Necessity isn’t the only mother of invention. Nursing is, too.

That is, if the stories of two nursing students are any indication. Both were inspired to take their studies a little bit further and fill needs they didn’t even know existed when they started school. And now they may see a little profit on the side as a result.

A smartphone that prevents MRSA’s spread
Not too surprisingly, Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.) student Laura Pipkin wasn’t even thinking about the possibility of making money when she came up with the idea for a smart phone application that could help slow the spread of the MRSA virus. She was just part of a team working on a case study focusing on the stubborn, antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria.

The Accelerated BSN student’s app helps nurses protect themselves and their patients by showing them the proper steps to take to screen for the condition and what to do when tests come up positive.

The advertising exec-turned-nursing student says she hopes to profit not by making money off her app, but by impressing future employers.

“I’m already thinking ahead to graduation and going to job interviews. My hope is that the app will help me stand out,” a story on the Queens University Web site quoted her as saying.

Like Pipkin, Tanya Mikkelson developed her invention to help her with classwork, but she has higher aspirations for her brainchild.

Nursing-procedure simulators
Mikkelson, a Licensed Practical Nursing student at Tri County Technical College in Easley, SC, initially came up with the idea for a kit that would allow students to practice their clinical skills away from school because she was worried about her performance during lab check-offs. Whenever she had to tackle a new procedure, she developed a new simulator so she could practice at home. By the time she was through she had created a range of low fidelity simulators ranging for procedures ranging from tracheotomies and injections to nasogastric tube insertion and wound care, which now form the basis for her kit.

When she learned that instructors were as interested in the kit as her fellow students, she created her own company, SimuMed, to market the product, according to the local business newspaper, GSA Business. She’s already received a provisional patent for the kit, sold 92 to Tri-County’s nursing department and has had other colleges around the state express interest in buying them for the upcoming school year.

Thanks to her invention, Mikkelson may not have to worry about job hunting as much as her peers, but that hasn’t stopped the mother of three from continuing her education. The ex-paramedic and patient care technician-turned-LPN student plans to continue pursuing her degree even as she works on expanding her product line and adding an instructional DVD to the kits.