Coding for caregivers

When Dr. Mary Sawyer was earning her nursing degree 20 years ago, the only way she could keep track of her clinical hours, learned skills, and test scores was on a piece of paper that supervisors needed to sign, adding one more hassle to an already stressful time. 

Now, as she develops the curriculum for Western Colorado University’s new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, she’s working with three seniors in the Computer Science department to save the next generation of nurses the trouble of maintaining a paper trail. 

As part of their senior capstone project, Corbin Hastings, Izzy Coppola, and Morgan May are developing a web-based application designed to help nursing students track clinical and simulation hours, document skills, and meet the requirements needed for graduation. 

“Back when [Dr. Sawyer] was a student, it was a piece of paper, and they would get it signed to prove, yes, we were here this day. It was kind of hard to keep track of what hours they were actually hitting,” May said. “So they just wanted a more streamlined way for students to be able to really quickly show, ‘I've done these hours, I have these skills,’ and it's all in one place for them.”

The platform allows users to enter hours, log skills, and submit records for approval through a secure digital system. Instructors and supervisors can then review and approve students’ submissions, adding a layer of accountability beyond just a signature on a piece of paper.

Each of the students had to apply their own expertise, with Hastings, who is double-majoring in Computer Science and Math, contributing to the data science aspects of the project, May managing client communication and project planning while leaning on her information security background, and Coppola, who is minoring in art, handling much of the user experience and design work. 

“One of the things they talked about when they pitched the project was wanting an approval system that’s more than just a signature on a piece of paper,” Hastings said. “For the students, it's more of, how can we make the time entry process as smooth as possible.”

Starting in the third week of the semester, they divided the project into three “sprints,” requiring 15 to 20 hours per sprint for each person, to design the entire system from the ground up, starting on the student side and working toward the instructor interface and administrative functions, while addressing approval workflows, security, and mobile-friendly features.

With several weeks left in the semester, they’d already completed their main objectives and were working on some “stretch goals” for the site. “It's usable, but not beautiful,” Coppola said. “We want it to be beautiful.”

Working with Sawyer throughout the project, the team learned how to translate non-technical needs into a technical product and communicate across disciplines, from Computer Science to Nursing, and vice versa.

“I think I’ve learned to communicate better,” May said. “And it made me realize working in computer science is much more team-based and involved than I thought.” 

Sawyer said the partnership has given the nursing program a solution that will help students securely track progress while helping instructors and clinical supervisors, known as preceptors, understand what skills students have been approved to perform, supporting both efficiency and patient safety.

“The website will give students a secure way to keep track of skills and hours,” Sawyer said. “This has been a great experience. The students are very knowledgeable and have been able to provide what we need.”

For Hastings, the project offered him a valuable opportunity to work in a dynamic environment, develop a plan, and see it through as he heads into the workforce. 

“I think giving us the opportunity to work in an actual, ‘agile’ environment is super important,” he said, “you're already a big step ahead.”

For more information about studying computer science or nursing at Western, visit western.edu.

Seth Mensing is the media and communications manager at Western Colorado University.