Digital Commons Network^™

Nurse Practitioners' Characteristics And Job Satisfaction, Priscilla Wild

Master's Projects

PURPOSE: To identify demographics and job satisfaction levels of currently working nurse practitioners (NPs) in California. DATA SOURCES: A mail-in survey was used to gather data The Mueller McCloskey Satisfaction Scale was sent to a randomized sample of 200 California NPs with active licensure. Descriptive statistical analysis of usable data was employed. CONCLUSIONS: NPs reported high levels of job satisfaction. Aspects of the job that showed significant levels of satisfaction were schedules, flexibility of hours, and interprofessional relationships. NPs were least satisfied with not having professional opportunities such as participation in nursing research, writing/publishing, and belonging to a department/nursing committee.

The Effect Of Body Position And Mattress Type On Interface Pressure In Quadriplegic Adults-A Pilot Study, Parivash Moody

Master's Projects

Dental morbidity is a chronic problem that affects a child's ability to attend school, to learn, and to enjoy good health. Of all childhood diseases, oral disease ranks as one of the highest and is considered one of the most common and the least treated. The prevalence of dental caries is high among children and adolescents in school populations. This study explored the prevalence of dental caries in a California Central Coast middle school during the 2002-03 school year (N=526). Findings indicated that severe dental caries existed in both boys and girls and in students of various ethnic groups. Approximately …

Pet Therapy Use In Pediatric Hospitals: An Internet Based Pilot Study, Kara Potter

Master's Projects

Introduction: In a technologically advanced health care system, health care providers continue to care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well being of their patients. Alternative therapies, such as massage, music, and aroma therapy, are often included in such holistic care. Pet therapy is another form of alternative therapy that appears to be beneficial. Method: Child life coordinators and play therapists from 100 pediatric hospitals in 44 U.S. states were sent an email invitation to participate in the study by completing an online survey. Results: From the children's hospitals responding, it appears that pet therapy is used in the majority …

Sjogren’S Syndrome: Recognizing And Treating An Autoimmune Disease, Susan M. Denisco, Linda Ferro

Nursing Faculty Publications

Sjogren's syndrome, one of the most common autoimmune diseases, is characterized by cell-mediated lymphocytic infiltration of the exocrine glands, particularly the salivary and lacrimal glands. It receives little attention in the literature, and frequently goes unrecognized until progressive changes are apparent. This article aids nurse practitioners in diagnosing the disorder in its earliest stages and in initiating proper treatment.

The Elders, Finding Long Ago And Now, Our Elders Health Journey, Judy A. Erickson Jacoby

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Keeping Safe: Field Public Health Nurses' Perceptions, Karen Nielsen-Menicucci Phd, Ms, Rn, Phn

Dissertations

By the year 2005, there will be an estimated 1.25 million workers involved in providing nursing care to individuals in their homes (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1997). There is limited empirical data available on the issue of safety of nurses within the context of home visiting or in the public health venue. Recent research on safety in home visiting has focused on home health rather than public health nursing. The purpose of this study was to explore and explain the perception of safety among field public health nurses. A purposive sample of 19 public health nurses employed in an official …

Loma Linda Nurse - Vol. 13, No. 01, Loma Linda University School Of Nursing

Loma Linda Nurse

Table of Contents:

2 | A message from the dean

4 | Loma Linda NURSE news

6 | GLOBAL CONNECTIONS LAUNCHED

11 | CHILDREN WITH CANCER: Research grant awarded to LLUSN professors

12 | LLUSB development report

15 | Letter from the Alumni president

16 | Alumni Homecoming

18 | Centennial Research Conference

19 | Near and far

20 | In memory

Postpartum Fatigue In The Active Duty Military Woman, Jacqueline D. Rychnovsky Phd

Dissertations

Up to 16,000 military women annually experience the birth of a child. Barring complications, regulations require a return to work 42 days postpartum, making them susceptible to the effects of postpartum fatigue. The purpose of this descriptive, longitudinal study of 109 military women was to describe fatigue levels across the first 6–8 weeks postpartum; to describe the relationship among selected psychological, physiological, and situational variables of fatigue; and to examine the relationship between predictor variables, fatigue levels, and performance after childbirth. The majority of the sample were married or partnered enlisted women in the U.S. Navy with a mean age …

Predicting Learning From Asynchronous Online Discussions, Dezhi Wu, Starr Roxanne Hiltz

Publications

Online discussions play an important role in student learning. Currently, asynchronous learning courses and some primarily face-to-face courses at New Jersey Institute of Technology require asynchronous online discussions. Does this requirement improve the students' perceived learning? An exploratory study designed to investigate this issue was conducted in Spring 2002. The questionnaire drew responses to a post-course questionnaire from 116 students in two undergraduate courses and one graduate course. A set of items designed to measure perceived learning from online discussions formed a reliable, unidimensional index for this construct. The results indicate that online discussions do improve students' perceived learning. Variations …

Couples' Views Of The Effects Of Natural Family Planning On Marital Dynamics, Leona Vandevusse, Lisa Hanson, Richard J. Fehring, Amy Newman, Jaime Fox

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: Natural Family Planning (NFP) requires periodic abstinence and partner cooperation to prevent pregnancy. The aim of this study was to learn about the effects of modern NFP methods on marital relationships. Design: Descriptive survey. Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 1,400 randomly selected couples known to use NFP and residing in the United States of America; 334 couples (24%) responded. Content analysis was used to identify meanings and themes. Numeric analyses were used to determine frequencies. Findings: Nearly two-thirds of the qualitative comments were positive. Four themes were identified in the positive responses: relationship enhancements, knowledge improvements, spirituality enrichments, and …

Evaluation Of Needle Exchange Programs, Cheryl Delgado

Nursing Faculty Publications

Needle exchange programs exist in every major population area in the United States and in many other countries. Some operate legally under emergency health decrees issued by local departments of health, with the stated intention of risk reduction through the removal of used injection equipment from use by injection drug users. It is theorized that this results in a reduced transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis, and, possibly, other blood-borne diseases. Needle exchange programs also offer access to drug treatment programs for the participants. It is a difficult but necessary task to evaluate these programs. This article examines examples of …

Technology In Nursing Education, Cheryl Delgado

Nursing Faculty Publications

Before writing this article, a computerized literature search was clone using online library services, articles were printed from e-journals. and a word-processing program was accessed on a lap-top personal computer. Such use of technology is well established and pervasive in higher education. It is so common as to be often transparent. For the past 30 years. the world has been host to a phenomenon the RAND organization calls the "information revolution." The United States has been a leader in developing and absorbing the new technologies into the patterns of everyday life. Most Americans. if they think about it at all. …

Measuring And Improving Health Care Quality: Nursing's Contribution To The State Of Science, Doris C. Vahey, Beth Ann Swan, Norma M. Lang, Pamela H. Mitchell

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

Concern over the quality of health care is a recurring topic in the United States. A “state of the science” invitational conference on quality health care, titled “Measuring and Improving Health Care Quality, Towards Meaningful Solutions To Pressing Problems, Nursing’s Contribution to the State of the Science” was held April 18–20, 2002 in Philadelphia at the Annenberg Center for Public Policy, University of Pennsylvania. This conference stemmed from the work of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) Expert Panel on Quality Health Care and had its genesis in June 1996 during the AAN Expert Panel on Quality’s Conference titled, “Outcome …

Cancer Pain: An Allopathic Or Alternative Approach?, Amanda Keating Walker

Honors Theses

The American Cancer Society estimates that 1,334,100 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2003 and that 17 million new cancer cases have been diagnosed since 1990. They have also determined that in the U.S., men have a slightly less than 1 in 2 lifetime risk of developing cancer and women have a 1 in 3 chance of being diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. These statistics show that cancer will touch the life of at least one person you know; unfortunately that person may be someone very close to you. It's extremely difficult to watch someone you love endure …

Tandem Mass Spectrometry In Newborn Screening, Sandra Banta-Wright, Robert Steiner

Faculty Publications - College of Nursing

Since 1961 newborn screening for errors of metabolism (EM) has improved the diagnosis, treatment and outcome of newborns with an EM. Recently, advances in laboratory technology with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has increased the identification of newborns with an EM. With a single dried filter paper blood spot (Guthrie R, Susi A. A simple phenylalanine method for detecting PKU in large populations of newborn infants. Pediatrics. 1963;32:338-343). MS/MS can identify more than 30 disorders of metabolism This review will explore MS/MS to provide a better understanding of the development and application of this technology to newborn screening for perinatal and …

2004, Kathe Gable

UNISON

No abstract provided.

Value-Based Nursing Education, Nancy L. Fahrenwald, Susan D. Bassett, Lois Tschetter, Paula P. Carson, Lani White, Venita J. Winterboer

Bush Project Anthology

Curriculum guidelines from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing ( [ AACN], 1998) espouse that baccalaureate programs facilitate the development of professional values. The five core nursing values include human dignity, integrity, autonomy, altruism, and social justice. Behaviors that reflect these values characterize the caring, professional nurse (AACN, 1998). Teaching attitudes and actions that facilitate caring is a curriculum challenge. Caring is a multi-dimensional nursing concept that can be actualized through purposeful teaching and student-centered learning of core nursing values. This scholarly paper presents an innovative and integrative approach to value-based education in the baccalaureate nursing program at South …

Smoking Cessation Education Needs As Reported By Current Smokers, Former Smokers, And Nurses, Ana Grynwald

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in the importance of selected smoking cessation information to current smokers, former smokers, and nurses in the Appalachian population. There were no instruments found in the literature to assess the perceptions of educational content for smoking cessation, therefore, a Smoking Cessation Education (SCE) survey was developed to measure the perceptions. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the Health Belief Model developed by psychologists Drs. Godfrey M. Hochbaum, S. Stephen Kegeles, Howard Leventhal, and Irwin M. Rosenstock..

Design: The SCE is a ten question …

Bulimia: Medical Complications, Philip S. Mehler, Cynthia Crews, Kenneth Weiner

Nursing Faculty Publications

Bulimia nervosa is a common eating disorder that predominantly affects young women. There are three main models of purging in bulimia. Resulting medical complications are related to the particular mode and frequency of purging. Commonly, there are oral and gastrointestinal complications along with serious electrolyte and endocrine complications. The majority of the medical complications of bulimia nervosa are treatable if diagnosed in a timely fashion. Some of these patients require inpatient hospitalization, and others can be managed along a continuum of outpatient care. The American Psychiatric Association has comprehensive treatment guidelines for the management of bulimia. Primary care physicians and …

Influences Of Alcohol, Marijuana, Peer Pressure, Parental Or Adult Supervision, Knowledge Of Std's/Hiv And Pregnancy On The Initiation Of Sexual Activity, Beatrice Ihegharauche Okonkwo, Marissa Louise Sitz

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the study was to show the variables that influence adolescents' sexual activities that have not been well defined. What leads adolescents to be more sexually active than previous generations? A Survey was conducted at the Fontana Unified School District.

Individual Telephone Support For Family Caregivers Of Seriously Ill Cancer Patients, Sandra M. Walsh, Griselle B. Estrada, Nancy S. Hogan

Nursing: School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Other Works

Medical-surgical nurses are an important source of information and guidance for family caregivers during health care crises. The concerns expressed by family caregivers to nurse interventionists during a supportive and informational telephone intervention are described in this study. An analysis of telephone call content using constant comparison methods identified major stressors of the family caregiver during the illness trajectory

A National Survey Of New Zealand Registered Nurses Caring Attributes, Professional Self Concept And Technological Influences, A O'Brien, David Arthur, M Woods, P Watson

School of Nursing & Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Providing Education And Support For Rural Palliative Care Nurses In Western Australia: An Intervention Study, Ruth Mcconigley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Rural palliative care nurses (RPCNs) in Western Australia (WA) are a small population, who have embraced the specialist palliative care role since the first palliative care service in rural WA began in 1990. However, there are some challenges involved with being a specialist nurse in a generalist health care setting. fu particular, there is a suggestion in the literature that RPCNs may be professionally isolated, may be prone to burnout, and may therefore experience decreased job satisfaction and may consider leaving the palliative care field.

Ethical Reasoning In Capstone Students, Lynn Clark Callister, Patricia K. Ravert, Eva Stoneman, Geraldine Matsumura

Faculty Publications

Complex ethical issues characterize current healthcare environments. Nurse educators have been charged in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Nursing Practice document with the responsibility to provide baccalaureate graduates with the knowledge and skills to apply ethical decision-making frameworks to clinical practice. However, there is a paucity of literature on ethical reasoning in nursing students. The purpose of this paper is to describe ethical reasoning in capstone students in an integrated baccalaureate nursing program. Themes identified from clinical journal entries include integration of ethics into both personal and professional life, strengthened commitment to …

Reality-Based Assessment And Testing Methods Using Video Vignettes, Dianna Sorenson

Bush Project Anthology

Nursing is a practice profession that requires a transfer of learning to clinical practice (Billings, 2000). Clinical practice settings for nursing education have changed drastically from directly supervised, inpatient care settings to indirectly supervised, community based settings. Indeed, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing ( 1993) specifically emphasizes the need for master's programs to incorporate more educational opportunities for health promotion interventions to families and aggregates within community based settings. Furthermore, there is increasing demand for practitioners to assess and care for rural patients using technologic mediums like telehealth, telemedicine, telehome, teleradiology, telepsychiatry and virtual medical centers (Bachman & …

The Flame, Winter 2004, Mennonite College Of Nursing

The Flame (1985-present)

The Flame is a newsletter of Illinois State University's Mennonite College of Nursing

Georgia College & State University Nursing Program, Virginia Hayes, Natalie Bailey, Adele Barthe, Heidi Chaney, Aaron Cobb, Leslie Croxton, Jenny Eilers, Dylan Grace, Suann Greenwood, Phyllis Kent, Erin Landers, Amanda Mckie, Brandy Moseley, Nina Myers, Dana Thomas, Amanda Wheatley

The Corinthian

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Georgia College & State University (GC&SU) Nursing Program, a non-experimental, survey research study was conducted by senior nursing students in the Nursing Research class. The survey evaluated the teaching and learning strategies used in the program, the students' perceptions of preparedness for nursing after graduation, and the students' perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the GC&SU nursing curriculum. Each participant signed an informed consent form. Forty-five out of a possible 142 nursing students responded to the survey. A statistical analysis of the responses was conducted and comparisons of answers were analyzed …

Using Standardized Patients To Teach And Evaluate Nurse Practitioner Students On Cultural Competency, Carolyn M. Rutledge, Laurel Garzon, Micah Scott, Karen Karlowicz

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

With the increasing diversity in the American population, it is imperative that nurse practitioners learn to manage patients with varying healthcare beliefs and needs. In order to develop culturally competent nurse practitioners, a number of methods have been developed. Many of the current methods focus on improving the awareness and knowledge of nurse practitioners regarding diverse populations. However, very few of the current programs focus on improving the skills and increasing the encounters the students have with diverse populations. This paper focuses on providing nurse practitioner students with diverse encounters using culturally enhanced standardized patient scenarios. The standardized patient programs …

Making Tough Decisions, Karen A. Karlowicz

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

This article focuses on the aspect of critical thinking in making tough decisions in life. Advances in urology have resulted in a range of therapies for many urologic diseases and disorders. Patients need information about each treatment, and the time to fully consider the effect of a given therapy on their overall health. Keep in mind that patients who are empowered to make decisions about their health care are more likely to comply with the treatment plan. Likewise the author urges readers to use their critical thinking skills to solve the clinical problems they are confronted with daily.

Paravertebral Nerve Block For Pain Management Of Nissen Fundoplication Surgery, Shelly M. Brock

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Providing comfort is a fundamental nursing responsibility. Unrelieved postoperative pain has adverse physiologic and psychologic effects that contribute to prolonged hospital admissions and significant discomfort to patients. Opioids are standard methods of postoperative analgesia for many surgical procedures. Unfortunately, the use of opioids is associated with side effects such as nausea and vomiting, urinary retention, ileus and respiratory depression. These side effects, with the added problem of inadequate pain control, result in patient dissatisfaction with surgical procedures.

Paravertebral nerve block (PVB) is a regional anesthetic technique that has been shown to result in opioid sparing in many procedures including breast …