A Solution Waiting to Happen
How a 2015 nursing informatics thesis illustrated a modern healthcare IT solution
What happens when you transform academic nursing research into a design concept? The DRNE Dashboard project demonstrates how evidence-based research can become user-centered design proposals that address real healthcare challenges waiting to be solved.
Published Research Thesis
DRNE: Bridging the gap between Nurses and Information Technology Specialists
DRNE = Digital RN Experience Interactive Dashboard
Tamara Baird | Purdue Global (Kaplan University), 2015
Read the full paper on SSRN →The Problem Space
In 2015, when I surveyed nurses across four hospitals about their experiences with newly implemented Electronic Health Records (EHR), one response crystallized the core issue: "You can tell that a nurse didn't design this program!"
This wasn't just about technology frustration. It was about patient safety. When IT ticketing systems fail nurses, patients pay the price. The research revealed several critical pain points:
Invisible Progress
Nurses had no way to track ticket status or know who was working on their issues
Language Barrier
"We do not speak EHR IT" - clinical and technical staff spoke different professional languages
False Resolutions
Tickets marked "resolved" when problems persisted, eroding trust in IT support
Zero Accountability
No contact information, no timeline, no updates - just hope and frustration
Research-Driven Design
The original thesis wasn't just theoretical - it included extensive user research that forms the foundation of this UX project:
Qualitative Interviews
Conducted interviews with nurses across multiple hospital systems to understand pain points
Literature Review
Analyzed time-motion studies showing nurses spend 35% of their time on documentation - more than direct patient care
Theoretical Framework
Applied Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory and King's Theory of Goal Attainment
Solution Design
Proposed the DRNE (Digital RN Experience) Dashboard as a bridge between clinical and IT teams
Research Insights by the Numbers
The Design Concept
I transformed that academic research into a design proposal for what the DRNE Dashboard could be. This concept addresses every pain point identified in the original research through thoughtful UX/UI design:
Key Features
Real-Time Visibility
Live ticket tracking with status updates, assigned specialists, and progress indicators
Clear Accountability
Every ticket shows who's working on it, their contact information, and expected resolution time
Activity Feed
Transparent communication through timestamped updates and comment threads
Priority System
Color-coded urgency levels ensure patient-critical issues get immediate attention
Design Principles
The interface was built on healthcare-specific design principles:
Clarity Over Complexity: Healthcare professionals need information fast. The dashboard uses scannable layouts and clear visual hierarchy.
Accessibility First: WCAG AA compliant color contrasts and readable font sizes - directly addressing the research finding about unreadable EHR screens.
Professional Trust: A clean, modern aesthetic that builds credibility in clinical environments.
Ready to Build This
This project demonstrates something crucial for UX designers: the best products are built on solid research foundations. By starting with genuine user needs identified through systematic research, the DRNE Dashboard concept isn't just another ticketing system idea—it's a thoroughly researched solution designed specifically for the unique challenges of healthcare IT support.
The journey from 2015 thesis to this design proposal shows how nursing informatics research translates directly into product design skills: user research, problem identification, evidence-based design, healthcare domain knowledge, and the ability to bridge communication gaps between different professional groups.
This solution is ready to be built. The research is done. The user needs are documented. The design principles are established. What's needed now is the right healthcare organization ready to invest in improving nurse-IT communication and, ultimately, patient safety.
Let's Build This Together
Interested in bringing the DRNE Dashboard to your healthcare organization?