) Honoring the legacy of Anita Dorr, RN, FAEN.
Emergency Nursing Innovator. https://nysena.org/library/news_archive/2021/211025.html
Smithsonian. (n.d.) National Museum of American History. Cher Ami.
https://www.si.edu/object/cher-ami%3Anmah_425415
About Olivia Lemberger
Olivia is the Innovation Scientist for the American Nurses Enterprise. As a nurse scientist Olivia continues to celebrate and role model nurses who question the status quo, adopt divergent thinking strategies, leverage evidence-based research, and explore innovative solutions to address existing disparities. For all nurses to thrive in the healthcare ecosystem Olivia embraces liberatory design strategies that create conditions for self-awareness, equity, creative courage, and collective liberation.