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Motivating Allied Health Students To Successfully Complete Core Courses, Lisa Renee Trusclair Jan 2017

Motivating Allied Health Students To Successfully Complete Core Courses, Lisa Renee Trusclair

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This project study addressed the problem of a decline in retention of students at a local allied health college. The need for allied health professionals is projected to exceed the availability by 2020, so it is important to identify strategies to help allied health students succeed. The purpose of this case study was to explore perceptions of students and faculty about motivating factors and learning strategies that foster successful progression in allied health programs. Ryan and Deci's self-determination theory, focused on the relationship between motivation and success, served as the framework for the study. Research questions addressed intrinsic and extrinsic …

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Re-Educating Healthcare Providers On Hand Hygiene Practice, Veronica Ihuoma Ubah Jan 2017

Re-Educating Healthcare Providers On Hand Hygiene Practice, Veronica Ihuoma Ubah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that there are approximately 1.4 million cases of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) at any given time worldwide. Recent reports indicate that 722,000 patients acquire HAIs, with 75,000 or more succumbing to the infections and dying. This quality improvement project focused on the value of re-educating practicing nurses on hand hygiene practices as an approach to reduce the incidence of HAIs. Pre-intervention rates of HAIs were compared with post-intervention rates of HAIs across 2 units (Unit A and Unit B) in an acute care setting to determine if …

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Policies And Procedures To Address Respite Care, Hannah Washington Williams Jan 2017

Policies And Procedures To Address Respite Care, Hannah Washington Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hospice services are utilized by more than 1.6 million people yearly, and there are a great number of caregivers who are tasked with caring for these individuals at home. Caregivers are at risk for fatigue, burnout, and decline in their own physical and mental health. While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) cover costs of temporary respite care for hospice patients, the caregivers' needs for respite care are often unrecognized and unaddressed. The purpose of this project was to plan a respite program within the hospice agency consisting of revised respite policy and procedures, the Caregiver Reaction Assessment …

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Exploring Personal And Societal Expectations Of Blind Veterans, Malinda L. Wimbs Jan 2017

Exploring Personal And Societal Expectations Of Blind Veterans, Malinda L. Wimbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More U.S. men and women are returning from military service obligations with physical and mental disabilities which complicate their transition to civilian life. Few researchers, however, have examined the post service experiences of blind veterans and whether they are affected by societal expectations of people living with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain knowledge about the experiences of U.S. veterans who suffered vision loss, and the influence of societal expectations on their lives. Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to explore the personal meanings 8 veterans, who lost their vision during active service, attached to their experiences …

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The Effect Of Emotionally Validating And Invalidating Responses On Emotional Self-Efficacy, Gregory Witkowski Jan 2017

The Effect Of Emotionally Validating And Invalidating Responses On Emotional Self-Efficacy, Gregory Witkowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The power of abuse, either in childhood or in adulthood, is clear in many cases. Yet certain types of abuse are harder to detect and understand. Emotional invalidation is one type of abuse that is characterized by an incongruence or minimization of another person's emotions. This experimental study explored effects of emotional invalidation and emotional validation on people's level of emotional self-efficacy. Participants (n = 230) were recruited through Quest Mindshare using a survey created through SurveyMonkey, and randomly placed into 3 groups. All participants were given a survey that asked them to choose how certain pictures made them feel. …

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Examining The Barriers To The Continuing Education Of Early Childhood Teacher Assistants, Colleen Louise Wright Jan 2017

Examining The Barriers To The Continuing Education Of Early Childhood Teacher Assistants, Colleen Louise Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 required teacher assistants (TAs) to obtain their child development associate (CDA) credential by September of 2015. TAs who had not obtained their CDA within the required timeframe were either demoted or terminated from their positions. However, with the increase of working parents, the need for quality early childhood education has risen. In this project study, the barriers TAs confront in regards to their decision to continue their schooling to obtain a CDA credential were examined, as were the factors that deterred or prevented them from enrolling in or completing a …

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Advanced Triage Protocols In The Emergency Department, Lijuan Zhao Jan 2017

Advanced Triage Protocols In The Emergency Department, Lijuan Zhao

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Overcrowded emergency departments (EDs) are a major problem in the United States resulting in inefficiency in operation and performance. A Southern California hospital ED was the site for this project because it had operated over its maximum capacity during the last decade. Advanced triage protocols integrating standard order sets were implemented to improve quality of care; however, no evaluation of the protocols had been done. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effect of the advanced triage protocols. Two project questions determined whether advanced triage protocols reduced ED length of stay (LOS), number of patients who left without …

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Middle School Mathematics Teachers' Perspectives On Instructional Practices, Cindy Ziegler Jan 2017

Middle School Mathematics Teachers' Perspectives On Instructional Practices, Cindy Ziegler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a local middle school, students were not meeting standards on the state mathematics tests. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore mathematics teachers' perspectives on effective mathematics instruction vis-Ã -vis the principles of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Within this framework, the 6 principles in the creation of quality mathematics programs included equity, curriculum, teaching, learning, assessment, and technology. Seven teachers from around the country participated; all met the criteria of a graduate degree in education, at least 5 years of experience teaching adolescent learners, and at least 3 years teaching mathematics. Participants were …

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Maternal Health Literacy, Antenatal Care, And Pregnancy Outcomes In Lagos, Nigeria, Olubunmi Adanri Jan 2017

Maternal Health Literacy, Antenatal Care, And Pregnancy Outcomes In Lagos, Nigeria, Olubunmi Adanri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Maternal mortality, an example of poor maternal health outcomes, is widely accepted as an indicator of the overall health of a population. One of the Millennium Development Goals was reduction in maternal mortality by 3 quarters by 2015. These goals were not met in Nigeria and it is important to look at some of the reasons why. Education has been shown to have positive impact on pregnancy outcomes; however, the characteristics of pregnant women, their health literacy level, their usage of antenatal care services and how these impact pregnancy outcomes are yet to be analyzed in Lagos, Nigeria. Guided by …

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Organizational Complexity And Hospitals' Adoption Of Electronic Medical Records For Closed-Loop Medication Therapy Management, Ebenezer Siaw Adu Jan 2017

Organizational Complexity And Hospitals' Adoption Of Electronic Medical Records For Closed-Loop Medication Therapy Management, Ebenezer Siaw Adu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 700,000 adverse drug events (ADEs) result in emergency hospital visits annually, and many of these ADEs are preventable through the use of health information technology in hospitals. However, only 12.6% of U.S. hospitals have developed the capacity to adopt closed-loop electronic medical records (EMR). Organizational complexity may be a major factor influencing hospitals' adoption of closed-loop EMR. This quantitative study explored how organizational complexity influenced hospitals' adoption of closed-loop EMR. Diffusion of innovation theory was the foundation for this study. Logistic regression was used to establish possible relationships between organizational complexity and hospitals' adoption of EMR for closed-loop medication …

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Competitive Strategies Of Microfinance Owners In Ghana, Eric Kojo Asante Jan 2017

Competitive Strategies Of Microfinance Owners In Ghana, Eric Kojo Asante

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ghanaian microfinance banks (MFB) experience a high collapse rate, with more than 100 MFBs failing between 2015 and 2016. Grounded on Porter's competitive strategy theory, the purpose of this case study was to explore successful strategies used by selected participants to achieve business sustainability. Fourteen participants from 6 successful MFBs in the Greater Accra Region, including managers and MFB owners with more than 5 years of professional and industry experience, participated in semistructured interviews. Observations and company documents served as a secondary source of data collection. Through thematic analysis, 5 themes emerged: cash and liquidity management, capacity building, monitoring, compliance, …

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Needs Assessment For A Lifestyle Intervention Weight Loss Program For Hospital Employees, Karen Baumann Jan 2017

Needs Assessment For A Lifestyle Intervention Weight Loss Program For Hospital Employees, Karen Baumann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rate of obesity is increasing in the United States. In Florida, almost 60% of the population will be obese by 2030. This increase is expected to contribute to millions of cases of preventable chronic diseases costing the state an estimated $34 billion dollars. Employer-sponsored health programs can positively influence employees' lifestyle choices and support weight loss programs to reduce health-related costs to the employee and the employer. Guided by the transtheoretical model, the purpose of the project was to conduct an employee assessment to determine the need for, interest in, and readiness for a lifestyle intervention weight loss program. …

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Exploring The Performance Of The Financial Service Cooperative Industry In Grenada, Rachael Annette Brown Jan 2017

Exploring The Performance Of The Financial Service Cooperative Industry In Grenada, Rachael Annette Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2008 financial crisis impacted the Caribbean financial sector with declining liquidity and profitability, and return on assets falling to 0.7% from 2.6%. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that credit union executives in Grenada used to consistently maintain profitability. The targeted study population consisted of four credit union executives responsible for operations, administration, and regulations in the financial service cooperative industry in Grenada. The social influence of power theory was the conceptual framework that grounded this study. The data collection process included semistructured interviews and document (annual reports and cooperative society laws) review. Data …

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Managers' Emotional Intelligence And Employee Turnover Rates In Quick Service, Dennis V. Burke Jan 2017

Managers' Emotional Intelligence And Employee Turnover Rates In Quick Service, Dennis V. Burke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Turnover rate is a benchmark economic measure and affects the customer service and profitability of organizations. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between general managers' emotional intelligence (EI), operations evaluation scores (OE), and employee turnover rates at Brand X quick service restaurant (QSR) companies using Salovey and Mayer's theoretical framework of EI. Data were collected from a sample of 69 QSR general managers, with at least 6 months of experience, in the Southeastern United States using the EQ-i 2.0 self-assessment instrument. The mean employee turnover rate for the sample (M = 161%), was 157% greater …

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Three Factors Leading To The Failure Of Communications In Emergency Situations, James E. Burroughs Jan 2017

Three Factors Leading To The Failure Of Communications In Emergency Situations, James E. Burroughs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The failure of communications, particularly related to interoperability, between police and firefighters responding to dangerous situations has resulted in death or injury to themselves or those they strive to protect. Using Grebner's and Shannon and Weaver's conceptualizations of communications theory as the foundation, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to evaluate, from the perspective of first responders, what barriers exist that may impede opportunities for interoperability of communications systems. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 18 experienced first responders from the states of California, New York, and Texas. Interview data were deductively coded …

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Project Risk Management Strategies For It Project Managers, John Stephen Cabral Jan 2017

Project Risk Management Strategies For It Project Managers, John Stephen Cabral

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Utilizing information technology (IT) to enable new organizational capabilities to achieve near-term objectives and long-term sustainability is a top priority for many business leaders seeking to maintain or increase market share. However, organizational leaders face significant challenges to their strategy execution because the percentage of challenged IT projects has remained relatively static for decades. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore risk management strategies used by 7 purposely selected IT project managers (PMs) from a pharmaceutical company located in the northeastern United States who have effectively managed IT project performance by using risk management strategies, leading to …

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Teacher And Student Perceptions Of Computer-Assisted Instructional Software To Differentiate Instruction, Christopher Garrett Cannon Jan 2017

Teacher And Student Perceptions Of Computer-Assisted Instructional Software To Differentiate Instruction, Christopher Garrett Cannon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many educators struggle to meet the academic needs of students, especially in the subject area of mathematics. Computer-assisted instruction is an instructional strategy used to enhance instruction. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of these software programs for all students. The purpose of this qualitative, embedded, multiple case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and students using computer-assisted instructional software to differentiate instruction within a general education and special education 4th-grade mathematics classroom. The constructivism theory provided a framework for the topic of differentiated instruction. This study included a single elementary school within a district in …

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Effect Of Summer Bridge Programming On Students' Performance On The Texas Success Initiative Assessment, Consuela Michelle Cooper Jan 2017

Effect Of Summer Bridge Programming On Students' Performance On The Texas Success Initiative Assessment, Consuela Michelle Cooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Summer bridge programs (SBPs) have been used as a means of increasing students' college readiness and academic skills. University Southeast implemented a SBP in 2013 for students placing into developmental courses on the Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA). However, researchers have found mixed results when evaluating the effectiveness of SBPs, and at University Southeast, it has not been investigated. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the difference in TSIA score gains between first-time-in-college students with developmental-level test scores who attended a three-week SBP and those who did not. Tinto's longitudinal model of student departure guided the study …

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Strategies That Logistics Leaders Use For Achieving Successful Process Improvement, Henry Childs Childs Jan 2017

Strategies That Logistics Leaders Use For Achieving Successful Process Improvement, Henry Childs Childs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The successful implementation of process improvement (PI) could reduce operating costs of the Department of Defense, which could lessen the impact of budget reductions and the mounting costs of the expanding global mission requirements. Organizations fail to achieve the return on investment for PI and expected savings because of leaders' inabilities and experiences in integrating critical success factors into PI to improve processes. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that logistics leaders use to implement PI in the military aviation industry. Six purposively selected group and squadron civilian leaders with over 10 years of …

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Dentists As Clinician Managers: Leadership Influences On Dental Team Empowerment And Engagement, Scott Hinckley Craven Jan 2017

Dentists As Clinician Managers: Leadership Influences On Dental Team Empowerment And Engagement, Scott Hinckley Craven

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership training is virtually nonexistent for dental students, and practicing dentists rarely engage in any form of leadership development, relying primarily on mentoring by senior colleagues and on-the-job experiences. Dentists serve in a hybrid role as clinicians and managers to provide quality dental care and establish a profitable business, respectively. This quantitative study investigated the ways in which the emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership styles of 16 dentist clinician managers (DCMs) affected their dental teams. Specifically, the effects of leadership style and EI of DCMs on individual psychological empowerment (PE), team PE, and employee engagement were explored. Team PE effects …

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Soft Skills Needed For The 21st Century Workforce, Susan A. Dean Jan 2017

Soft Skills Needed For The 21st Century Workforce, Susan A. Dean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technical skills are no longer enough for workers to compete in this highly competitive global work environment. Soft skills are of paramount importance. A multiple case study design through the lens of emotional intelligence formed the basis of the research study. The focus of the research was identification of the successful soft skills training strategies in the logistics industry. Three logistics organization leaders in the counties of Burlington, Middlesex, and Somerset, New Jersey, were participants in the study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and the review of company documents. Four themes emerged through data analysis of converging multiple data …

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Barriers Cardiac Nurses Face In Addressing Psychosocial Issues Of Heart Failure Patients, Debra Kay Disbrow Jan 2017

Barriers Cardiac Nurses Face In Addressing Psychosocial Issues Of Heart Failure Patients, Debra Kay Disbrow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Heart failure is a chronic disease and a common cause of hospitalizations and readmissions within 30-days of discharge. To decrease the cost of care for patients with heart failure, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services initiated the Readmissions Reduction Program that reduces payment to hospitals with preventable readmissions. Among the causes for readmissions of patients with heart failure are concurrent behavioral health issues that can lead to decreased medication compliance and increased risk for disease progression. The prevalence of comorbid depression is as high as 77% among patients with heart failure and may be an important factor in readmissions. …

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Eyewitness To History In Devolution Of Democracy And Constitutional Rights Following 9/11, Thomas Drake Jan 2017

Eyewitness To History In Devolution Of Democracy And Constitutional Rights Following 9/11, Thomas Drake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many researchers and political experts have commented on the disenfranchisement of the citizenry caused by irresponsible use of power by the government that potentially violates the 4th Amendment rights of millions of people through secret mass surveillance programs. Disclosures of this abuse of power are presumably protected by the 1st Amendment, though when constitutional protections are not followed by the government, the result can be prosecution and imprisonment of whistleblowers. Using a critical autoethnographic approach, the purpose of this study was to examine the devolution of democratic governance and constitutional rights in the United States since 9/11. Using the phenomena …

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The Perceptions Of New Middle School Teachers Regarding Teacher Job Satisfaction, Paula Joan Evans Jan 2017

The Perceptions Of New Middle School Teachers Regarding Teacher Job Satisfaction, Paula Joan Evans

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition has been a problem for school systems for more than 30 years. Large numbers of new teachers leave the profession within their first 5 years of service, creating a significant cost associated with hiring and training of replacement teachers. Attrition is problematic for a middle school in the state of Georgia. New teachers at the school have disclosed that induction did not meet their needs. In addition, the district has experienced budget cutbacks and demographic shifts in the student population, increasing the rate new teachers have left the school. The purpose of this study was to explore and …

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Information Technology Training To Promote Collaboration Among Multiple Generations, Gregg Foster Jan 2017

Information Technology Training To Promote Collaboration Among Multiple Generations, Gregg Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The decision to implement information technology (IT) initiatives to enhance collaboration among veterans, baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Fifth Generation employees continues to challenge organizational leaders. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to identify how the implementation of information technology initiatives, coupled with the knowledge of learning styles, might enhance collaboration among generational cohort employees. The generational cohort theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, and the technology acceptance model were the theoretical frameworks used to develop an understanding of the relationships among the cohorts and the acceptance of technology to enhance collaboration. Data were collected from a …

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A Developmental Project Focusing On Young Adult Hispanic-Americans, Tarsicio Gacheru Jan 2017

A Developmental Project Focusing On Young Adult Hispanic-Americans, Tarsicio Gacheru

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reducing diabetes risk among Hispanic-American adults in the United States is a critical public health need and programs targeting young Hispanic-American adults with prediabetes can reduce the risk for developing diabetes. The purpose of this project was twofold: (a) to examine the literature related to diabetes prevention best practices among young adult Hispanic-Americans with prediabetes and (b) create an intervention program to promote these best practices to delay or reverse the trajectory toward diabetes. The inclusion criteria for the literature review were studies with at least a 12-month follow-up and reported outcomes related to changes in diet, increased exercise, and …

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Acquisition And Retention Of Skilled Employees For Industries In Giles County, Tennessee, James Irvine Greene Jr. Jan 2017

Acquisition And Retention Of Skilled Employees For Industries In Giles County, Tennessee, James Irvine Greene Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. manufacturing industry produces products that ship all over the world. Because of the shortage of skilled labor, some manufacturing human resource professionals lack the strategies and processes necessary to acquire and retain skilled employees. Guided by Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the strategies and processes that manufacturing human resource professionals use to acquire and retain skilled employees. Data were gathered from a population of manufacturing human resource professionals in Giles County, Tennessee from individual interviews; focus group; and participants' internal documents, public documents, and …

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Perceptions Of Homeless Shelter Staff Workers On Chronic Homeless Individuals, Jimmy L. Griffith Jan 2017

Perceptions Of Homeless Shelter Staff Workers On Chronic Homeless Individuals, Jimmy L. Griffith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While researchers have identified the Housing First model of putting homeless persons into permanent housing as the best means of improving the quality of life for chronically homeless individuals, few studies have examined the perceptions of shelter staff workers on the barriers the homeless face in obtaining and maintaining long-term housing. This case study of 2 homeless shelters in New Jersey examined the relationship that fair and just democratic processes play in supporting or undermining Housing First. Data came from New Jersey's annual Point in Time counts of the number of homeless individuals and families and the causes and service …

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Alleviating Discharge Confusion For Older Patients Using The Teach-Back Method, Tracey Marie Haire Jan 2017

Alleviating Discharge Confusion For Older Patients Using The Teach-Back Method, Tracey Marie Haire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Discharge instructions and medication directions can be overwhelming for older adults, which can lead to potential medication errors, noncompliance, readmissions, and patient safety concerns. At a specialty lung clinic, the goal is to improve patient safety and to decrease the chance of errors by standardizing the discharge process via a Teach-Back education policy and protocol. Without consistency, there is a potential for mistakes and misunderstandings. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) considers the Teach-Back discharge method as best practice and should be considered universal practice among health care workers. Using the …

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The Relationship Between Pre-Licensure Employment And Student Nurse Self-Efficacy, Khristina Lee Grimm Jan 2017

The Relationship Between Pre-Licensure Employment And Student Nurse Self-Efficacy, Khristina Lee Grimm

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student nurses transitioning to acute care practice often feel unprepared to accept the responsibilities associated with their new role. Lack of self-efficacy in nursing practice contributes to high levels of stress and anxiety as the new nurse enters the workforce which causes turnover during the first year of practice. Little is known about how the type and amount of pre-licensure employment affects the self-efficacy in nursing practice of the student nurse. Using Bandura's social cognitive theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between type and amount of pre-licensure employment and self-efficacy in nursing practice of …

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