Digital Commons Network^™

Issues Of Racist Quality Of Care In Maternal Healthcare, Victoria Huggan

Academic Festival

This paper addresses the concern of racial disparities in maternal healthcare diving into the socioeconomic status of people entering medical school, and the ethics of the Hippocratic Oath that physicians have to take before fully becoming a doctor. In this paper, the United States' maternal and newborn rates of morbidity are compared to other countries. The author illustrates improvements that can be done by the United States' healthcare system due to this issue.

Immigrants: Barriers To Care, Nikisha Hamal

Academic Festival

Socioeconomic barriers to accessing and receiving health services contributes to poor health outcomes experienced by immigrants. The purpose of the project is to discover individual and structural barriers facing the immigrants in the United States to access and utilize health care services. It presents an immigrant patient who was seen at the primary clinical practice, discusses differential diagnoses, and formulates final diagnoses with comprehensive treatment plan. The theoretical framework includes Roy’s adaptation model (RAM) from Sister Callista Roy to answer the research question: What are the effects of social determinants of health as a barrier on immigrants’ access to and …

Animal-Assisted Therapy In Medical Settings: Benefits And Limitations, Angelina Failla

Academic Festival

Animal-Assisted Therapy is a widely growing medical practice that utilizes animals in therapeutic settings. This form of therapy has numerous health benefits on the physical and mental welfare of people, and it can be practiced in many ways to suit their individual needs. However, what many tend to forget is that the welfare of the animals must also be prioritized. Also, despite the growing research on the subject, there's still plenty of areas where the research can be improved. With both the pros and the cons in mind, it's important to come up with new solutions, backed by academic evidence …

Antibiotic Stewardship For Asymptomatic Bacteriuria In Long-Term Care, Laura Giovannoli

Academic Festival

Evidence review supports the need for a nursing decision-making aid to assist frontline nurses in identifying urinary tract infections versus asymptomatic bacteriuria for patients in long-term care. Findings in studies by Pulia et al. (2018) and Doernberg et al. (2015) concur regarding the high rate of inappropriate antibiotic treatment for misdiagnosed UTIs and the need for improved antibiotic stewardship. This DNP project addresses the problem of inappropriate antibiotic use and antimicrobial stewardship in patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria in the long-term care setting. The decision-making tool used was the Suspected UTI SBAR form which follows McGeer criteria (Stone et al., 2012) …

The Role Of Gender In Medical Professionals: Analysis Of Nurse Practitioners (Np), Physician Assistant (Pa), And Medical Doctor (Md), Alana Dolcemascolo

Academic Festival

Abstract

Health care professions are constantly changing and evolving to create the most efficient medical administration possible in the United States. There has been a lack of medical doctors (MDs) since the 1960s, therefore, the community established the addition of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs). Both of these professions require additional schooling but in comparison to medical school, it is not as long or expensive. These professionals have similar privileges in health care settings and often treat patients in the same way. The prevalence of stereotypes can influence the perception of these jobs. Historically, there have been more …

Infertility And The Ethics Of In Vitro Fertilization, Morgan A. Voulo

Academic Festival

Cases of women struggling from the realities of infertility date back to the beginning of time. In the early days of human existence, a man was seen as the head of household and was responsible for performing manual labor, hunting, and providing for his family. On the other hand, the role of women was to bear children and take care of the homestead. Since these were the roles that became so engrained in society, the ability of a woman to bear a child became that much more important. The importance of producing children took a major emotional toll on women …

Yes, Physician Assisted Suicide Is Ethical, Nicole Wilson

Academic Festival

This paper will discuss why physician assisted suicide is considered ethical, while also touching upon and debunking the beliefs that it is not ethical. Throughout this paper I will discuss not only ethical principles and concepts but also the laws and history surrounding this topic. This paper will answer the the question "how physician assisted suicide can be considered ethical?" rather than the question of "is physician assisted suicide ethical?".

The Real Difference Between Long-Term Injury And Disability In Athletes, Taylor Alviar

Academic Festival

In athletics, is there an equivalence between a disability and a serious long-term injury? Both prevent an athlete from competing based on a particular disability, temporary or permanent. Wouldn’t an equivalence between the two diminish the nature of a disability or alter the nature and meritocracy of a sport? Some may say that the two conditions are equivalent because both an individual with a disability and an individual with a long-term injury cannot perform in their sports at what most people would consider “one-hundred percent.”

Communicating With Conscious Intubated Patients In The Icu, Catherine Diane Albo

Academic Festival

Effective interpersonal communication is key for everyone’s activities of daily living. It becomes more vital for critically ill patients who are intubated because their speech function is compromised. The purpose of this project was to design an original teaching tool to narrow the knowledge gap and enhance communication for those patients in the Intensive Care Unit which is a specialized hospital unit for critical patients with high acuities. Due to the COVID-19 virus, many individuals have experienced detrimental respiratory effects which have progressed to the insertion of a breathing tube, or an endotracheal tube. The process of intubation also requires …

Workflow Of Stroke Patients Arriving By Personal Vehicle, Bethany Costello

Academic Festival

Introduction: Stroke is a prevalent acute illness in our society that can cause life-long debilitating deficits and in some cases can be fatal. The administration of recumbent tissue plasminogen activator, also known as Alteplase, is associated with better long-term outcomes, lower mortality rates, and decreased deficits when given rapidly following diagnosis. We aim to decrease the time from patient arrival to Alteplase administration in a small, rural emergency department in Pennsylvania by identifying delays and creating a workflow allowing for seamless identification and treatment of acute ischemic stroke. Methods: Areas of delays were identified following in-unit observation and an extensive …

Voluntary Euthanasia For The Terminally Ill, Elizabeth Hamilton

Academic Festival

A human comes into the world at birth. It is a natural beginning that progresses to a natural end. Human beings, unlike other animals, have intelligence and insight about their life cycle process. The human experience is an emotional, thought-provoking existence that is dictated by a person’s autonomy: humans have the power of free will and self-governance. There is an ingrained power of choice that each person experiences in life, and it is their undeniable right. However, there are still variables that plague human existence. Random things happen to random people which humans have little control over. These things may …

The Importance Of Anticoagulant Therapy Education, Jennifer Teixeira

Academic Festival

Approximately 60,000-100,000 Americans die annually of DVT/PE (also called venous thromboembolism). Anticoagulants are the drug of choice to prevent DVT’s. Anticoagulants are considered “high alert medications” which can lead to adverse drug events if not managed appropriately. Effective anticoagulation education involves face-to-face nurse-client interaction. Through this focused teaching, nurses ensure the client’s proper understanding of the risks and benefits, precautions, need for strict adherence, and regular monitoring. This project highlights the educational teaching tool created regarding enoxaparin & heparin developed for clients on 6-3 at Yale New Haven Hospital. Medication adherence to anticoagulant therapy is key for the successful treatment …

Health Literacy Quality Improvement Project, Elizabeth Beriau

Academic Festival

A large body of literature has investigated the relationship between health literacy and diabetic self- management and diabetic outcomes. Health literacy is a set of skills needed to make informed health decisions and effectively navigate the healthcare system. Barriers and low health literacy have been linked to over $200 billion in additional medical costs annually and poorer diabetic patient outcomes. Routine screening of health literacy has not been shown to improve diabetic outcomes and is not recommended. Instead, multiple professional medical organizations have endorsed using universal health literacy precautions to provide clear and comprehensible information for all patients. This paper …

The Benefits Of Early Head Start, Grace Triquet

Academic Festival

Early childhood education serves many benefits for many children. Children with disabilities and those who come from low-income areas are shown to excel in the opportunity that they have when attending early head start programs. Early head start programs are federally funded so that children younger than 3 can begin their education at a younger age so that they will be better prepared for when they come of school-age. In addition, Early head start programs are also put in place to educate pregnant women how to provide support to their developing child including being able to care for themselves. It …

Methodology: The Effects Of Music Therapy On Individuals With Alzheimer’S Disease, Carlie Corrigan, Amanda Gallombardo, Alexandra Kalosinis

Academic Festival

Alzheimer’s Disease negatively impacts multiple aspects of one’s life including, but not limited to, physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral abilities, as well as the ability to complete activities of daily living (ADL’s). There are not many treatment options in order to improve the overall quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients, which in turn, improves the quality of life of their caregivers. Multiple research studies were compared through recruiting people aged 65 and above with mild to severe Alzheimer’s Disease to participate in different types of music intervention programs. Through analyzing the following research experiments, it was found that music therapy …

The Impact Of Technology On The Field Of Nursing, Sarah Call

Academic Festival

Technology has increasingly made its way into most aspects of our lives and has even replaced jobs that were previously performed by people. Technology has become an everyday part of nursing practice, but it could never replace the field of nursing all together as it has for some other careers. Instead, technology has proven itself to be helpful in everyday practice by reducing error and saving time allowing nurses to provide more direct patient care as opposed to documenting and other tedious tasks. Nursing education has also been impacted and improved by the introduction of technology and virtual aspects of …

Nursing Student Engagement In An Online Environment, Maryann Croes

Academic Festival

Background: In traditional classrooms, student engagement has been one of the best methods of evaluating students' thinking skills. In online synchronous classes, student engagement does not occur as it does in traditional classrooms. Aim: A review was conducted to determine how synchronous video conferencing compared to traditional classroom affect nursing student engagement. Method: A database search was conducted in CINHAL, PubMed, Gale America OneFile, and ERIC from the Sacred Heart University Library from January 2016 to November 2020. Eight pieces of evidence were found and appraised. Bomia et al. (1997) defined student engagement as their willingness, need, desire, and compulsion …

The Impact Of Race And Socioeconomic Status On Individuals Within The Intensive Care Unit, Kayla Castro

Academic Festival

For my academic festival presentation, I chose for my topic to be concerned with, “The Impact of Race and Socioeconomic Status on Individuals within the Intensive Care Unit”. Race and socioeconomic status play a big role in the life of individuals because of the stress of where one stands in society. This can relate to their income status, education, skin color, occupation, and other crucial factors. When thinking about this social and economic status, along with race, an individual’s corresponding health is typically always associated. Among the populations, the inequality in socioeconomic status and race tends to influence the critically …

Mandating Vaccines For The Greater Good, Morgan Bryant

Academic Festival

Vaccines are among the most effective tools available for preventing infectious diseases, and the complications that accompany them. Vaccines contain the same antigens that cause disease however, these antigens are weakened or killed to the point that they no longer cause disease. The purpose of a vaccine is to make the immune system produce antibodies that lead to immunity. According to the CDC, if an unvaccinated child is exposed to a disease germ, the child’s body may not be strong enough to fight the disease. Before vaccines, many children died from diseases that vaccines can now prevent, such as whooping …

The Development Of Cultural Competence Through Educational Experiences Abroad, Justyna Jablonska

Academic Festival

Educational experiences abroad, such as through a college or university, have an advantage–the development of cultural competence. The experiential knowledge a person can gain, as a result of such a trip, can potentially impact their own cultural understanding and behavior. Cultural competence not only embodies gaining the knowledge of cultures and differences, but developing positive attitudes towards different cultural practices and worldviews, how to go about them, as well as being aware of and challenging one’s own stance. A simpler explanation of cultural competence can be presented as the ability, but more importantly the commitment, to understand, communicate with and …

Coronavirus Repercussions On The Welfare Of Employees, Samantha Young

Academic Festival

The coronavirus pandemic has been defined as an unprecedented time for skilled employees to endure, as the period of isolation brought out various evolvoled norms for individuals to assimilate with. Businesses and organizations were forced to strategically renovate the way employees carry out their roles and duties essentially due to the demand for a virtual lifestyle with the amount of cases mentioned on news channels. At the height of the pandemic, Spring of 2020, employees were either completely remote, or on the front line observing the authentic suffering for those infected with the virus. Many remote plans heightened anxiety levels …

Social Media And Its Implication On Mental Health, Samantha Ford

Academic Festival

This paper aims to understand the relationship between social media and its impact on the mental health of young adults, ages 15-24. A wide variety of sources are examined to determine the mental health issues that stem from social media use. In addition to exploring the types of social media and their differences, this paper also takes into account the different social media habits including addiction, passive use, and active use. Understanding the negative side effects of social media helps young adults mitigate their negative experiences and become more conscious users.

Keywords: Social media, mental health, young adults, depression, anxiety, …

Social Media And Its Effects On Society, Gabrielle Reina

Academic Festival

Over the past 20 years, the computers in our pockets have become increasingly more prominent in daily lifestyles. Specifically, what we spend our time doing on these computers has had a profound impact on society today; the use of smart phones and social media. Timelines are suddenly perfectly crafted to fit an aesthetic, theme, or simply to display the “good” in an individual’s life. Rarely is a negative toned post seen in today’s society. If it is, it is often sent around because of how unusual it is. That “raw” post that is usually a reality takes more courage to …

The Impact Of Media Perception On Nursing Stereotypes, Alexa Marshall

Academic Festival

The recent increase of media attention on nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic has brought attention to accurate and inaccurate nursing portrayals in media. This paper explores how inaccurate media portrayals could possibly factor into the growth or shortages in the nursing field. Inaccurate media portrayals through television could also contribute to these shortages as well as perpetuation of nursing stereotypes that have been around for decades. Regardless of whether or not the public has had a positive experience with a nurse, it is still possible for them to retain these stereotypes due to media influence. Nursing stereotypes in the media …

Impact Of Social Media On Mental Health, Samantha Ford

Academic Festival

This paper aims to understand the relationship between social media and its impact on the mental health of young adults, ages 15-24. A wide variety of sources are examined to determine the mental health issues that stem from social media use. In addition to exploring the types of social media and their differences, this paper also takes into account the different social media habits including addiction, passive use, and active use. Understanding the negative side effects of social media helps young adults mitigate their negative experiences and become more conscious users.

Keywords: Social media, mental health, young adults, depression, anxiety, …

The Detrimental Effects Of Inadequate Sleep On The Economy, Shannon Farrell

Academic Festival

Sleep is vital for human beings and when this essential component is overlooked, the consequences are severe. These consequences do not simply target the person suffering from inadequate sleep, but rather have a spiral effect within the workplace. Inadequate sleep drastically increases work absenteeism, leading to major work productivity losses. The consequences of inadequate sleep transcend the detrimental physiological effects on the person and ultimately lead to a severe financial burden on the economy. Research has shown a correlation between various malaises and inadequate sleep. From cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and myocardial infarctions to uncontrolled diabetes and stroke, it is no …

Effect Of Mentorship On New Graduate Nurses’ Assertive Communication: An Evidence Review, Erin Zuck

Academic Festival

New graduate nurses are often hesitant to voice safety concerns despite having a responsibility to do so. Lack of assertive communication is counter to institutional and professional standards, and may lead to serious consequences. A search of Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, PubMed, Nursing and Allied Health, and Google Scholar databases was conducted to answer the question In new graduate nurses, how does participating in a mentorship program compared to no mentorship affect assertive communication during the first year of practice? Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed articles written in English, and published between 2015 and 2020. Exclusion …

Technology Effectiveness Of Communication In Asd, Catherine Diane Albo

Academic Festival

The paper aims to explore the effects of technology on communication strategies of pediatric individuals on the autism spectrum. The construct of autism spectrum disorder itself is a vast, wide spectrum, which includes aspects of autism that are under-researched. Research focuses on the different levels of functioning within the spectrum. The different levels of functioning distinguish developmental abilities, strengths, and limitations in these individuals, and how they may benefit or be disadvantaged from the use of technology. The paper analyzes the effects of technology on children on the spectrum, in addition to focusing on the effects of technology on the …

The Influence And Effect Of Music On Exercise, Kendall Stewart

Academic Festival

The increasing prevalence of obesity, and thus other serious health issues, in worldwide population is most highly associated with lack of physical activity ⁴. Lack of adherence to exercise and physical activity, and related programs, is correlated with absence of motivation and enjoyment ⁴. Research has proven the presence of music, during physical activity, to be a strong motivator and linked to increased enjoyment, thus increasing exercise adherence ^1,2,3,7. The purpose of this essay is to compile research in order to analyze and explain how the presence of music during physical activity increases mood and affective state …

Therapeutic Lying In Dementia Care, Jessica Gionta

Academic Festival

Therapeutic lying revolves around the idea of deliberately deceiving dementia patients for the sake of their best interest. Although a controversial topic, many healthcare providers do support therapeutic lying; however, some tend to stray away from it due to the lack of guidance that exists in executing these lies as well as the skepticism that stems from breaking the trust between the doctor to patient relationship. Supporting this questioning of the use of therapeutic lying, deontologists feel as though healthcare workers are obligated to stick with their intended duties and obligations, refraining from lying. However, with the support of the …