I’ve been in the GMI program full time for less than a week and I’m already pleased to be learning exactly what I’ve been looking forward to. The GMI program drew me because of the emphases on needs finding and the design process. These were the focuses of our first two days in Costa Rica! I’ll talk about needs finding in this blog.
On Thursday, we traveled to the regional hospital in the target province for the DialOasis project in order to get up to speed. The goal of the project is to provide a way for peritoneal dialysis patients to complete dialysis at home in order to increase quality of life and reduce the load of patients in the regional hospital. Previous GMI students have designed and prototyped an isolated room that includes what is needed for dialysis and can be set up in a patient’s home.
First, we got our hands on the prototype and the whole GMI team tried to assemble it with only a picture for reference. From that exercise, we could see design criteria which have been met or remain to be addressed. Afterward, we discussed and it was neat to see how our ideas complemented each other.
Once we were familiar with the prototype, we needed a more complete understanding of the dialysis situation in the target region in order to truly find needs. We headed to the regional hospital and spoke with the doctors in the dialysis unit. A nurse even showed us the dialysis procedure as performed in the hospital setting. Talking with the people who deal day in and day out with the issue DialOasis aims to address helped me understand their perspective. Some of the issues they emphasized were surprising to me. Reflecting now, I realize that needs finding relies on data and experiences; in order to identify the actual need, I must focus on the user’s perspective (whether that user be a patient, clinician, caregiver, or another party). Another advantage I can see to designing with the user in mind is that that the solution will be specialized and effectively address the need.I hope to continue practicing needs finding and improving my skills.
In the meantime, we had some fun during our first weekend in Costa Rica. On Saturday, we met Luis, a previous GMI graduate, and had a workday in his house. Like a lot of buildings here, his living room is a hybrid of inside and outside. While we listened to lectures, researched on laptops, and practiced needs finding and design principles, the birds sang and the rain poured behind us outside. I was focused the whole day and learned a ton – what a fun environment to hold class in! Sunday was a rest day and I went to La Paz Waterfall Gardens with a group. We had a lovely time taking in the incredible works of nature and relaxing together!
I’m looking forward to the design focus of next week!
