Digital Commons Network^™

Improving The Nurse Patient Assignment Process On A Medical Surgical Unit, Kevin K. Mcewan

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Nurse patient assignments on an adult medical surgical unit at a community hospital are often accomplished with inconsistent processes and rationales. Each charge nurse utilizes individualized processes to determine which patients will be best teamed-up and assigned to the available nurses. There are frequently no acuity measurements system or set criteria by which the number or types of patients can or should be assigned to any given nurse, nor are staff skill or competency considered in the assignment process.

Project Design: A pilot project was conducted on a medical/surgical unit. The project utilized the American Association of Critical Care …

Improving Sepsis Bundle Compliance In The Emergency Department, Meredith Burkhart

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing DNP Capstone Projects

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in hospitals across the nation. It is also the costliest condition a patient can be admitted to the hospital for. This proposal discussed the significance of sepsis in the local, national, and international level. It also covered the SEP-1 guidelines given by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Prior to project implementation, the clinical site had at least one sepsis bundle fall out every month, meaning that a portion of the SEP-1 guideline was not met. This project introduced an alert system for the emergency department to respond to patients with …

Food Apartheid In Indianapolis, Anna Watson

Environmental Justice

This project examines food deserts and food apartheid in Indianapolis.

Cultivating A Cohesive Workplace By Integrating Soft Skills Training In Professional Development Programs And Resources, Penny Nigh

2021 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents

No abstract provided.

Resistance To Change: Why Does It Happen?, Stephanie Lee

M.S. in Leadership

Change in an organization is paramount to its survival. The need for organizations to change and adapt to the needs of their current environment are known to be a necessity of success but are often met with resistance within the organization. This research aims to analyze current information on change resistance and why it occurs. Along with a literature analysis, a survey was conducted to compare information found in literature to real accounts of people's resistance to change and what they feel they need for successful change within their organization. by Understanding people's reasons for resistance organizations can begin to …

Measuring The Impact And Effectiveness Of Mid-Career Education Program: An Exploratory Study In The Indian Context, Gopal Mahapatra, Sadhna Dash

Working Papers

Purpose:- This study focuses on understanding the impact of mid-career education. Research on the program effectiveness of mid-career education in general and specifically in the Indian context, has received limited attention. While mid-career education has been a significant offering from the b-schools in India, measuring its impact on such professionals' careers has been few. This research set out to measure the extent to which one such mid-career education program of a premier b-school in India met its participants' expectations. It aims to ascertain why mid-career professionals enroll for part-time management education and its impact on their career after the program …

A Model For Anti-Racist Transformation: How Academic Medical Centers Can Advance Racial Equity, Vivika Fernes, Tammy Wang, Maranda C. Ward

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of An Opioid Risk Assessment Tool In An Acute Pain Service, Emoshoke Owie

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

The U.S is currently experiencing a deadly opioid epidemic, as demonstrated by the prevalence of opioid misuse and overdose-related deaths. Over the last two decades, opioid overdose has claimed the lives of more than 700,000 Americans; deaths increased by 200% from 2000 to 2014 (National Institute of Health, 2020), and totaled 67,367 in 2018 alone (CDC, 2020). Therefore, healthcare providers collaborating with other stakeholders must continue to explore and apply appropriate risk assessment tools to mitigate this crisis, such as a systematic method of risk stratification. This quality improvement project aims to improve current opioid risk screening practices conducted by …

Implementing Teamstepps® Training For An Interdisciplinary Healthcare Team To Improve Teamwork, Tina J. Dimarino, Msn, Rn, Cnor, Casc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Ineffective teamwork and communication increase the risk of adverse patient outcomes. An evidence-based teamwork training intervention was implemented to improve teamwork and communication.

Aims /Objectives: The team participated in a TeamSTEPPS® training program. The aims and objectives were to improve the staff’s attitudes and perceptions of teamwork and communication; pre, post and sustained at 30-days, reduce the number of documented near misses and measure for daily use of the newly acquired skills.

Methods: This is a quality improvement project with a one group, pretest and posttest design. The TeamSTEPPS® intervention was presented to the healthcare team. Participants’ teamwork attitudes …

Mindfulness Training In Mitigating Implicit Bias: Improving Cultural Competency For Nurses Caring For Lgbt Individuals, Daniel Terrell, Msn, Rn, Fnp-Bc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Equitable care remains a goal of the United States healthcare system, with cultural competency training used as one intervention to mitigate disparities. Cultural competency education is primarily based on racial and ethnic differences, often omitting other marginalized groups. Implicit bias consequences are not addressed in such training programs despite the association with health outcome disparities. Research related to implicit bias has demonstrated the ability to promote malleability in implicit associations.

Objectives: This project assessed a mindfulness meditation exercise intervention on nursing awareness in interacting with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients. Additionally, an LGBT health education module that …

Improving Nurse Manager Job Satisfaction: An Urban Academic Quality Improvement Project, Patricia A. Winston, Ms, Rn, Nea-Bc, Fache

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: It is important that the nurse managers are able to contribute to organizational vision, mission, and goals by influencing others, sharing the vision, and implementing it (Boyce, 2018). They are pivotal to the successful accomplishments of the hospital mission. The issue of recruiting, developing and retaining nurse managers is one that challenges many health care institutions, hospitals, hospitals, and health systems. The literature regarding this concern was reviewed and the paucity of useful science in this regard led to question of how to improve the job satisfaction and job retention of nurse managers at urban academic medical centers.

Objective: …

Improving Care Coordination For The Homeless Population Using Systematic Quality Improvement, Rutendo Nyasvisvo

Doctoral Projects

Background and Objectives: Care coordination for the homeless population is challenging due to the complexity of healthcare and the uncertain life circumstances of the homeless individual. Objectives were developed to guide care coordination for the homeless by utilization of the free clinic to create PCP referrals, appointments and tracking follow-up care to increase appointment attendance and improve health outcomes for the homeless individual.

Design: A quality improvement project.

Setting: A faith-based non-profit homeless shelter organization in the Midwestern United States.

Participants: Participants include 25 homeless guests, 5 staff members including a clinic coordinator, 3 registered nurses and 1 licensed practical …

Design And Implementation Of A Nursing Peer Review Program In A Two-Hospital Setting, Joan L. Goss Ms, Rn, Acns-Bc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background and Purpose: The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) landmark publication To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Healthcare System measured the impact of medical error on the American public in both unnecessary human suffering and unsustainable financial cost to the US healthcare system. Nursing literature suggests that peer review of safety events can help mitigate the impact of medical errors by increasing nurse accountability for practice and empowerment for leading change.

Methods: Fourteen volunteers were selected from over 900 direct care nurses to participate in a four-month Nursing Peer Review Program (NPRP) pilot. Structure, process, and outcome measures of implementation, …

How Do Literacy Coaches Function As Policy Actors?, Angela Vaughan

Theses and Dissertations

How do literacy coaches function as policy actors? Using a case study of literacy coaches in a small, rural South Carolina school district, this dissertation explored the ways coaches act as policy actors, the policies coaches create, and how they institutionalize policy.

This study focused on literacy coaches as policy actors. The South Carolina Read to Succeed R2S legislation of 2014 created coaching positions to support teachers in meeting the needs of students and to assist in meeting the requirements of the legislation. These professionals are usually successful master teachers chosen to share their content and instructional expertise. The coaches …

An “Anti-Handbook Handbook” For Unexpected Changes In A Library Organization, Stephanie M. Margolin, Malin Abrahamsson

Publications and Research

Library employees face countless changes, big and small, in their workplaces every day: not only the COVID-19 pandemic but also such commonplace events as open positions, renovations, budget cuts, and new library systems. No single handbook can anticipate all the changing needs. This case study discusses how one particular library responded, in a specific time and context. The librarians and staff created a model of self-leadership in an effort to articulate a shared purpose and to establish cohesion and well-being in a group that was sometimes divided and stressed. Lessons learned include the importance of ways of thinking, rather than …

Entre Mundos Y Fronteras: An Exploration Of Linguistic Visibility And Value In Libraries, Denisse Solis, Jesus Espinoza

University Libraries: Faculty Scholarship

In Part of Our Lives: A People's History of the American Public Library, author and library historian Wayne A. Wiegand describes how the mass migration of seven million southern and eastern European migrants between 1893 and 1917 shaped public libraries. “As neighborhoods changed ethnic and racial profile, the public library – main or branch- often became a place where newcomers assimilated.”1 This assimilationist praxis, specifically when it comes to the conscription of the English language, is problematic for library workers and patrons for whom English is not their first or only language and who want to see themselves reflected in …

Building Community Among International Students Through Purposeful Selection Of Fictional Literature, Michael Robert

Theses and Dissertations

Purposefully selecting text is a longstanding challenge for teachers of multinational, adult learners enrolled at language schools. International students come from diverse cultural backgrounds, have been educated in different academic systems, are of different ages, and have separate interests; therefore, it is difficult for teachers to effectively select text to meet this disparate student group’s needs. The purpose of this action research investigation was to identify an effective strategy to select reading material that fosters student engagement through a shared reading interest.

This action research investigation used exploratory qualitative methods in a constructivist grounded theory approach. I conducted semi-structured interviews …

The Effects Of Lean Management In Nonprofit Operations, Brandon Diaz

Senior Honors Theses

Many nonprofits desire to serve the segment of society that is helpless or in distress, and this paper seeks to demonstrate that the implementation of Lean management into nonprofit operations aids a nonprofit in accomplishing its vision of service. The goal of this essay is to combine Lean management with nonprofit operations to develop a more sustainable method of managing nonprofit operations. This essay will be written from a Christian point of view, so partnership with the Church will be considered when discussing Lean operations. Lean management is effective in reducing waste and increasing efficiency in nonprofit operations; however, only …

The Effects Of Patient-Physician Interaction Time On Overall Visit Satisfaction And Prevention Of Physician Burnout, Miranda Sheridan

Senior Honors Theses

With an increasingly commercialized healthcare setting, today’s physicians are often forced to reduce their patient examination times drastically. There has also been a greater shift in the administration of primary care to allied health professionals such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners. However, these changes may not be sustainable in the long-term. This study investigates the relationship between time spent with a physician (M.D. or D.O.) during an examination and overall patient satisfaction. Moreover, mental health concerns, namely burnout, have become more prevalent among physicians. Studying this under the lens of accelerated modern medicine could help shed light on strategies …

Readiness Of The Administrative Team To Respond To An Active Shooter On A Campus, Erin K. Newberry

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Philanthropic efforts and community responses to mass school shootings have generated an evolutionary change to the legislation surrounding school safety. An in-depth review of major school-related active-shooter incidents indicated a prioritized need for change across school campuses. Recent laws in the state of Florida created the eminent responsibility of site-based administrative teams in collaboration with the local sheriff’s office, to effectively implement and participate in synergistic crisis planning. While school safety has been at the pinnacle of community leaders’ political platforms for over 20 years, researchers have almost exclusively concentrated on identifying the role of the School Resource Officer (SRO) …

Generational Communication Disparities In Leadership, Janelle Andrea Jordan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Companies seek to strategically utilize their resources and personnel to obtain an advantage over competitors. With generational diversity being a relevant topic, emphasis is placed on the strategic management of its personnel as they are essential in the innovative practices’ companies implement to evolve organizations and enable them to be viable in a dynamic business environment. The aspect of leadership methodologies is demonstrative in not only their verbal communication, but also nonverbal behaviors. Contributors to leadership styles displayed through communication cues may be emblematic of cultural upbringings and demographic differences. As organizations develop the skillsets of their personnel, diversification should …

Exploring The Effect Of Leader Emotional Intelligence On Follower Self-Efficacy During Change Management, Jay L. Phipps

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The problem under study was lack of scholarly research on the effect leader emotional intelligence (EI) has on follower self-efficacy during change management. This study provided findings on the three overarching themes of EI, organizational change, and self-efficacy. Each theme was examined individually and then how they are interrelated. The researcher provided a detailed overview of how the interviews were conducted then subsequently coded and analyzed. The researcher then provided an interpretation of the findings through visualization of the data. As a support to the research, a detailed explanation of the research questions was provided along with participant vignettes to …

The Cost Of Compassion: Assessing The Impact Of Organizational Culture & Self-Care On Compassion Fatigue & Compassion Satisfaction In Counselors, Jennifer Leigh Owen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is the responsibility of mental health counselors to provide compassion for broken and hurting populations. For counselors, the continuous strain of empathizing with distressed clientele can often result in physical and emotional exhaustion known as compassion fatigue (Figley, 1995a). Although providing continuous compassion for others may contribute to negative experiences such as compassion fatigue, counselors can also experience positive outcomes from showing compassion towards clients, known as compassion satisfaction (Figley, 2002b). While risk factors to compassion fatigue have been widely explored among various occupations within the literature, less has been researched regarding moderating effects between compassion fatigue and compassion …

An Investigation Of Teachers' Descriptions, Understandings, And Perceptions Of Intervention And Prevention Tactics Addressing Students With Disabilities: A Collective Case Study, Will Lela Combs-Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe and understand teachers' perceptions of anti-bullying intervention and prevention strategies, or programs, that address the bullying of students with disabilities in elementary schools found throughout a large, suburban school district that is in the central region of the United States. The theory that guided this study was Bandura's (2002) social cognitive theory, which describes how individuals' (teachers specifically) self-efficacy beliefs play a significant role in considering and dealing with situations. The guiding research questions that evoked participant responses and revealed their self-efficacy beliefs surrounding the phenomenon included delving into the …

The Underrepresentation Of Women In Senior Leadership Positions, Marchelle Chemar Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women have remained stagnant within lower level to middle management roles, very rarely exceeding to senior level positions. The gender preference for senior level management, such as chief executive officers, vice presidents, senior vice presidents, and directors, has been that of men, with perceptions, biases, and stereotypes hindering advancement. The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons behind the underrepresentation of women as senior level leaders in the financial industry, as well as create or increase awareness for those within financial institutions that are responsible for the hiring and promotion of talent into these senior level positions.This study …

Practitioner Inquiry: Supporting Teachers During A National Pandemic, Carol Brooke Scott

Theses and Dissertations

During this practitioner inquiry, action research study, teachers from a suburban elementary school in the southeastern part of the United States were purposefully sampled to investigate their overall successes and challenges as they were forced to abruptly change their instruction during the global COVID-19 pandemic to engage students in various learning environments such as face-to-face instruction, hybrid instruction, and virtual instruction. A collaborative practitioner inquiry group intentionally designed professional development based on the successes and challenges indicated by teachers through the use of the Atlas: Looking at Data protocol. Data collection methods consisted of a reflective survey, extensive memoing, and …

The Relationship Between Enabling District Structure And Principal Self-Efficacy In South Carolina, Justin Lee Nutter

Theses and Dissertations

The role of the school principal is ever expanding in both scope and complexity. School districts must consider how to recruit, develop and retain principals to lead their schools. Principal self-efficacy (PSE) is primal to the leader’s overall positive effect on teaching and learning, yet the antecedents of PSE are not fully defined. This quantitative study used social cognitive theory to investigate the potential influence of enabling district structure (EDS) on the development of PSE within South Carolina public-school principals. Due to increased focus on consolidation of the state’s schools, the study also explored the potential relationship between EDS and …

People Manager Mindset Perceptional Influence On Culture At A Large Technology Company, Robert Patterson

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of a growth mindset, meaning an innate desire to learn, persist in the face of setbacks, value failure as essential to learning and regularly seeks feedback to improve by eight people managers in a large technology company (e.g., Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google, Facebook, and Amazon). Utilizing LinkedIn.com, eight people managers were identified and asked to describe their roles in communicating their organization’s culture to their direct reports and the tools supplied by their respective Company to influence their process (e.g., trainings, internal communications, etc.). Additionally, the study documented examples of how …

Formation Of A Professional Learning Community To Promote Metacognitive Teaching: An Action Research Study, Margaret Gregg Long

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research study examined how implementing a Professional Learning Community (PLC) supports the development of metacognitive teaching. Participants were ten technical college science instructors. While PLCs are common in K-12 education, they are less employed at the postsecondary level. There is a gap in the literature regarding PLCs in the context of postsecondary education, and the metacognition of postsecondary level educators. A PLC was used as an intervention over a 15-week semester to aid in the development of metacognitive teaching. Instructor use of metacognition was assessed using pre- and post-surveys, questionnaires, and interviews. The study's results supported literature …

Determination Of Causal Relationship For Increasing Nurse Burnout: A Correlational Analysis, Ashley K. Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nursing leaders continue to face issues related to nurse satisfaction and retention. Burnout, exhaustion, and low motivation have a direct impact on the care nurses provide. There are many economic and non-economic factors affecting nursing morale, motivation, and productivity. This employer’s All Employee Survey for 2017 and 2018 showed a significant increase in nurse reported fatigue, exhaustion, low engagement, and burnout scores over a 12-month period. Based on general systems theory, this project utilized secondary data from the survey to perform a correlational analysis to identify whether supervisor relationships, workplace characteristics, and workgroup characteristics were related to burnout, exhaustion, and …