Digital Commons Network^™

Debate On Physician Assisted Suicide, Sara Pires

Academic Festival

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has been a widely debated topic over the last couple of decades. There are many various ways of completing PAS, there is active, passive, voluntary, involuntary, or non-voluntary. There are other end of life approaches, including hospice and palliative care in order to prevent the patient from choosing to end their life pre-maturely. This is a very controversial topic and many people disagree with whether or not people have the right to choose to die, or if physicians even have the right to provide or administer a drug that can induce death. The government and legalization also …

Promoting Health With The Distribution Of An Improved Water Source To The Indigenous Population In Rural Guatemala In Collaboration With Idc Missions, Dayna Cardona, Jennifer Duran, Laina Iuele, Erin Kearns, Cynthia Louro, Allison Rotondo, Megan Sirois

Academic Festival

Our community project consisted of the education and distribution of an improved water source to the indigenous population of rural Guatemala in collaboration with Iglesia Del Camino (IDC) missions. This water source proves to be economically efficient for the indigenous population because the filter can last between 7-10 years if properly taken care of. Due to the lack of clean water and the financial burden of purchasing filtered water, IDC missions has created an easy to use water filter that will allow the people of Guatemala to create their own clean water source. Background: The average Guatemalan family, containing 4 …

Death And Dying: Deciding Between Hospice And Palliative Care, Kelly Castro

Academic Festival

Title: Death and Dying: Deciding Between Hospice and Palliative Care

Author: Kelly Castro

Purpose: Provide education on death and dying to family members as they navigate through this time specifically differentiating between hospice and palliative care.

Background: After spending several weeks on an oncology unit it was discovered that many patients and family members are ill informed about their options at end of life. They are often confused about the differences between hospice and palliative care. It is a difficult time for families and it is essential to provide all the necessary information to decide upon a plan of care. …

Quality Nurse Scheduling, Alaina Silveri, Emily Jones, Hissah Al Karam

Academic Festival

The nurse-scheduling problem has fascinated mathematicians, computer scientists, and nursing professionals alike for years. The aim of this project is to create a website that will schedule nursing shifts in a fair and humane way. The website will allow nurse managers to create a schedule that considers the wants and needs of all staff members. The website will be easily modifiable with an understandable user-interface. The scheduling mechanism used will factor in personal preferences such as time off and shift requests. The schedule will also ensure that nurses do not work consecutive shifts and that there is a fair distribution …

Svmc Emergency Department Handoff Reinforcement Using Sbar, Casey Culkin

Academic Festival

Communication is a key component to successful patient outcomes in the hospital. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement to help streamline communication between healthcare professionals developed a widely used communication tool, known as SBAR. SBAR stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation and is used to give a concise picture of a patient. This project is implemented for St. Vincent’s Medical Center Emergency Department to reinforce the use of SBAR, a tool in which the hospital is already committed to. The hope is that by reinforcing teaching and reminding nurses of the importance of effective communication, patient safety and satisfaction will …

A Teaching Tool For Nurses: Pediatric Sepsis, Trevor Guerrera

Academic Festival

The implemented project is a teaching tool for nurses on pediatric sepsis that will serve as a reminder of the unique characteristics of this critical condition; this tool also serves as a discharge reference for patients and parents of patients leaving the emergency department. The Stamford Hospital Emergency Department has a sepsis protocol in place for septic patients above 17 years old, but through evaluation of the unit’s resources, they lack pediatric specific sepsis information. Pediatric sepsis is life-threatening and needs to be recognized early to prevent irreversible damage or death. Children experiencing sepsis present differently than adult patients and …

Improving Nurse Driven Initiation And Adherence To Sepsis Protocol Within Bridgeport Hospital's Emergency Department, Gabriella Iadevaia

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Gender On Depression Rates In Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients, Laura Donato

Academic Festival

Background:

Depression is one of the most predominant mental disorders among the Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) population. After an acute myocardial infarction, patients are three times more likely to suffer with depression than the general population, but the correlation between gender and depression rates has not yet been established.

Purpose:

To evaluate and compare the scoring of the psychosocial assessment questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), between males and females among CR patients as well as detect and examine trends in CR patient depressive symptoms between the genders to gain a better understanding of CR patient’s needs for psychosocial services. …

"I Can See!": A Health Promotion Project To Improve Quality Of Life In Jamaican Communities, Gabriella Iadevaia

Academic Festival

Sacred Heart University’s nursing students of the undergraduate and graduate level, along with the University’s faculty and community healthcare providers travel to Kingston, Jamaica annually to provide medical care to impoverished populations. During this one-week clinical experience, a health promotion project that students focus on is testing the population for hyperopia, dispensing reading glasses, and observing the conditions that may be leading to various visual conditions in the Caribbean. As the project began two years ago with much success, plans for expansion to improve visual impairments in the population served include early interventions for cataract prevention, continual dispensing of reading …

Enhancing The Student Community Nursing Experience Through Participation In A Domestic Medical Mission Immersion, Cathryn Nancy Spears

Academic Festival

Domestic clinical immersion experiences provide nursing students with the opportunity to serve the community in which they reside in. The purpose of this research poster is to explore Sacred Heart University College of Nursing students’ perceptions about the Medical Mission @ Home event, a domestic clinical immersion experience in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A nine question survey was sent to the participants asking them various questions about their overall experience of the event. Overall, the results displayed that the students had a positive experience, in which 100% of the twenty six students who participated in the survey would recommend the Medical Mission …

Understanding And Managing The Symptoms Of Chemo Brain In Oncology Patients, Christina Masciale

Academic Festival

The presentation titled “Preventing and Managing the Symptoms of Chemo Brain in Oncology Patients,” will provide education for health care providers on possible ways to prevent the onset of chemo brain in oncology patients, but also minimize the effects of chemo brain. Additionally, it is important to address what chemo brain is, certain risk factors, symptoms, when to see a doctor, current studies and complications of experiencing the condition. The goal of this presentation is to bring more awareness to the condition of chemo brain so health care professionals can intervene and educate patients correctly. Many patients who experience chemo …

Bottlenose Dolphins Mom-Calf Interactions Over The First And Second Year Of Life, Samantha King, Rebecca E. Bolmer, Amanda J. Buongiorno, Makayla S. Dole, Casey C. Minogue

Academic Festival

As both wild and captive dolphin calves develop, they spend less time with their mothers and more time engaged in independent activities. In this study, the social development of six captive dolphin calves (Tursiops truncatus) were examined over the first and second year of life. Focal animal behavioral ethogram data were collected using a 30 second scan sampling technique. The predominant swim position and individual behaviors were recorded. There were a number of general developmental patterns: (1) an increase in the percentage of time that the calves engaged in solo swimming, (2) a decrease in infant position, and (3) a …

Interventions To Decrease Non-Actionable Patient Alarms On The Telemetry Unit, Alyssa Mickalauskas

Academic Festival

Abstract

The goal of this project is to facilitate nurses’ duties throughout the unit in order to provide faster, more efficient patient care in the clinical setting while also increasing patient safety and outcomes. This teaching tool will provide nurses, assistive personnel, and other staff on the telemetry with proper techniques for applying and maintaining cardiac monitors. Non-actionable patient alarms create false readings of abnormal patient conditions that offset alarms and take attention away from clinically significant alarms that require immediate medical interventions. The targeted audience included the staff on the Progressive Care Unit/Telemetry Unit at Norwalk Hospital. Patient satisfaction …

Trends In Exercise And Listening Habits Of The Sacred Heart University Community, Haily E. Reatherford, Gianna N. Bordieri, Danielle A. Vigliarolo, Gabriella Messina

Academic Festival

Loud sound levels from the environment can potentially cause permanent damage to the delicate cells inside the hearing organ, the cochlea playing a crucial role in the hearing mechanism.

We recommended that trends in exercise and listening habits of the Sacred Heart University community universally change in order to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. Recommendations for safe use of personal listening devices during workouts include keeping volume at a safe level, below 85 dB(A), and limiting time spent using the device during workouts.

Multimodal Analgesia: Optimizing Perioperative Pain Management, Cynthia Louro

Academic Festival

Multimodal pain management is the action of utilizing at least two different medication classes mechanisms in conjunction with non-pharamacologic measures in order to optimize pain relief.

Introduction: This teaching tool will be used to educate nurses on the use of Multimodal medications prior and after surgical procedures. With the recent increase in opioid prescription abuse, multimodal medications should be a first-line option utilized to help manage pain with minimal or no opioids throughout the operative process.

Background: Pain after a surgical procedure is common and is often expected. Common Multimodal Analgesia Regimens include Acetaminophen, NSAIDs, COX-2 selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, …

Educating Indigenous Populations In Rural Guatamala About Menstrual Hygiene Management In Collaboration With Days For Girls International, Molly Barker, Alicia Buynovsky, Stefanie Falcone, Julia Gonfiantini, Allison Johnston, Meghan Liquindoli

Academic Festival

Authors: Molly Barker, Alicia Buynovsky, Stefanie Falcone, Julia Gonfiantini, Allison Johnston, and Meghan Liquindoli, Sacred Heart University College of Nursing

Abstract: Background: Menstrual hygiene management is an essential component of health and wellness in women and adolescent girls between menarche and menopause. Through research and community assessments, it is evident that in the indigenous populations of rural Guatemala, there is a lack of sexual education during the adolescent years. Community assessment: Young girls in Guatemala lack the knowledge and resources they need to safely care for and understand their bodies. The phases of puberty, safe sex education, reproduction, …

Seeds Of Trauma In Sterile Soil, Maurice Rodriguez

Academic Festival

This work is an analysis of trauma in contemporary American literature. It specifically examines Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye".

From Kingdom Come, Cory Robinson

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

A Guide To Parent-Infant Bonding In The Neonatal Icu, Laina Iuele

Academic Festival

A GUIDE TO BONDING IN THE NEONATAL ICU

Authors: Laina Iuele

Advisor: Dr. Eileen Yost

iuelel@mail.sacredheart.edu, yoste@sacredheart.edu

Abstract

My capstone project was designed to educate and promote parent-infant bonding in the Neonatal ICU (NICU) at Greenwich Hospital. When a newborn is admitted to the NICU, often the natural bonding that occurs after birth, between mother and baby, is interrupted. This time for the newborn is crucial as the attachment process is essential for the growth and development of the infant. Bonding has numerous benefits for the newborn, especially those who require extra care in the NICU. Providing a pamphlet …