Key people involved in the project
Organisation: London NTS
Christopher Kelly, Syed Mohinuddin
Motivation
The idea came about after a difficult neonatal resuscitation situation in my first paediatric ST1 job, where I became somewhat overwhelmed and couldn’t think clearly. I wanted to avoid this happening in the future, both for me and for others, and so NeoMate was born.
Plan
Specific: to create a smartphone app to help with common calculations, concise reference information and easy-to-follow checklists for common emergency situations.
Measurable: to create an accurate and safe app, launch it onto the app stores, and for people to enjoy using it.
Attainable: free time was the main constraint on this project!
Relevant: the NeoMate project was very relevant to everything in my paediatric job.
Time bound: I wanted this to be ready as soon as possible, for me to use in my job – i.e. within a few months.
Progress since introducing the idea
The app is released on iPhone and Android, and has been downloaded over 60,000 times.
What we have learned
I’ve learned that even simple apps take a huge amount of time to create, and to maintain. Apps that involve crucial calculations need to be 100% correct – the amount of effort required to ensure this is much greater than you would ever initially imagine.
Take home message
Despite the hurdles, the project has been a huge amount of fun and very satifying. If nothing else, NeoMate has certainly made me safer at work in a stressful situation.