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See Me From Behind The Screen: Workplace Ostracism In A Remote Environment, Quiméka Nicole Saunders

Dissertations

Workplace Ostracism is a common social phenomenon that impacts individuals of diverse backgrounds, across various industries, and cultural experiences. Literature to date highlights direct and indirect relationships of workplace ostracism, concerning the psychological and behavioral outcomes an individual may experience and the impact to organizational goals. Of existing literature, studies have focused on acts of ostracism conducted in face-to-face (F2F) environments or in F2F workplace situations. With the COVID-19 Pandemic, many companies were forced into teleworking situations, where work continues to be conducted outside of the central work office or facility (remote). With the shift in working environments, the prevalence …

Mechanisms Of Pain Following Thermal Injury, Gretchen J. Summer

Dissertations

Thermal injury induces a profound inflammatory response, which is manifested locally and systemically. Pain is an integral part of this response. However, little is known about the mechanisms of burn injury pain. Clinically, pain behaviors suggest that both acute and chronic pain mechanisms are induced following thermal injury. However, mechanisms of pain following thermal injury have not received the attention it deserves. To be sure, the models and laboratory assays necessary to tease apart the complex mechanisms that contribute to burn pain have not been well developed. However, understanding the molecular events that occur in cells subjected to noxious heat …

A Comparison Of Nurse Sensitive Outcomes Of An Acute Care For The Elderly (Ace) Unit And A Regular Inpatient Medical Unit, Sharon S. Wexler

Dissertations

Hospitalized older adults may experience a decline in functional status from their preadmission baseline, over the course of a hospital stay, and often improve little by the time of discharge, regardless of the admitting diagnosis. Elements of hospitalization including the physical environment and some patient care practices can contribute to poor outcomes; one area in which older hospitalized patients are at high risk is functional decline. Models of care have been designed to prevent functional decline and achieve better outcomes for hospitalized elders. The Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) model integrates a physical environment designed to foster functional independence …

Nurse Educators' Lived Experiences With Student Incivility, Myrna M. Williamson

Dissertations

Incivility is currently a topic of concern in nursing and higher education. There is a serious and growing concern on college campuses across the United States as many forms of incivility are occurring, ranging from offensive language and rude behavior to hostility and violent behavior.

The problem this study addresses is the need for specific information from nurse educators about their experiences with student incivility, and the subsequent impact of those experiences on teaching practices, job perception, and interactions with students. This study also addresses the problem by asking nurse educators their thoughts on contributing factors, warning signs, prevention and …

Workplace Violence Prevention Training: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Home Healthcare Workers, Tamara F. Small

Dissertations

HHCWs are at increased risk for WPV due to working alone in unsupervised, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous work environments. Similar to healthcare workers employed in institutionalized settings, HHCWs primarily experience Type II, verbal abuse from patients. Little is known about how HHCWs promote personal safety while at work. Guided by Haddon's Matrix, the purpose of this manuscript option dissertation was to estimate WPV exposures and identify interventions and resources used by HHCWs to promote personal safety and mitigate and prevent WPV. For this manuscript option dissertation, there are three distinct projects, all related to HHCWs and exposure to WPV.

Relationship Between Horizontal Violence Among Registered Nurses And Falls, Elizabeth D. Rocha

Dissertations

Horizontal violence is a manifestation of oppressed group behavior leading to low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness among nurses. Horizontal violence leads to the creation of a hostile, unsafe work environment preventing nurses from performing at their highest potentials. A hostile work environment leads to a culture of unsafe patient care which may result in increased harm to patients. An understanding of why horizontal violence occurs and the implications of this phenomenon are the first steps in addressing this destructive behavior as well as protecting patients from harm. Health care environments must support nurses to perform at their best in …

A Descriptive Study Examining The Correlation Of Emotional Intelligence And Leadership Styles To Conflict Management Styles Of Nursing School Administrators, Vicki A. Welch

Dissertations

The study aimed to identify whether a correlation existed among academic nurse administrators emotional intelligence, leadership styles, and conflict management styles. There has been extensive research on emotional intelligence and leadership style in business. However, little research has been conducted about academic nurse leaders. This quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational design utilized convenience sampling.

A Comparison Of Perceptions Of Incivility Among Nursing Students And Faculty In Pre-Licensure Nursing Programs, Karen Aul

Dissertations

This study used a mixed method approach to examine the frequency and types of perceived and experienced uncivil behaviors among nursing students and faculty. The Incivility in Nursing (INE) Survey that was developed by Clark in 2004 was administered to a convenience sample of nursing students and faculty from four nursing programs. The sample included 159 senior pre-licensure nursing students and 14 faculty members within diploma, associate, and baccalaureate nursing education programs. Stress was mentioned in all program types as a contributing factor to student and faculty incivility. The analysis of the quantitative data found variability between nursing program types …

It's More Than Nursing: The Experience Of Psychological Safety Of Pre-Licensure Nursing Students Who Identify As Black, Indigenous, And People Of Color, Melissa M. Anozie

Dissertations

The healthcare environment mandates its staff are able to communicate freely and openly to provide high quality patient care leading to positive patient outcomes. As the largest healthcare profession and those who are at the bedside most often with patients, registered nurses play a vital role in ensuring these outcomes. As advocates for the most vulnerable, nurses must communicate often but before doing so, they must feel psychologically safe. Psychological safety is how one perceives the benefits, risks, and consequences of asking a question, sharing an opinion, reporting an error, or revealing one's true self to others. It is a …

The Mediating Influence Of Organizational Trust On The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Job Satisfaction In The Virtual Workplace, Angela Daniels

Dissertations

Research has shown how leadership influences job satisfaction and organizational trust in the virtual workplace. With an increasing number of organizations shifting to these work environments, it is essential to study the effect of leadership on virtual workers. Prior studies suggest that leadership behaviors significantly impact job satisfaction (Hacker et al., 2019), and leadership plays a crucial role in inspiring employees to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization in a virtual workplace (Miller, 2020). Specifically, transformational leadership behaviors that shape the mindset and actions of employees are significant (Abelha et al., 2018). This study proposed a mediation model …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On What Teachers Want From A Principal To Be Successful: A Study On Teacher Perception, Erika Niles, Kristen Pelster

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if COVID-19 has shifted what teachers perceive they want from a principal. In addition, the researchers sought to find what post-COVID-19 teachers want from a principal for them to succeed. Success is defined as feeling supported emotionally, having the proper resources, and maintaining a desire to stay in the profession.

Researchers used a concurrent mixed-methods design to collect data. Because data were not collected before the pandemic, researchers used a retrospective design to gather pre-COVID-19 data. The survey instrument had nineteen pairs of Likert-based questions, aligned with 19 qualities that are historically …

The K-5 Teacher Experience Of Distance Instruction During School Closures Due To Covid-19, Rose Jenkins

Dissertations

The worldwide health emergency agency due to COVID-19 caused confinement of people and, with it, the closure of schools and the transfer of face-to-face instruction to distance instruction. With a lack of guidance from school crisis management plans, teachers had to adapt to new methodological approaches in confinement at a rapid pace. This study aims to gain knowledge of the experiences of K-5 teachers adopting online instruction during COVID-19 to assist in crisis planning.

A quantitative research design was used to collect and analyze data anonymously through an online survey of K-5 teachers. After statistical data analysis, there was a …

The Relationship Among Perfectionism, Perceived Stress, And Coping In Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Amanda Finley

Dissertations

Perfectionism in nursing students is an understudied problem that may affect student and workforce success. Perfectionism has been linked to increased stress and less effective coping styles, as well as depression, anxiety and other psychological alterations. However, it has rarely been studied in nursing students. Studying perfectionism in this population is important because it may increase the likelihood that new nurses will struggle with the stress of practice and it could be a significant factor in early career attrition. The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to gain a better understanding of the incidence of perfectionism in a nursing …

Undergraduate Nursing Student Experiences With Faculty Bullying, Jason D. Mott

Dissertations

Incivility and bullying in nursing education has become an area of increased interest. Incivility literature has focused primarily on student-to-faculty incivility. Less focus has been placed on faculty-to-student bullying. This study examined the lived experiences of undergraduate nursing students with faculty bullying. Using descriptive phenomenology, this study discovered what these lived experiences are. The lived experiences of participants led to the development of themes including: bullying is an emotional experience, in order to gain respect, respect must be given, resilience and persistence are key in overcoming, the environment is everything, and that perception is reality.

Establishing A Student-Centered Culture: A Case Study Identifying Leadership Skills Of Exemplary School Principals, Katie Booth

Dissertations

Purpose: The phenomenological study identifies and describes how elementary school principals who have been recipients of the Terrel H. Bell Award develop a student-centered school culture.

Methodology: This qualitative study identifies and describes an elementary school principals’ ability to build guided coalitions and form strategic visions to ensure a student-centered culture. Participants were purposefully chosen based on specific criteria. The researcher collected data through semi-structured interviews, observations, and artifacts. Data was coded and themes were identified allowing the researcher to analyze findings and draw conclusions.

Findings: Analysis of data from 13 participants led to 10 major findings on how …

The Influence Of Practice Experiences On Feelings Of Role Proficiency In Emergency Nurse Practitioners: A Phenomenological Study, Daniel Monk

Dissertations

The evolution of this research emerged from experiences in the researcher's clinical practice as a nurse practitioner in a variety of urgent care facilities, and the personal queries raised regarding the consistency of the level of practice and evidenced competency of clinical staff in emergency and unplanned care using the title ";practitioner";. These realities are apparent as at present in the UK no legislative requirement exists for nurse practitioners (NPs) to gain formal preparation or qualification. Guidance and direction have been seen in The Advanced Care Practice framework (HEE,2017), yet legislative protection remains absent. Such legislative protection is however seen …

Impact Of Food Distribution Sites In Rural Neighborhoods At Risk For Food Insecurity In San Bernardino County, Lydia Garcia-Usry

Dissertations

Food security is an important element in the lifespan of individuals, and access to healthy food is important to the quality of life in communities. The significance of food insecurity is reflective of a community that does not have the resources to provide a consistent and stable intake of healthy and nutritious meals. Food insecurity has been linked to chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and the level of poverty in a community. The United States of America reports that 50 million people suffer from food insecurity, and it is reported as an urgent public health problem. …

Self-Compassion And Experiential Avoidance: Potential Pathways To Posttraumatic Growth, Julia Sager

Dissertations

Social support has been identified as one of the most consistent predictors of posttraumatic growth (PTG). Although the role of social support in the process of PTG is informative, social support is intrinsically reliant on other people. Identifying internal, potentially malleable, factors that are associated with PTG is essential for developing preventative interventions to improve trauma-related outcomes and increase levels of PTG among trauma survivors. Internal processes such as self-compassion and experiential avoidance may promote, or interfere with, deliberate processing and the subsequent development of PTG; however, this has not yet been examined in the literature. Thus, the primary aims …

Prevalence Of Abuse And Risk Factors Of Homicide In Elder Women, Jean Dowling Dols

Dissertations

A criterion-referenced measurement framework was used to determine the prevalence, frequency, severity, and perpetrator of abuse in elder women, define the characteristics of the elder women who were identified as abused/not abused, and ascertain their risk factors for homicide. The Abuse Assessment Screen (Parker & McFarlane, 1991) was used to describe the distribution of abuse in a population of women, 65 years and older, who sought healthcare in a large southwestern city's public sector emergency center. The Danger Assessment (Campbell, 1986) was used to describe the risk factors for homicide. Personal interview within 3-4 hours of admission to the emergency …

An Exploratory Study To Shape A Disaster Nurse Practitioner Scope Of Practice, Frances Dunniway

Dissertations

The impact and devastation from national disasters pose imminent risk to large populations. If trained in disaster response and following evidence-based practice standards, the Nurse Practitioner (NP) could be prepared to adapt to any setting or surrounding, utilizing their full educational and health care training. Currently there are no written guidelines during disasters to manage the various clinical conditions. Using a Delphi technique, this exploratory study investigated the multidisciplinary understanding about the disaster NP role. Key findings included: 1. Across four groups of disaster responders, there was confusion about the disaster NP role, indicating a need for role clarity. 2. …

Improving Depression Screening In Rural Transitional Care Facility, Stephanie Macon-Moore

Dissertations

Mental health screening may facilitate possible identification of depression and referrals to mental health care. At the project site, depression screening were not standardized or implemented standardly. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of Pfizer's PHQ-2 depression screening tool would impact the identification of problem symptoms related to mental health disorders and referrals to mental health providers among adult patients in a transitional care facility in rural Idaho over four weeks.

Grit And Leadership: How Exemplary Middle School Principals Use The Principles Of Grit To Accomplish Extraordinary Results, Gabriela Aldana

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe how exemplary middle school principals use the five principles associated with grit (courage, conscientiousness, long-term goals, resilience, and excellence versus perfection) to accomplish extraordinary results in their organization.

Methodology: This phenomenological study described the lived experiences of exemplary middle school principals in Los Angeles and Orange County. The participants were selected through nonprobability purposeful sampling and met the criteria for exemplary middle school principals. As a member of a thematic research team of nine peer researchers and three faculty advisors, we developed a semistructured interview protocol for data …

A Multiscale Linkage Between Riverscape And Fish Community Coevolution, Loren W. Stearman

Dissertations

Sediment dynamics are foundational to stream and watershed morphology. Yet aquatic ecologists have relied on an oversimplified model of sediment dynamics characterizing sediments as agents of stream bed burial, and which fails to describe many types of aquatic habitat evolution. In this dissertation I employ both fluvial geomorphic and ecological frameworks to gain a deeper understanding of how sediment dynamics shape stream morphology and fish community evolution at multiple scales. Using a paired historic and contemporary approach, I analyzed geomorphic evolution and fish community change in the Bayou Pierre, Mississippi, from the 1980s to recent. Patterns of erosion due to …

Mentorship Of Novice Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioners To Improve Role Transition, Rachael E. Crowe

Dissertations

The transition from registered nurse (RN) to nurse practitioner (NP) is difficult for many new graduates, leading to low job satisfaction and poor retention with high cost to the employer (Fitzpatrick & Gripshover, 2016; Horner 2017). A mentorship program was developed and implemented to improve transition to practice.

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Increasing Surveillance In Newborns, Lindsey N. Clark

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to improve nursing staff's knowledge of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, identifiable risk factors, how to screen for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, and how to report positive findings from the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome screen. The goal for implementation of this intervention was to improve the rates of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome screening in the newborn nursery.

Improving Recognition Of Depression Among The Older Adult Population, Keirstin E. Uomoto

Dissertations

Depression is a common mental health disorder faced by older adults that can go undetected and untreated. It was determined that the project site was not using a screening tool for depression among their patient population to identify or treat possible depression. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of Yesavage's Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) would impact the identification of risk factors for depression and the initiation of pharmacological treatment, follow-up, and referral to a mental health specialist among adults 65 and older.

Toughest Men In The South, Greatest Athletes In The World: Gender, Race, And Modernity In Southern Wrestling, Sean Buckelew

Dissertations

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, professional wrestling in the South, buoyed by the South’s economic boom, reached its pinnacle during this period. Traditionally, Southern wrestling, affected by a struggling economy and small population, often struggled compared to other regions. However, as the population of the urban South expanded and became more diverse, a new wave of Southern wrestling promoters, found success by courting both their traditional white Southern working-class audience and attracting new African American fans. To do so, Southern wrestling promotions, Mid-South Wrestling and Continental Wrestling, created masculine heroes, like Junk Yard Dog and Jerry Lawler, who …

Understanding The Ethical Decision-Making Processes Of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Practitioners, Lisa Krystosek

Dissertations

Equine-assisted psychotherapy is a unique field in which interdisciplinary teams of practitioners provide mental health services to clients. These teams are comprised of at least two practitioners, one licensed mental health specialist and one certified equine specialist. While ethics and ethical decision-making are significant issues in the mental health industry, there exists a significant gap in the literature pertaining to the ethical decision-making processes of interdisciplinary teams of equine-assisted psychotherapy practitioners. This dissertation aimed to address the gap through the development of an understanding of how teams of equine-assisted psychotherapy practitioners engage in ethical decision making. Further, the researcher sought …

Use Of The Bedside Mobility Assessment Tool To Improve Emergency Department Safety, Tracy M. Abrams

Dissertations

Falls are a common occurrence in the emergency department and can lead to unintended patient harm and work-related injury. Fall rates at the site remained a concern, so an evidence-based approach was sought. The purpose of this quantitative, quasiexperimental quality improvement project was to determine if or to what degree the translation of Boynton et al.'s research on the use of the Hillrom bedside mobility assessment tool (BMAT) used in conjunction with current evidence-based bedside practices would impact fall rates when compared to the current practice among adult patients in an emergency department in Southern California over four weeks. Nola …

Negotiating Emotional Order: A Grounded Theory Of The Survivorship Process In Women Who Have Completed Treatment For Breast Cancer, Jennifer A. Klimek Yingling

Dissertations

Decades of research focusing on treatment and detection of breast cancer has promoted better outcomes in treating the disease and longer survival rates. Despite this there is a significant gap in the literatures regarding the survivorship process. Breast cancer survivorship needs to be fully understood by nurses and health care providers (HCP) in order to obtain optimal health outcomes for this ever growing population.