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Expanding Boards: A Study Of The Experience Of Former National Student Nurses' Association Board Of Directors Members From 2010-2020, Kenya D. Williams

Dissertations

This qualitative study was designed to examine how student nurses experience and understand their role as National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA) Board of Directors members and how that experience shapes their career trajectories as registered nurses (RNs). More specifically, this study's research objectives were to describe and discuss (a) the professional culture and value of board governance education to the nursing profession, and (b) the importance of board governance education for nursing curriculums. Seventeen nurses who served in different capacities as NSNA Board of Directors while they were student nurses were interviewed individually regarding their experience. NVIVO qualitative data analysis …

The Lived Professional Experiences And Potential Impact Of Generation Z Registered Nurses, Sarah E. Abalos

Dissertations

The profession of nursing is evolving as a result of the changes in the characteristics of practicing nurses. There are currently five generations of nurses in practice: Silent Generation, Baby Boomer, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. Each generation of nurses possess unique characteristics as a result of the time frame in which they were born and matured, and their differing worldviews are influencing how they view and practice nursing. Although there is a significant amount of research documenting how the different generations of nurses have influenced the profession, Generation Z has yet to be studied over time because …

Cultural Competence In The Baccalaureate Degree Nursing Curriculum, Angela E. Silvestri-Elmore

Theses

Health care providers are members of a helping profession and need to provide quality care to all members of society. As a result of current and projected demographic changes within the United States (U.S.), health care professionals are faced with the challenges of providing culturally competent care and fulfilling the role as the "helping profession." In the past 10 years, minority populations have increased in the U.S. For example, the African American population experienced an approximate 12.3% increase, and the Hispanic population increased by 43%. Just as it is necessary for health care professionals to respond to the increase in …

Reducing No-Show Appointments In The Outpatient Rheumatology Setting: A Quality Improvement Project, Callie Soltero

Dissertations

Introduction: Missed appointments, or no-show appointments, can be detrimental to the patient and office alike in the outpatient setting. No-show appointments decrease patient satisfaction, increase acute episodic visits, and decrease office revenue.

Method: This project aims to reduce no-show appointments by two percent in an outpatient rheumatology office through utilizing an existing phone call reminder system and implementing a text message reminder system.

Results: After the implementation of the text messaging reminder system, contrary to the project's aim of decreasing no-show appointments by two percent, no-show appointments were decreased by 1.1%.

Conclusion: The findings of this quality improvement project show …

A Descriptive Study Of Case Managers' Knowledge Of Elder Abuse, Tracy L. Sooley

Theses

The purpose of the descriptive study was to measure knowledge of current legislation, awareness of current protocols, identify the use of screening and intervention tools, and the ability to identify indicators of elder abuse in case managers in a community setting in Ontario, Canada. Jean Watson's Theory of Caring and Pender's (1996) Health Promotion Model Revised guided this study. Written questionnaires developed by the researcher were distributed to community case managers during their monthly team meeting. Subjects consisted of a convenience sample of 127 case managers. A total of 122 questionnaires were completed. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. …

Evidence Based Practice In School Nursing: A Study Of School Nurses In Central And Eastern North Carolina, Lisa M. Barnes

Theses

The purpose of the study, Evidence Based Practice Use: A Study of School Nurses in Central and Eastern North Carolina, is to gain insight of the barriers and facilitators of evidence based research in the school setting. The unique and autonomous nature of school nursing makes evidence base practice and research utilization especially important to achieve optimal outcomes in this setting that is often isolated from other health care providers. A descriptive cross sectional survey design using the BARRIER scale was used in this quantitative study (Funk et al., 1991). Using the BARRIER scale by Sandra Funk, school nurses from …

Identification Of Nurses' Stressors During Electronic Records Implementation, Brooke Brantley

Theses

The problem was a gap in knowledge regarding the stress nurses experience with electronic medical records. The participants were mostly female nurses working in a hospital during and 6-months after implementation of an electronic medical record. The Clinical Index of Stress was used to measure stress levels and two questionnaires were utilized to determine specific stressors and coping mechanisms. The findings represented no significant increase in stress overall at implementation and 6-months after implementation. There was a significant correlation between increased stress levels and increased age of participant with a Pearson coefficient of 0.771. The conclusions drawn indicate that age …

The Song Of The Soul: Transforming Disabling Illness Through Art, Zulis Yalte

Theses

The focus of this qualitative, arts-based inquiry was to understand how disabling illness might be transformed through art. A/r/tography - art/research/teaching and writing, was the method used to explore and understand the meaning(s) held within the art: Border Crossings - a conceptual, figurative, sculptural installation. The installation embodied the experience of disabling illness, symbolically depicting power relationships, identities, subjectivities and the multi-dimensional nature of being, of one coming up against the institution, the illness and the self. Guided by the work of Heidegger (Hermeneutic Circle), Deleuze and Guatarri (Rhizome and The body without Organs) and Foucault (Power Relationships), the A/r/tographer …

Smoking And Violence: An Exploratory Study Within A Maximum Security Forensic Institution, Yvonne Lapp Cryns

Theses

Nicotine addiction among the mentally ill occurs at a high rate and aggressive behavior frequently occurs in forensic psychiatric facilities. Few studies focused on psychiatric forensic inpatients and their behavioral response to nicotine withdrawal. This study was an analysis of the association between nicotine and aggressive acts, reported in Special Incident Reports, before and after a smoking ban at a forensic hospital. The findings indicate a notable increase in aggressive acts in the week following implementation of a smoking ban with a parallel rise in use of seclusion and restraint. A significant decrease in self harm and a notable increase …

Self-Reported Confidence Levels And Satisfaction By New Graduate Nurses Practicing Independently In A Nurse Residency Program, Kaitlynn Thurman

Theses

The current challenges in retaining and maintaining confident and satisfied new graduate nurses are attributed to three primary factors: lack of competence, lack of self-confidence and lack of peer support (Twibell et all, 2012). There has been a call for nurse residency programs to supplement the transition from student nurse to working nurse. The purpose of this study was to determine if new graduate nurses enrolled in the University of California Davis' Nurse Residency program reported satisfaction with their current job and to determine their level of confidence with specific nursing situations and tasks.

Culture Of Safety: Beyond The Safety Survey: A Cross-Sectional, Mix-Methods Study, Kim Whitney

Theses

Assessing the safety climate of healthcare organizations is an important step in embarking on creating processes to improve overall patient safety. Nursing leadership considerations for improving safe practice must begin with a measurement of the current perception of safe practice in order to correct unsafe practice. If the present culture is not responding to interventions to improve unsafe practice, there is no point in measuring safety culture (Pronovost P., Sexton, B. 2006). The Agency for Health Research and Quality's (AHRQ), Culture of Safety Survey (COSS) poses questions in key areas affecting patient safety from frontline staff's lived experience and perceived …

A Measure Of Perceived Fatigue Among Nurses In Western North Carolina, Karen R. Cochran

Theses

We are anticipating a heightened shortage of nurses as our aging population retires. A shortage of workers tends to lead to overtime for those still in the work force. Previous research has demonstrated a link between working long hours, fatigue, and decreased performance among nurses. Fatigue has specifically been linked to on the job injuries and poorer patient outcomes. This research study examined perceived fatigue among nurses in western North Carolina.

Effect Of Implementation Of Simulation On Critical Thinking Skills In Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Joanne M. Knoesel

Dissertations

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effect of simulation implementation on nursing students' critical thinking skills, as measured by Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) exit exam critical thinking sub-scores from cohorts of baccalaureate nursing graduates, in an undergraduate nursing education program. Benner's (1984), model From Novice to Expert, provides a theoretical framework for identifying knowledge acquisition and level of clinical expertise based on skill competency, knowledge, and experience, and underpins this study.

A Quantitative Exploration Of Strategies To Reduce Fatigue Among Nurses, Karen R. Cochran

Dissertations

The work environment of nurses places them at high risk of fatigue. The literature suggests a high prevalence of fatigue exists among nurses. Fatigue leads to reduced cognitive and physical abilities increasing the risk for personal injury and patient care errors. Nurse fatigue should be mitigated in an effort to improve safety and quality in healthcare organizations. The purpose of this study was to describe nurses' self- perceptions of fatigue and to examine nurses' willingness to engage in specific fatigue countermeasures within the workplace. Data were collected through an anonymous Qualtrics survey. A sample of 279 nurses completed the survey. …

The Wellness In Senior Housing (W.I.S.H.) Project: Its Impact On Perceived Health Status Of Older Adults Residing In A Government Subsidized Housing Community, Robert A. Wade Koch

Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the effectiveness of a health promotion program in a federally funded senior housing facility. The researcher explored the differences in perceived health status in older adults that had high or low attendance levels at various health promotion activities over time (6 months and 18 months). The health promotion activities in this investigation included: (1) exercise/movement, (2) social/supportive, and (3) screening/teaching. The study analyzed whether specific health promotion interventions produced optimum perceived health status, and if the presence of specific health conditions (arthritis, hypertension, visual disturbances, and fall incidents) predicted attendance to …

Job Satisfaction Among Family Nurse Practitioners In Mississippi, Danielle Raye Saxon

Theses

Job satisfaction for nurses is a concern, as job satisfaction can have an effect on a health care organization's ability to retain staff and recruit new nurses. Job performance is also affected when job satisfaction is low. This descriptive correlational study was designed to answer two research questions: (1) What is the over-all level of job satisfaction among family nurse practitioners in Mississippi and (2) What are the relationships between job satisfaction and intrinsic and extrinsic factors a measured by the Misener Job Satisfaction Scale among family nurse practitioners in Mississippi? The intrinsic factors included feelings of achievement, opportunities for …

Physical And Emotional Health Among Caregivers Of Heart Failure Patients, Suzanne D. Chubinski

Dissertations

Caregiving has been associated with negative psychological and physical consequences for years (Molloy, Johnston, & Witham, 2005). Some research indicates that caregivers with higher perceived control may experience fewer negative consequences of caregiving (Wallhagen, 1993). Little is known about caregivers of heart failure patients.

The primary purpose of this study was to test a conceptual model of caregiver outcomes among caregivers of heart failure patients. Testing of the model determined which of the demographic and biological factors of the caregiver (age, gender, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and comorbidity), the patient (NYHA class), caregiver burden (task time and task difficulty), and perceived …

Use Of Strategies For The Relief Of Symptoms Of Insomnia, Marianne Homsey

Dissertations

Insomnia is a condition that leads to health problems and raises health care costs. The purposes of this Web-based, quantitative, descriptive, correlational study were to identify frequency of use and success of strategies to alleviate sleep problems, to determine if there is a relationship among strategies chosen, and to examine any patterns that emerged based on these preferences.

Job Satisfaction Of Registered Nurses In Muscat, Sultanate Of Oman, Asma S. Al Yahyaei

Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the level of job satisfaction of Registered nurses in Muscat and relationships to Herzberg's motivation and hygiene factors. The theoretical underpinning of this study is based on Herzberg's concepts, in which an individual's motivation and hygiene factors are met within an organization, to the extent that the individual employee will express in job satisfaction. A descriptive, nonexperimental research design was used. The Work Quality Index and a demographic survey were given to 202 registered nurses at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) and Royal Hospital (RH) in Muscat. The data was collected over …

Prevention Of Neuromuscular Blockade: A Proposal, Abigail Hughes-Strange

Theses

The purpose of this proposed study is to expand research on the prevention of postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade and examine the necessity of objective monitors. The researchers hypothesize that there will be an association with decrease in residual neuromuscular blockade and a set protocol for reversal. This is a proposal for a single blinded, prospective clinical trial comparing a control group with a protocol using medications and monitoring devices available at the majority of facilities in the United States. In the control group, accleromyographic data will be obtained upon entry to the post anesthesia care unit with no specific protocol …

Help For Osteoarthritis Pain In African American Elders (Hope): Patterns, Predictors, And Preferences Of Osteoarthritis And Chronic Joint Pain Self-Management, Staja Quinae Booker

Dissertations

Chronic joint (CJ) pain is the foremost osteoarthritis (OA) symptom that affects older African Americans' (AAs) functional ability. Every effort should be made to reduce the development of high-impact chronic pain. One way to effectively do this is for older AAs to consistently engage in self-management utilizing the recommended OA treatments. Recommended behaviors include land-based exercise, water-based exercise, strength (muscle and endurance) training and stretching, self-management education, analgesic medications, thermal (warm/cool) modalities, and use of assistive and/or orthotic devices. However, evidence suggests these core behaviors of chronic pain self-management are not optimally utilized in older AAs.

Effects Of Instructional Technology Integration Strategies In Orientation Programs On Nurse Retention In Magnet And Non-Magnet Hospitals, Sharon D. Hancharik

Dissertations

This applied dissertation study was designed to learn if the increased use of instructional technology integration strategies in nursing orientation programs resulted in an increased retention of new nurses. The study attempted to uncover the current retention rate and use of technology at the participating hospitals. The data obtained from Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals was compared.

The Relationship Of Hospital Systems And Utilization Of Patient Safety Practices To Patient Outcomes, Deirdre Kling Thornlow

Dissertations

Determining the factors that are associated with the provision of safe patient care is crucial for today's healthcare environment. Such efforts are necessary, as research demonstrates that the majority of medical errors, or adverse events, are preventable. This correlational study provided evidence regarding the types of acute care hospitals that are likely to utilize patient safety practices and whether this composite of patient safety practices is associated with patient safety outcomes.

[Excerpt From] Core Competencies Of Civility In Nursing & Healthcare, Cynthia Clark

Sigma Publications: Book Excerpts

This item record pertains to an excerpt from Core Competencies of Civility in Nursing & Healthcare, which is provided free of charge by the publisher.

About this book:

Incivility and other workplace aggressions have a significant impact on the lives of healthcare professionals, faculty, and students, as well as the patients and families in their care. Incivility in academic and practice environments can provoke uncertainty and self-doubt, weaken self-confidence, and cause detrimental and lasting effects on individuals, teams, and organizations. These behaviors can fracture relationships and result in life-threatening mistakes, preventable complications, harm, or even the death of a …

Student Led Interprofessional Education And Wellness Fair: Preparing For Practice, Serah Theuri, Charlotte Connerton, Pamela Thomas, Jessica Mason, Karen Dishman, Ryan Butler

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

The College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP) faculty and members of the CNHP Wellness Committee offered an interprofessional wellness fair to faculty, staff, and students on February 6, 2020. This wellness fair was supported through the CNHP Faculty Development Award. The purpose of this wellness fair was to promote health and provide opportunities for interprofessional collaboration. The interprofessional disciplines of nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, and kinesiology were able to practice the components of Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) and TeamSTEPPS®. The wellness fair was used as recruitment venue for the research study.

[Excerpt From] Visionary Leadership In Healthcare: Excellence In Practice, Policy, And Ethics, Holly Wei, Sara Horton-Deutsch

Sigma Publications: Book Excerpts

This item record pertains to an excerpt from Visionary Leadership in Healthcare: Excellence in Practice, Policy, and Ethics, which is provided free of charge by the publisher.

About this book:

The pandemic years have laid bare the many faults and inequities in global healthcare systems. By exposing what is broken, COVID-19 has created a paradigm shift, spurring healthcare systems to evolve beyond an illness narrative toward one that focuses on health and healing. As nurses and healthcare professionals help lead this systemic change, they must re-envision their leadership styles.

Visionary Leadership in Healthcare equips and empowers leaders to envision, expand, …

An Examination Of Freshman Non-Nursing Students' Attitude Toward Nursing As A Career Choice For Males In The Southeastern United States, Tiffany Gordon Cox

Dissertations

The nursing shortage is predicted to continue into the year of 2030. Governmental and nongovernmental healthcare stakeholders have recognized a key factor in decreasing the shortage is to increase the recruitment and retention of males in nursing. The United States has a workforce comprising 3.5 million nurses. Yet, males represent only 9% of the working nurses in the United States. To decrease the nursing shortage, males must be a part of the equation. Male patients typically feel more comfortable discussing certain conditions, especially those related to sexual and reproductive health with other men than with women. Male nurses add to …

Bridging The Gap: Using Simultaneous Multi-Patient Simulations To Improve Nursing Competency And Transition To Practice: A Causal-Comparative Inquiry, Julie Fomenko

Dissertations

Twenty-first-century healthcare is a complex and demanding arena. Today's hospital environment is more complex than in previous years while patients move through the system at a much faster pace. Newly graduated nurses are challenged in their first year with the healthcare needs of complex patients. Nurse educators and nurse leaders differ in opinions regarding the readiness of newly licensed nurses. Despite these opposing views, there is no argument that today's hospitalized patients need expert nurses to care for them. This study explores the development of competence in newly graduated nurses using simultaneous multi-patient simulations (SMPS).

The Effect Of An Unfolding Case Study On Critical Thinking, Knowledge Acquisition, And Handoff Communication In Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Antionella M. Upshaw

Dissertations

Miscommunication during handoffs at time of transition for the older adult patient often results in hospital readmissions, penalties and nursing malpractice. Handoff communication (HOC) is a necessary and critical factor in patient safety; therefore, it is imperative that nurses be educated and trained in how to communicate essential geriatric patient data, minimize errors and ensure continuity of care. Nursing researchers report that HOC is a critical responsibility and varies in educational methods creating a latent patient safety risk. The unfolding case study (UCS) is increasingly being used to promote critical thinking and improve communication but lack of evidence to guide …

An Examination Of Faith Community Nursing Interventions In The Promotion Of Successful Aging, Lina B. Hixson

Dissertations

Faith Community Nursing is a specialty nursing practice providing ongoing supportive health care to community dwellers of all ages. Practicing within the context of a community of faith, these nurses focus on health promotion and disease prevention using their expertise to combine spiritual and physical dimensions of care. As the population of Americans continues to age at a rapid rate, the number of older adults is expected to more than double by the year 2060. Many older individuals live with one or more chronic diseases, however living with a chronic disease does not always require inpatient or home care services. …