April Meeting Highlights: Empowering Nurses in the Digital Age
NPEC - Nurse Policy Entrepreneur Community
At April's Café, we were excited to welcome Lincoln Gombedza, MSc—an award-winning Registered Learning Disability Nurse, citizen developer, and digital health advocate—who delivered a powerful presentation on how nurses can shape the future of healthcare as innovators and digital solution creators.
🎥 If you missed the session, you can catch the full recording here:
👉 Watch the April Café
Drawing on his work within the NHS, Lincoln showcased how tools like Microsoft Power Platform, Replit, and AI assistants are making it possible for nurses to build apps that directly improve patient care—no traditional coding required. From discharge planning tools to vaccine reminders, Lincoln reminded us that innovation starts with the people who understand patients best: nurses.
Key Takeaways:
- Nurses can be builders, not just users, of healthcare technology—leveraging no-code and low-code tools to create real solutions.
- Digital literacy is an essential nursing leadership skill in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare environment.
- AI should support—not replace—nurses, freeing us from repetitive tasks to focus on meaningful patient care.
- Nurse involvement is critical in ensuring ethical, patient-centered AI and data governance.
- We need to create space and resources to support nurses in developing their digital and policy advocacy skills.
As we reflect on the session and look ahead, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Here are a few questions to continue the conversation:
- What barriers have you encountered—or do you anticipate—in developing digital skills or engaging with AI tools in your nursing practice?
- How can nursing education and leadership better prepare the workforce to lead in healthcare innovation and digital policy?
- What role should nurses play in designing and testing new digital tools and AI systems?
- How can we ensure nurses across different regions and healthcare systems have equitable access to digital training and resources?
- What would a “nurse-led” digital transformation look like in your workplace or community?