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Gardner-Webb University

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2020

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Community Outreach And Education Project: Hepatitis A And B Vaccines In High Risk Populations, Ellen Wright Jan 2020

Community Outreach And Education Project: Hepatitis A And B Vaccines In High Risk Populations, Ellen Wright

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

The Community Outreach and Education Project targets high risk groups within Gaston County to increase education and vaccination against Hepatitis to, in turn, lower countywide Hepatitis rates. Through implementation of the project, Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services-Public Health (GCDHHS-PH) will partner with Community sponsors to gain access to their high-risk clients. Sponsors will be educated on the impact of prompt intervention in slowing the spread of hepatitis throughout high risk groups. Once an agreement is made between GCDHHS-PH and Community sponsors, GCDHHS-PH will present to participating facilities and begin screening, educating, and vaccinating high-risk individuals.


Allocation Of Faculty Among Nursing Programs At A Community College, Jessica Ivey Msn Jan 2020

Allocation Of Faculty Among Nursing Programs At A Community College, Jessica Ivey Msn

Education Projects

Organizational structure is important in any business to ensure that organizational mission and goals are being met. The structure defines roles, establishes a hierarchy, and creates the culture for the organization. Establishing the structure will assist with communication, decision-making and the overall culture of the organization. Gaston College expressed a need to redesign their structure by combining all their nursing programs to create a School of Nursing. Currently, each nursing-related program is separated into their own departments/programs. This includes faculty and staff assigned to one program instead of allocating staff to multiple programs. This project consists of defining new roles, …


Academic Program Performance: An Evaluation Model For Community Colleges, Lori H. Metcalf Jan 2020

Academic Program Performance: An Evaluation Model For Community Colleges, Lori H. Metcalf

Education Projects

Educational institutions began a journey of systematic review of programs and strategic planning sixty years ago. During that time the assessment and evaluation movement has produced copious complex models with numerous motivators, such as accreditation requirements and accountability. The objective of the consultancy project was to create a program evaluation model and process to provide community colleges with a clear picture of the health of academic programs with a goal of continuous improvement, including highlighting program strengths, areas for improvement, and specific action plans. A model and process were created to consolidate the data and ultimately tell the story of …


Workforce Development In The 21st Century For High School Students, Bruce Mack Jan 2020

Workforce Development In The 21st Century For High School Students, Bruce Mack

Education Projects

Workforce Development is a critical component of economic development in Cleveland County. During the time of this project, Cleveland County was experiencing job growth in manufacturing-related jobs requiring post-secondary experience. My project is a collaboration between Cleveland County Schools, Cleveland Community College and local industries in the county. This project is two-fold: (1) prepare graduating high school students with the skills needed for employment after graduating high school, and (2) help them identify a career in manufacturing.The project is the development of the Advanced Manufacturing Academy. This Academy selects rising high school juniors to dually enroll in high school and …


Creating A Personal Training Studio, Silje Storstrand Jan 2020

Creating A Personal Training Studio, Silje Storstrand

Education Projects

The purpose of this project was to create a personal training studio that would provide a safe, clean, and welcoming environment for clients as well as help the owner create strategies for obtaining and retaining clients. I partnered with a local personal trainer, Joseph Adkins, who was aspiring to open his own personal training studio. Joseph has a degree in personal training and years of experience in the industry as a personal trainer and assistant manager at a large franchise gym and, most recently, as an independent personal trainer at a local gym. Joseph was not satisfied with the environment, …


You Belong: A Focus On Cultural Awareness, Inclusivity, And Diversity In Schools To Improve Recruitment And Retention, Keicha Chandler-Smith Jan 2020

You Belong: A Focus On Cultural Awareness, Inclusivity, And Diversity In Schools To Improve Recruitment And Retention, Keicha Chandler-Smith

Education Projects

The educational system in the United States of America is under attack. The attack is not in physicality but is being caused by abnormally high teaching shortages. The shortage has become an area of concern nationally, including within my home state of South Carolina.Over 6,700 teachers left the profession in the year 2017 for a variety of reasons. This type of attrition is only expected to continuously increase because universities and colleges globally have reported and that less students are aspiring to be teachers year after year. Thirty-eight percent of South Carolina’s teachers left their jobs in their first five …


Flie (Future Leaders In Education), Jacqueline J. Norton Jan 2020

Flie (Future Leaders In Education), Jacqueline J. Norton

Education Projects

The United States is currently in a state of crisis, as it has become increasingly challenging to recruit and retain high-quality educators in the public school setting. Over the last 10 years, fewer high school graduates have shown an interest in pursuing a career in education (Christensenet al.,2019). Overall, more than half of teachers voluntarily leave the profession for reasons other than retirement, which deprives students of experienced teachers in the classroom but is also an enormous expense to taxpayers by continuing to replace teachers (Sutcheret al., 2016). Attracting and retaining teachers will require strategic and consistent practices to alleviate …


Development Of An Experiential Leadership Curriculum Using The Absorb, Do, Connect Model, Sarah Norris Jan 2020

Development Of An Experiential Leadership Curriculum Using The Absorb, Do, Connect Model, Sarah Norris

Education Projects

Numerous leadership development programs exist in both the educational and workforce sectors. However, many organizations, specifically nonprofit and governmental agencies, do not have access to hands-on leadership development curriculum that fits their needs. Often, they either send new leadership staff to off-site “leadership training” that does not provide a transfer of learning aspect to be practiced and applied on site,or they create “make-shift” leadership training sessions that do not show validated improvements. The purpose of this project was to develop and betatest anexperiential learning curriculum for emerging leaders using the Absorb, Do, Connect model (Horton, 2012). The curriculum is generic …


Creating High Performing Teams In A Professional Practice, James O. Gist Jan 2020

Creating High Performing Teams In A Professional Practice, James O. Gist

Education Projects

Latta Family Dentistry is a small rural dental office located in Latta, South Carolina. The owner, Dr. Kareem Sprattling, is looking to provide affordable dental care and would love to open another office in a similar town. In order for him to open a new office, he must first improve the effectiveness of his current team and improve on structures already in place such as technology, the website, and the current efficiency while attracting new patients. Challenges this dentistry faced ranged from a revolving door of new employees, people working within a silo, the need for a much updated website, …


Capturing The Culture Of A Behavioral Health Organization, Pamela Lucas Jan 2020

Capturing The Culture Of A Behavioral Health Organization, Pamela Lucas

Education Projects

The effectiveness of an organization is contingent upon the leadership’s ability to create a culture which can achieve organizational goals while meeting the expectations of the stakeholders. Behavioral health and other healthcare organizations have a responsibility to remain in compliance with federal, state, and other accrediting bodies. Langevoort (2017) stated that cultures of compliance refer to shared beliefs within an organization about the importance of legal compliance in relation to other pressures and goals. Behavioral health organizations tend to maintain a compliance culture regardless of the potential benefit of moving to a noncompliance culture. These organizations can experience rapid change …


Childcare As An Innovative Response To Recruitment And Retention For Teachers, Tia Savage Jones Jan 2020

Childcare As An Innovative Response To Recruitment And Retention For Teachers, Tia Savage Jones

Education Projects

This study focused on implementing exclusive childcare centers as an incentive to increase the retention rate of teachers in South Carolina. It highlights the key components contributing to the retention rate of teachers in the field of education—namely family stressors and financial strain. Many working parents have a childcare problem and are in search of a solution. According to Bright Horizons(2019), “Childcare tuition currently exceeds the cost of college in many places, available spaces are in severely short supply, quality care is hard to come by” (p.6). Teachers are working parents;and although they are employed in the field of education, …


Enhancing Board Governance And Engagement At The Upcountry History Museum, Jade Cox Jan 2020

Enhancing Board Governance And Engagement At The Upcountry History Museum, Jade Cox

Education Projects

The purpose of this consultancy was to assist the Upcountry History Museum in developing their board of directors into an engaged decision-making body. At the beginning of the consultancy, the museum was preparing to craft a strategic plan for the next ten years and had hopes of becoming accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in the future. Museum leadership requested help from the consultant in the areas of board governance and engagement. During the three-year project, the consultant worked to provide the museum with updated bylaws, a new onboarding program for new members, and the creation and implementation of …


Debriefing Emergency Department Nurses During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jessica Hailstock Jan 2020

Debriefing Emergency Department Nurses During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jessica Hailstock

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

This study examined the consequences of increased stress experienced by emergency department nurses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to acknowledge that this particular population of nurses already experience high levels of stress and that being on the frontlines of healthcare during a pandemic exacerbates the issue. Nursing leaders within the emergency department must acknowledge and monitor the nurses’ stress. Findings suggest that debriefing led by qualified individuals is a powerful intervention to combat the negative effects of stress.


Raising Awareness Of Eating Disorders In The High School System: A Community Program Project, Dara Puryear Jan 2020

Raising Awareness Of Eating Disorders In The High School System: A Community Program Project, Dara Puryear

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

No abstract available


Building Synchronous Student Support Services For Asynchronous Online Programs At A Small Private Liberal Arts Institution, Carly M. Pearce Jan 2020

Building Synchronous Student Support Services For Asynchronous Online Programs At A Small Private Liberal Arts Institution, Carly M. Pearce

Education Projects

Averett University was charted in 1859 and has a strong history of embracing innovation and disruptive change. Institutions of higher education that desire to thrive in the future must remain 100%student centered and market driven. Institutions that embrace technological advancements can provide relevant and current educational opportunities through an assortment of affordable and accessible learning technologies. Recognizing the need to continually update its learning technologies and employ every educational delivery system in current demand, Averett’s GPS program pivoted from an on ground teaching format to 100%asynchronous online in less than 5 years. However, the sudden shift in learning modality did …


Transformative Organizational Change In A Community College Facilities Department, David L. Forester Jan 2020

Transformative Organizational Change In A Community College Facilities Department, David L. Forester

Education Projects

Organizational change can be difficult and goals frequently are not met during times of change. The overriding theme of this Consultancy Project is the transformative leadership in an organizational change in a facilities department of a community college. Facilities departments have a myriad of challenges when attempting to be efficiency and effective in higher education along with working within budgetary resources provided.


Docstu: Creating An E-Mentoring Program To Support Current And Prospective Doctoral Students, Chelsea Cromartie Jan 2020

Docstu: Creating An E-Mentoring Program To Support Current And Prospective Doctoral Students, Chelsea Cromartie

Education Projects

Research describes mentoring as a best-practice for supporting overall student success for graduate and doctoral students.Unfortunately, faculty are not able to serve in a mentoring role for all of their students.The purpose of this project is to utilize university alumni who have successfully completed a doctoral program, to serve as mentors to prospective and current doctoral students. E-mentoring programs in particular,provide flexibility and have multiple, lasting benefits for everyone involved.Intended to start summer 2020, DocStu will include 20-24 people in the first cohort. DocStu was created as a way to provide holistic support to current and prospective doctoral students throughout …


A Plan For Excellence: Building A Road Map For Developing A New Business Entity, Mary L. Affee Jan 2020

A Plan For Excellence: Building A Road Map For Developing A New Business Entity, Mary L. Affee

Education Projects

Organizational designs, structures, and leadership are major factors that can impact an organization’s performance, profit, market sustainability, and how people work together in organizations. The purpose of this project was to develop a brand-new business that considers the development and all phases of a new business. This ongoing project has been experimental in community collaboratives, leadership development, client recruitment, employee and contractor onboarding, and financial structures and profit margins. Exploration and examination of the project initiative provided multiple opportunities for the owner to develop and strengthen in areas of leadership, organizational design development, marketing development and management, and employee/contractor management. …


Supporting Self-Efficacy Through After-School Progamming, Rene' J. Alford Jan 2020

Supporting Self-Efficacy Through After-School Progamming, Rene' J. Alford

Education Projects

Over the years, much attention has come to the disproportionate achievement of minority students versus their other race peers. Although many initiatives have been implemented across the nation to address the achievement gap, our school systems still show a considerable difference in student achievement, specifically between White and Black subgroups. Although varying from school district to school district, White students across the country continue to score almost two grade levels higher than Black students on average (Barshay, 2019). To address this issue, school systems are realigning professional development practices to reflect more culturally responsive instruction, moving to a mentality that …


Strengthening Intergenerational Bonds Through The Practice Of Learning And Mission At First Baptist Church Valdese, Nc, Joshua Lail Jan 2020

Strengthening Intergenerational Bonds Through The Practice Of Learning And Mission At First Baptist Church Valdese, Nc, Joshua Lail

Doctor of Ministry Projects

An education program was designed to encourage intergenerational unity among a mixed group of youth and adults at First Baptist Church in Valdese, NC. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the program on the intergenerational experimental group. There was movement toward intergenerational unity from the pre-test to post-test in the experimental group. Insights were learned from the data, particularly that there were different rates of growth between the youth and adults, and the observation that participants may have liked the idea of working together more than actually working together. The younger participants …


The Positive And Negative Effects Of Photography On Wildlife, Joy Smith Jan 2020

The Positive And Negative Effects Of Photography On Wildlife, Joy Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


A Comparison Study Of Teacher Efficacy And Principal Leadership Behaviors At The Elementary And Middle School Levels, Keith Ezell Jan 2020

A Comparison Study Of Teacher Efficacy And Principal Leadership Behaviors At The Elementary And Middle School Levels, Keith Ezell

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The single most important factor for the success of a student in school is the teacher, yet many factors impact the teacher’s ability to do the job as effectively as possible. Data exists regarding the multiple influences that affect the teacher’s sense of self-efficacy, however, specific data regarding leadership behaviors is limited. Research shows that student achievement is affected by the teacher, therefore it is imperative to determine what leadership behaviors impact teacher efficacy the most. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the impact of principal behaviors on teacher efficacy. Also, the study sought to compare the …


Widening The Pipeline: Identifying Practices And Structures That Effectively Recruit And Retain African-American Females In Undergraduate Computer Science Programs At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Martha Haigler Jan 2020

Widening The Pipeline: Identifying Practices And Structures That Effectively Recruit And Retain African-American Females In Undergraduate Computer Science Programs At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Martha Haigler

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The underrepresentation of women and women of color in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is of little surprise to those of us who have kept abreast of the statistical data supporting this phenomenon. In order for the United States (U.S.) to remain “economically and globally competitive” (Ong, 2011, p. 32), it needs to increase its “advanced domestic science and technology workforce” (Ong, 2011, p.32). Perhaps, it is not a coincidence that the majority of students attending U.S. colleges are female, and the number of minority students entering college is on the rise. However, when one looks …


Health Care Provider’S Perspectives Of A Woman’S Quality Of Life Facing Endometriosis And Infertility, Bridget Ford Jan 2020

Health Care Provider’S Perspectives Of A Woman’S Quality Of Life Facing Endometriosis And Infertility, Bridget Ford

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

This study assessed the quality of life of women with endometriosis and infertility issues through the perception of health care providers. The purpose was to increase awareness of the psychosocial aspect of endometriosis to encourage health care providers to incorporate the assessment of the mental health of women diagnosed with endometriosis into care, as well as their partners. The findings of the study showed the importance of providing holistic care to women with endometriosis related infertility and the vast impact endometriosis has on mental health, relationships, and in a woman’s daily life. Implications for nurses as a result of the …


Improving The Relationship Between Emergency Nurses And The Behavioral Health Patient, Alea Bundy Jan 2020

Improving The Relationship Between Emergency Nurses And The Behavioral Health Patient, Alea Bundy

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

There is an increasing number of behavioral health patients entering through the emergency department for behavioral health treatment and crisis intervention every day. Workplace violence against nurses has also increased leaving some nurses feeling anxious and fearful of interactions with behavioral health patients. The increase of behavioral health patients and unstable situations have created a gap in communications and has strained the nurse patient relationship yielding poor patient outcomes. The purpose of this project is to educate nurses on the care of the behavioral health patients and improve nurse-patient relationships for better outcomes for the patient. The framework for this …


Shared Governance Council: Improving Staff And Patient Satisfaction, Haley O'Brien Hall Jan 2020

Shared Governance Council: Improving Staff And Patient Satisfaction, Haley O'Brien Hall

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Due to the decreased staff and patient satisfaction on one post-operative unit, the author has developed a project plan to establish a unit specific Self Governance (SG) committee to improve staff and patient satisfaction. One SG committee and two councils will be formed giving all staff the opportunity to be a voice for change on their unit. The committee is focused on building and maintaining each council. One council will focus on staff satisfaction and one council will focus on patient satisfaction. The progress and outcomes of each committee and council will be evaluated in three ways: staff surveys, patient …


Postpartum Depression In Military Mothers:Active Duty And Partners Of Active Duty Service Members, Amanda Willis Jan 2020

Postpartum Depression In Military Mothers:Active Duty And Partners Of Active Duty Service Members, Amanda Willis

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common complication of pregnancy. Active duty mothers and mothers with active duty spouses have a unique risk factor, deployment. Military mothers may receive PPD education prenatally and during postpartum visits if necessary. This project created a postpartum depression video that was mandatory for mothers to watch before they were discharged from the postpartum unit after the delivery of their baby. Early education and treatment are the key to managing PPD in all mothers. The mothers were surveyed at their postpartum office visits to evaluate effectiveness of video.


New Nurse Graduate Mentoring: An Early Implementation Program, Stacy Inman Jan 2020

New Nurse Graduate Mentoring: An Early Implementation Program, Stacy Inman

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Mentoring of new nurse graduates is an opportunity for our future nurses to grow and evolve. This concept is growing in popularity and has proven effective in retention of new nurses as well as improved staff satisfaction. Many mentoring programs for new nurse graduates begin at one year of employment, which leaves open the crucial turning point of transitioning from academia to professional practice. New nurse graduates are vulnerable at this stage of transition and an effective mentoring relationship can help the new graduate gain confidence in the profession of nursing.


Gratitude Journaling As Intervention To Combat Nurse Burnout In Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Nurses, Melinda Simpson Jan 2020

Gratitude Journaling As Intervention To Combat Nurse Burnout In Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Nurses, Melinda Simpson

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

As a practicing registered nurse in the intensive care setting, this researcher witnessed an episode of burnout characterized by a public meltdown, crying, and yelling. This sparked an interest in an intervention to combat nurse burnout. Literature was found on gratitude which has been found to increase resiliency. An increase in resiliency, in various populations, has been found to decrease perceived stress and feelings of burnout. This researcher investigated the use of gratitude journaling for 21 days as means to decrease perceived stress and feelings of burnout while increasing gratitude and resiliency. The PSS, GQ, BRS, & BBI tools were …


Clinical Grading Rubric And Interrater Reliability, Stephanie F. Lunsford Jan 2020

Clinical Grading Rubric And Interrater Reliability, Stephanie F. Lunsford

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Clinical documentation is an integral part of the nursing curriculum. Nursing students utilize clinical documentation to reflect on weekly clinical experiences and clinical instructors grade this clinical documentation to view the students understanding of the experience and the nursing process. As the student progresses, the documentation changes to a more critical thinking piece of the student’s advancement toward their future work experience. Grading of clinical documentation can be challenging and often leads to poor self-efficacy of the instructor as well as the student. It has been known that students are often given the benefit of the doubt and passed when …