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Application Of Leadership Principles In Theatrical Direction, Rebecca L. Rizzio

Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership Theses

This research explores the relationship between leadership principles widely believed to be effective and the behaviors demonstrated in art of theatrical direction by directors believed to be effective. The Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach was used to survey actors, designers, and stage managers. Directors from the Twin Cities theater community that the respondents deemed to be most effective were then interviewed. Parallels were drawn between the qualities cited in the surveys and the leadership behaviors theorists believe to be most effective. Findings will be shared with the theater community.

Political Participation In Physical Therapy: Attitudes And Perceptions Across The Practice Spectrum, Cole Kampen, Nicholas Schneider, Miranda Swensen, Amy Thompson

Doctor of Physical Therapy Research Papers

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
Political participation has been identified by the APTA as one way to engage in social responsibility. Among the traditional professions, including health care, political participation is encouraged as a professional duty to society through professional codes of ethics and educational preparation. Currently, no research exists on PT professionals’ attitudes regarding political participation. The purpose of this study was to explore physical therapists’ perceptions and experiences surrounding political participation.

METHODS:
A phenomenological qualitative approach was employed to gather data from 4 semi-structured focus groups regarding physical therapists’ perceptions surrounding political participation. Participants included 22 physical therapists and 1 …

Homeless Women With Children Navigating The Health Care System: An Intervention Model, Virginia M. Mccarthy

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Homeless women with children living in transitional housing programs are at risk for inadequate and inappropriate navigation of the health care system, both medical and mental health services. Effective intervention programs to enhance navigational skills are needed to improve health outcomes and to decrease health care costs. This research study had two objectives: to identify whether the residents had a regular source of health care and to provide an intervention model to impact their navigational skills. Twenty-two women living in a Midwest urban transitional housing program participated. The quantitative study compared participants’ reported health care usage over two points in …

Hermeneutic Approach To Understanding The Dnp Degree: Renewing The Charisma Of Nursing As “Caring Practice”, Michelle Bourgeois Spadoni

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This systems change project (SCP) began in ―real-time‖ nursing faculty consultation work in the community setting. It was in the midst of what in academic language is considered service scholarship (or the scholarship of engagement) that I began to reconsider what is meant by a ―practice-focused‖ doctorate degree in nursing.

How do doctor of nursing practice (DNP) prepared nursing faculty participate in a socially just manner in health care systems changes? More importantly, what moral tenets and knowledge practices shape participation in societal and community life for DNPs?

These questions are essential to the development of the DNP role in …

Clinician Driven Disparities In The Care Of Black/African American Patients With Diabetes: Low Density Lipoproteins In An Urban Clinic, Louise Carter Winter

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This quantitative, non-experimental, retrospective chart review investigated the possible presence of clinician driven disparities in the care of Black/African American patients with diabetes at an urban clinic. The study was a response to the Institute of Medicine’s call to address patient, system, and clinician issues that negatively impact management of patients with chronic diseases including diabetes. The goal is to improve patient outcomes using system wide care guidelines to increase success at meeting the nationally accepted Diabetes 5 (D5) measures. During a twelve month period, clinician response to elevated low density lipoproteins (LDLs) was assessed while considering patient preferences, side …

Telehealth Case Management Nursing Process And Technology Enhancements: Reflecting Practice And Outcomes, Judith A. Peters

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Accurate reflection of care practices in telehealth care management is the fore runner to the delivery of reportable beneficiary outcomes. Success in delivering Geriatric Care Services (GCS) resides in a partnership between clinician practice and technology tools utilized in telehealth practice. Through in home technologies, telehealth can provide ongoing care needs to underserved populations, and it can support independent aging of beneficiaries who live with chronic care conditions. Tele-health care management, performed through a health plan, presents a unique opportunity to capitalize on the abundance of health data collected on a patient, and maximize the use of that information for …

Uplifting Advanced Practice Nursing With Continuing Professional Development And E-Communication, Sandra Faye Schleter

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

How can advanced practice nurses lift up the process of continuing professional competency and meet the needs of advanced practice nursing and nurses, the healthcare system, and patients? The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative project that provided knowledge and strategies to inform a lack of specific literature about changes necessary in the healthcare system to fit the special needs of advanced practice nursing. This vision of the project was to elucidate a new vehicle of a professional development process that merited systems change. The professional development process would include distinct advanced practice nursing professional features, national …

Development Of A Nursing Care Management Model For Community-Dwelling Individuals With Heart Failure, Patricia A. Loeser Peschman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The aging of the population, with an increasing prevalence of chronic illness, contributes to the need for innovative approaches to delivery of care in the American health care system. Heart failure is the most common chronic illness leading to hospital admission in the United States for persons 65 years of age or older (Knox & Mischke, 1999). Multidisciplinary strategies for management of individuals with heart failure have been shown to reduce hospital readmission rates and mortality (McAlister, Stuart, Ferrua, & McMurray, 2004). My systems change project focused on assisting a group of clinic-based, nurse care managers to develop a new …

Effects Of A Discharge Planning Intervention On Perceived Readiness For Discharge, Julia Sara Hager

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This study was a quasi-experimental pilot study designed to determine the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary team to develop improved discharge teaching and process with inclusion of early provision of discharge goals, identification of barriers, and subsequent teaching and problem-solving of the barriers to impact patient perceived readiness for discharge. Discharge goals and barriers were identified early in the hospital stay for the intervention group and the control group received usual discharge planning. A questionnaire was given to the intervention group on admission to determine patient perceived goals and barriers. Based on the goals and barriers identified by the intervention group, …

Energy Webs And Nursing Praxis: Patterning In The Lived Experience Of Type 2 Diabetes, Karen Marcus Glasenapp

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Diabetes is an illness best described as costly, complex, chronic, and epidemic in the United States, affecting nearly 24 million children and adults; 90% of who have type 2 diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). On average, every 20 seconds in the United States, an individual 20 years of age and older receives a diagnosis of diabetes; yet, an estimated 6 million people with the disease remain undiagnosed (American Diabetes Association, 2010b). The financial burden of this disease, the inconsistent effectiveness of well-intentioned diabetes programs to educate and actualize change behavior, and the limited resources of millions of …

Intermediate Length Of Stay: Bridging The Gap Of Care Delivery, Teresa B. Kiresuk

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Transitional care unit programs and long term care programs are two models of care designed to meet the needs of chronically disabled and elderly patients. A ‘gap’ in care provision and coordination exists for many patients who do not fit the profile of usual skilled nursing facility patients. Underserved patients who fall into this gap typically require longer length of stay in higher acuity sub-acute care units due to their co-morbid medical conditions, concomitant psychiatric disorders, inadequate home support systems, and inadequate or lack of insurance. This project involved the development of a modified model of care to provide an …

Effects Of An Educational Program On Dysphagia Screening For Acute Stroke Patients In The Emergency Department, Nancy Jo Downerd

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This was a non-randomized outcome research study to determine whether an educational program provided to emergency department (ED) nurses would alter compliance of dysphagia screening for acute stroke patients. Patients included in the study were greater than 18 years of age with stroke symptoms of unilateral weakness or numbness, changes in speech or vision, facial droop, balance difficulties or sudden and severe headache. Data was obtained by chart review after the patients were discharged from the hospital. 146 patient charts from July to December of 2008 were reviewed for dysphagia screening compliance (pre-education) and compared to 138 charts from July-December …

Improving Systems Of Care To Manage Preoperative Anemia In Patients Who Elect To Have Total Hip Or Total Knee Replacement Surgery, Mary T. Hanlon Sinnen

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) are surgical procedures performed for painful, dysfunctional joints most often caused by osteoarthritis. These procedures are increasing in demand for not just the elderly, but young adults as well. They are elective procedures associated with a three to five gram decrease in hemoglobin postoperatively, considered a major blood loss. International research results, verified by analysis of a 228 patient sample from the system in this study, demonstrate that patients who enter these procedures with anemia are more likely to require postoperative blood transfusions. With a decreasing supply due to a shrinking …

The Effects Of Food Studies Programming On Food Participation And Dietary Choices, Miriam Coates

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The intent of this action research project was to determine if food studies programming has an effect on children’s participation levels in food preparation, procurement, and making dietary choices. The study was conducted during an eight week, grant-funded after-school pilot program focused on promoting active lifestyle choices and healthful eating habits. The study involved fourth and fifth grade children enrolled in a tuition free program sponsored by a local Park and Recreation department. Data was collected from both children enrolled in the program and their parents or guardians. Sources of data collection included surveys, participant artifacts, group discussions, and researcher …

Advancing Sustainable Food Systems In Minnesota: Strategic Planning Recommendations For Local Businesses, Mia L. Taney

Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership Theses

The purpose of this study is to identify and understand strategic planning needs of small, local businesses that support sustainable food systems. Market sustainability and profitability are often thought to be in conflict with environmental sustainability. This research affirms that the concepts are in fact co-dependent, not mutually exclusive. In order to achieve competitive differentiation and market sustainability, companies must also recognize their reliance on finite environmental resources and strategically manage them in the long-term. Through interviews with local business owners, professional expertise and an extensive literature review, this thesis uncovers and highlights strategic planning best practices specific to sustainable …