Most new ideas and businesses arise from a problem, where the entrepreneur looks toward solving it using a novel solution. My story is no different. It all began with one incident…
The Incident Which Started It All
My morning as the theatre deputy manager began as usual. We had planned two hip replacement surgeries and two knee arthroscopies, to be performed by our orthopaedic consultant of the day, Dr. Luis.
“Good morning, Fabio. Are we ready to start? I am in a rush this morning. I have to leave midday as I have clinic at another hospital in the afternoon,” he sighed.
‘Not even close to ready,’ I thought. The agency nurse I had booked for his list had not arrived yet.
Just then my phone rang. It was the receptionist informing me a nurse was looking for me.
“Don’t worry, Dr. Luis, I will make sure your list will finish on time today. Shyla, the agency nurse I booked, has just arrived. She will help you with the hip replacement. Michael is off sick today.”
“Just make sure they know what to do. I really need to be quick today,” he replied.
“Of course. Only the best for you,” I assured him. But it was a promise I did not know I could keep. Apart from her name, I did not know anything about Shyla.
I had booked her two days ago because Michael, the orthopaedic lead, had called off sick. I had to cover the list to avoid any cancellations; with so little time, I had no other option but to search for an agency nurse. I had to call three different agencies and subsequently had to wait 6 hours before only one called back. They had found a nurse with skills in major orthopaedic cases, but did not provide me with any other information, even when I requested her CV. It made me uneasy that all I would know upon her arrival was her badge—and that was not very reassuring.
Shyla was a kind-hearted nurse and agreed to scrub for the first surgery during the morning team briefing. I left them to start working on their list, while I moved on to my admin tasks. However, an hour later, I was beckoned to the theatre room—only to find a frustrated, angry Dr. Luis.
“I told you I wanted someone who knows how to do a hip replacement,” he fumed. He pointed to Shyla, “She is a gynaecological scrub nurse. She has only worked on one hip replacement. This will slow me down and I won’t finish the list on time.”
Despite the face mask, it was obvious Shyla was embarrassed and apologetic from the disclosure. I decided to step in and help Shyla out in order to ensure Dr. Luis would finish on time and the patient was safe. The procedures went well and we finished half an hour early.
The Hospital’s Perspective
“Thanks for your help, Fabio. That went well,” Dr. Luis declared later. “But why did you book a gynaecological nurse?”
“I didn’t! I should have double-checked…but how?”
I explained to him the poor process involved in hiring an agency nurse, as well as how expensive it was for the hospital. I also told him about my app idea to book nurses without agency involvement, making the whole process cheaper and better for hospitals and nurses alike. Hospitals would save thousands of pounds from agency fees, which could then go towards buying new equipment or increasing bed space capacity in wards.
Dr. Luis liked the idea so much, he wanted to invest in it. “It will have a big impact on everyone; most importantly, the patients will be treated by nurses and doctors with the right skills.”
The Nurse’s Perspective
In order to create a user-friendly, fresh, innovative and powerful app, I decided to conduct market research. What were the problems agency nurses faced that Rohme could solve?
“The agency called me three times while my wife and I were trying to make a baby,” a colleague humorously voiced the frustration locums faced. Agencies incessantly chased locums, regardless of their schedules.
To find out what had gone wrong earlier, I contacted Shyla as well, who was now inspired by her shift work with me to continue working on major orthopaedic cases. She explained that, although she specialised in gynaecology, she had worked on minor ortho cases, but did not have adequate experience with hip replacements. The agency had not provided her with any information and she only learned about the type of case during the morning briefing.
“Had I known earlier, I would not have accepted the job and it was too late for me to back out that morning.”
It seemed agencies would send locums who did not fully match the criteria because the agency focused solely on making a profit. They would provide very little information about the job and expect the nurse to immediately confirm acceptance of the job. Without anything else scheduled that day, the nurse had little choice but to accept, as she had bills to pay as well.
Shyla loved my app idea, the possibility of shift-work transparency, where she could see a list of jobs, check all the details and then decide which ones to apply for, thrilled her. She also liked the idea that the app would match her profile with the right job once she listed previous experience, skills, certificates and mandatory training. Ward managers could even browse through profiles and choose the right candidate for the job by sending out invitations.
“How will I know when I have matched with a job?” Shyla asked.
“You will get a notification, like when you get a match on Tinder,” I explained.
“How do you know I am on Tinder?” she laughed. “So, your app is like Tinder for nurses. You match people for job experience ‘dates.’”
I then inquired about another problem agency nurses faced: getting paid. Shyla described the long-winded process. She first filled out a paper timesheet and then chased the ward manager to sign it. Often, the ward manager would leave before her shift was finished. She would then either have to return another day just for the signature or find another senior staff member to sign on the ward manager’s behalf. Next, she would have to send a photo of the signed timesheet to the agency, who would then invoice the hospital. She would often not know when her payment would come in and would chase up the agency for it.
My solution to this was simple: an electronic timesheet via the app. All it would take is a click of a button to get approval from the ward manager. It then automatically transfers the timesheet to the hospital's finance department and the payment’s status will be trackable by the locum at any time.
The Big Picture
My motivation to become a nurse started with one person: my grandfather. When I was 14 years old, he was diagnosed with cancer. I spent the next several months by his side, taking care of him as his health deteriorated.
As my face covered with tears, my grandfather smiled, ““I fought in World War II and I am still here. Do you think I can’t win this battle? Whatever happens, I will always be with you.”
It was his last battle. The only one he could not win.
Four years later, I joined the Nursing University in Rome. As a nurse, my priority has always been helping patients like my grandfather fight battles in the hospital. From helping one man to helping several patients, I now want to have an even bigger impact on society. I want to be an indispensable part of the healthcare ecosystem. The Rohme app is a disruptor, not just for my ward or for my hospital, but for the entire healthcare industry.