Today we started the day at the School of Engineering, where we visited one of the research groups working in the labs. They gave us a presentation about a wheelchair they were developing that used sensors to track a patient’s center of mass. It was really interesting to see how engineering and healthcare can work together to improve patient mobility and safety. Seeing projects like that has made me realize how much innovation goes into patient care behind the scenes.
After that, we started the day’s activities with some exercises meant to warm up our brains and get us thinking creatively. One activity involved drawing how we see ourselves now versus where we see ourselves in ten years. I am definitely not an artist, so I made mine a little silly, but it ended up being a really fun activity. It was interesting hearing everyone talk about their goals and future aspirations.
Once we finished the warm-up activities, we split into our groups to continue working on our presentations and design projects. My group focused on patient transfer and safety. As we worked together, we identified several issues healthcare workers face when moving patients from bed to bed, especially problems involving back pain for the workers and stability concerns for the patients. To help address those challenges, we designed a device that included a transfer board with a track system, along with supportive headgear to improve both patient safety and caregiver comfort. After brainstorming and designing the idea, we built a small model of it out of clay and eventually presented it to the class. I think our presentation went really well, and it felt really nice to create something that could maybe help improve patient care in the future.
After cleaning up our projects, we headed over to the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Art museums are not usually my favorite thing, but it was still really cool getting to walk through and see all the different pieces they had on display. My favorite part was definitely seeing a painting by Andy Warhol. Overall, today was a really fun mix of creativity and innovation!