Digital Commons Network^™

Are Current Pain Assessments Adequate?, Allison Caspersen

MSN Capstone Projects

“Pain is what the patient says it is” has been a big proponent to improve interventions for pain management. But how are we assessing patients’ pain? They have been asked to provide us with a number to rate their pain but what do these numbers mean to the patient? Do they rate according to pain they have experienced in the past or is it based off what they imagine the pain could be? Have we ever distinguished patient preference between unidimensional and multidimensional pain assessment? The use of unidimensional pain assessment the Numerical rating scale (NRS) has been used primarily …

Resiliency Can Be Taught: The Impact Of An Evidence-Based Training On Nurse Resilience, Margaret Maxtin

MSN Capstone Projects

A small project team implemented a resiliency training class as part of an evidence-based nursing intervention. Nurses at a tertiary care facility who work on a pediatric hematology/oncology unit participated in the 2-hour training course and learned multiple skills directed at improving resiliency. All participants surveyed responded positively to the class. Future directions for the project include long term follow-up and continued resiliency classes with varied topics to continue improving resilience and decreasing burnout.

Bridging Mental Healthcare, Kristin L. White

MSN Capstone Projects

Nurses have an important role in the care given to mental health patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Without expectations or encouragement toward growth or continued education, the quality of care and the therapeutic ability for care are crippled, as evidenced by nurses' knowledge/competency deficits and negative attitudes. Through ongoing/continued education, the cultivation of a therapeutic culture toward patients that present to the ED for mental health complaints could result. Additionally, these improvements in care, in turn, could promote not only the closure of gaps that exist for quality mental healthcare but may also lead to an increase in …

Stroke Education Program To Reduce Readmission, Karnesha Dominguez

MSN Capstone Projects

Stroke is a major cause of long-term disability and mortality in the United States, exemplifying a complex chronic disease with high co-morbidity, associated healthcare costs, and readmission rates. Unfortunately, patients diagnosed with strokes often present to acute care settings with stroke events after they have had been previously diagnosed. Readmission rates among stroke patients are as high as 13% with most readmissions being unplanned and many avoidable (Brom et al., 2021). An estimated 6.6 million Americans aged 20 years and older have had a stroke, and each year approximately 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke (Duncan et al., …

Deterring Delirium In The Intensive Care Unit, Kimberly Allen

MSN Capstone Projects

There is growing concern about the increase in cases of delirium associated with a critical care hospitalization encounter. Discovery of different types of research that can eliminate or at least minimize occurrences of delirium including early recognition, eye masks and earplug usage, and environmental changes have show promise in reducing the risk of ICU delirium.

A Need For Change: Patient Education And Diabetic Control, Meredith Sexton

MSN Capstone Projects

Type II diabetes is a difficult diagnosis for patients to receive. Patients must work through the stigma attached to the diagnosis and understand how it affects their daily lives. It is important for our patients to understand the disease, how to control their blood sugars and how to reduce the risk of preventable complications. This project is based on the following question: “In patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes, how does going to a formal support and education session at least once per week compared to not going to a formal support group affect diabetic control, as measured by patients’ …

Impact Of Nurse Residencies On A Graduate Nurse’S First Year, Melinda R. Fox

MSN Capstone Projects

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the importance of the graduate nurses first year in their clinical role and highlight the positive impact of nurse residency programs. The target audience for this presentation includes, but is not limited to, the University of Texas at Tyler students and professors enrolled in NURS 5382: Capstone. The observers of this presentation will be able to describe the rationale behind the importance of Nurse Residency Programs, discuss the current literature recommendations, and understand the overview of the change process proposed.

Reducing 30-Day Hospital Readmissions Through Interprofessional Collaboration/Multidisciplinary Team-Based Care Approach: A Benchmark Project, Julius Solis

MSN Capstone Projects

Hospital readmissions are a costly burden that hospitals often must sustain because of current reimbursement policies. The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), a value-based purchasing program, was established to reduce or penalize payment to hospitals for excessive readmissions (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2020). Lower financial payments by payors often have a negative impact on a hospital’s overall performance through the inability to purchase new and up to date equipment and materials, budget cuts, downsizing of personnel and departments, amongst all other things. Auerbach et al. (2016) estimate that approximately one-quarter or 26.9% of hospital readmissions were preventable. The …

Standardizing The Superior Preoperative Skin Antiseptic, Marissa Eckeberger

MSN Capstone Projects

Preoperative skin antisepsis is a critical component in the prevention of surgical site infections. Evidence has shown Chlorhexidine to be more effective than Povidone Iodine as well as any other agent, therefor it should be a standard of care for surgical patients. Patients expect to receive exceptional care and have good quality outcomes. Surgery is a means to resolve patient problems, not to develop new ones. Not having a standardized process in place means that patients are subject to receiving substandard care based on which surgeon they have and the surgeon’s preferences. Surgical nurses may be a part of two …

Bedside Handoff In The Emergency Department, Sheila Pochron

MSN Capstone Projects

Background

A standardized approach to bedside handoff improves nurse and patient satisfaction as well as quality outcomes.

Objectives

To compare the preference for bedside handoff in the emergency department post implementation by analyzing nursing surveys and Press Ganey data.

Design

A mixed method pilot study.

Settings

A not-for-profit community-based safety net hospital which is Magnet designated. ED is a level 3 trauma center with 60,000 visits annually.

Participants

ED nurses (n=52) and adult patients (n=86)

Methods

A pre and post implementation survey that utilized the 5-point Likert scale was given to nursing staff in the emergency department. Questions were asked …

Benchmark Study On The Impact Of Nurse Managers’ Leadership Style On Job Satisfaction And Retention Of Nurses, Khatrina Swarup

MSN Capstone Projects

Nurse managers play a crucial role in the healthcare system as they ensure that quality care is maintained and provide the necessary support for the nursing staff to perform their responsibilities well, amongst other duties. Nurses want patients to receive quality, cost-effective care, and these patients want the same. If nurses are happy with their jobs, they provide quality patient care, improving overall patient outcomes. Also, job dissatisfaction predicts how individuals perform at work and whether they intend to leave their position or not.

The current standard of practice does not specify what leadership styles nurse managers or leaders should …

Comprehensive Report On Extraterrestrial Resource Extraction, Robinson Raphael

Student Works

The prospect of asteroid mining provides a plethora of riches that include metals and water. As the number of discovered asteroids continues to grow, opportunities arise to commercialize these resources within Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs). With urgent applications on Earth and in space, NEAs allow for a surge in sales. Planning forward, Astroider Aerospace Systems follows a mission split into four phases. Phase 1 develops a series of spacecraft using existing technologies, titled as Near-Earth Asteroid Miners and Near-Earth Asteroid Surveyors. Phase 2 first launches the surveyors to candidate NEAs, prospecting them for ores. To identify potential celestial bodies for this …

Workflow Optimization Of World Micro, Inc. Quality Department, Nicholas Ricci, Rosa Lopez Gomez, Darius Ruffin, Josh Fennell

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Our group member Nick is currently an intern at World Micro, which is an electronic components distributor for companies manufacturing a variety of commercial, aerospace and military products. When electrical components are purchased from the open market, they need to be traced back to the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or have a series of tests performed to verify that the parts are authentic and work. The current process time for World Micro’s quality testing and inspection is not efficient causing long lead times, extra work hours, and extra expenses in outsourcing services.

Sex Disparities In Productivity Among Oculoplastic Surgeons, Mckenzee Chiam, Mona L. Camacci, Alicia Khan, Erik B. Lehman, Seth M. Pantanelli

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

Abstract

Purpose The aim of the study is to investigate sex differences in academic rank, publication productivity, and National Institute of Health (NIH) funding among oculoplastic surgeons and whether there is an association between American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) membership and scholarly output.

Methods Sex, residency graduation year, and academic rank were obtained from institutional websites of 113 U.S. ophthalmology programs. H-indices and m-quotients were obtained from the Scopus database. NIH funding information was obtained from the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool.

Results Of the 272 surgeons, 74 (30.2%) were females. When adjusted for career …

Understanding The Lack Of Under-Represented Racial And Ethnic Minorities In Ophthalmology, Emily K. Tam, Michael Harrell, Nicole H. Siegel

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

To adequately address the racial and ethnic disparities in eye care for our increasingly diverse society there needs to be a significant increase in physicians from under-represented minority groups (URMs) who pursue careers in ophthalmology. Studies have shown that patient–physician racial congruence tends to improve patient satisfaction and medical compliance.[1] However, there are significant racial and ethnic disparities that exist within medicine as a whole and, more specifically, within the field of ophthalmology.[2] One way to address this gap is to diversify the physician workforce by increasing the number of physicians from URMs.[2] URM is defined by membership in certain …

The Lost Taste, Wei-En Chen

Theses

The Lost Taste is a film about a young chef named Ueda who is running a noodle bar that was passed down from his deceased father. Ueda is an excellent cook who always satisfies his customers with his secret family recipe. However, in recent years he has been having a hard time running his business, since fast-food chain restaurants are booming and one across the street is stealing his customers. Recently, only a few old loyal customers have come to visit. Worst of all, he has completely forgotten that this very day is the deadline to pay off his debt …

Using Prediction Ml Algorithm For Predicting Early Student Attrition In Higher Education, Zainab Alhashemi

Theses

This research aims at using predictive models that enable us to predict students who are at risk of dropping out and identify the factors that possibly lead to this dropout. Through the results obtained, concerned stakeholders will be able to effectively develop strategies and initiatives to help decrease the percentage of students’ attrition. There are different reasons why students drop from their courses which could be related to academic issues or personal issues that stop them from being active students. Due to these many reasons of students dropping out, universities are impacted negatively in terms of the financial costs as …

Barriers And Facilitators In Rehabilitation In Chronic Diseases And After Surgery: Is It A Matter Of Adherence?, Elijah E. Sanches, Emily Aupers, Nasser Sakran, James Navalta, Tomasz Kostka, Sjaak Pouwels

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Research

Although it has been generally acknowledged that participating in rehabilitation programs is better for chronic diseases or post-surgery, the adherence rates of these programs remain lower than expected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adherence has been defined as follows: "the extent to which a person's behavior corresponds with agreed recommendations from a healthcare provider." In general, rehabilitation is well investigated, and in chronic diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, neuromuscular disease, cancer, and even psychiatric diseases like depression, it has been shown that exercise therapy, in particular, has beneficial effects on morbidity, mortality, and convalescence …

Screening For Human Trafficking: Best Practice Guidelines And Recommendations For Health Care Providers, Bernadette Portillo

Student Scholarly Projects

Human trafficking (HT) is a federal and international crime and is regarded as one of the most pressing human rights issues. Adult and minor victims are trafficked by force (rape, beatings, confinement), fraud, and coercion resulting in profound physical and psychological injuries (Chisolm-Straker et al., 2019, p. 72; Department of Homeland Security, 2020; Vera Institute of Justice, 2014, p. 6). Most clinicians fail to recognize HT victims (Egyud et al., 2017; Leslie, 2018; Mason, 2018; McDow & Dols, 2020; Mostajabian et al., 2019; Patient Safety Monitor Journal, 2017; Stevens & Dinkle, 2020). This policy brief’s purpose is to provide health …

Ensemble Concerts: Music For The Holidays, December 5, 2021, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

No abstract provided.

Difficulty In Video Games, Jason Bechdolt

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

Throughout time games have been utilized for a great variety of purposes: relaxing leisure, competitive activity, intellectual exercise, and many other sources of enjoyment. The element of difficulty has existed in various degrees throughout all of those game styles, usually found through the skill of an opponent, but lately many games have been designed to have a digital opponent to provide that difficulty. With access to more information than ever before, people have gotten the chance to witness lives and worlds that they can never physically enjoy, and this has led to a considerable market for games that can provide …

2021-2022 Gingerbread Holiday Concert, Lynn University Philharmonia, Jon Robertson, Kevin Ross

Philharmonia

18th annual Gingerbread holiday concert presented by Lynn University Friends of the Conservatory of Music

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Microsurgical Training Methods In Ophthalmology Education: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Geoffrey Nguyen, Jamie Palmer, Emilie Ludeman, Moran R. Levin, Ramya Swamy, Janet Alexander

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

Abstract

Objective The objective of our paper is to review all of the relevant literature in ophthalmology microsurgical education and identify which teaching methodologies were most effective.

Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature was conducted. Electronic databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, and EMBASE, were searched with preset terms. The search was through December 11, 2019. Eligibility criteria included studies with sufficient data for analyzing associations between surgical teaching techniques and success rates in surgical skills and the organization of the intervention as a microsurgical skills course, curriculum, or program. The articles were independently reviewed by two …

Discovery Of Phosphotyrosine-Binding Oligopeptides With Supramolecular Target Selectivity, Ana S. Pina, Leonor Morgado, Krystyna L. Duncan, Sara Carvalho, Henrique F. Carvalho, Armenio J. M. Barbosa, Beatriz De P. Mariz, Ines P. Moreira, Daniela Kalafatovic, Bruno M. Morais Faustino, Vishal Narang, Tong Wang, Charalampos G. Pappas, Isabel Ferreira, A. Cecılia A. Roque, Rein V. Ulijn

Advanced Science Research Center

We demonstrate phage-display screening on self-assembled ligands that enables the identification of oligopeptides that selectively bind dynamic supramolecular targets over their unassembled counterparts. The concept is demonstrated through panning of a phage-display oligopeptide library against supramolecular tyrosine-phosphate ligands using 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-phenylalanine-tyrosine-phosphate (Fmoc-FpY) micellar aggregates as targets. The 14 selected peptides showed no sequence consensus but were enriched in cationic and proline residues. The lead peptide, KVYFSIPWRVPM-NH2 (P7) was found to bind to the Fmoc-FpY ligand exclusively in its self-assembled state with KD = 74 ± 3 μM. Circular dichroism, NMR and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the peptide interacts with Fmoc-FpY …

Synthesis, Structure-Activity Relationship And Antiviral Activity Of Indole-Containing Inhibitors Of Flavivirus Ns2b-Ns3 Protease, Shenyou Nie, Jidong Zhao, Xiaowei Wu, Yuan Yao, Fangrui Wu, Yi-Lun Lin, Xin Li, Alexander R Kneubehl, Megan B Vogt, Rebecca Rico-Hesse, Yongcheng Song

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Zika virus belongs to the Flavivirus family of RNA viruses, which include other important human pathogens such as dengue and West Nile virus. There are no approved antiviral drugs for these viruses. The highly conserved NS2B-NS3 protease of Flavivirus is essential for the replication of these viruses and it is therefore a drug target. Compound screen followed by medicinal chemistry optimization yielded a novel series of 2,6-disubstituted indole compounds that are potent inhibitors of Zika virus protease (ZVpro) with IC50 values as low as 320 nM. The structure-activity relationships of these and related compounds are discussed. Enzyme kinetics studies show …

An Analysis Of The Research Productivity & Research Interests Of Library And Information Science Department Of Panjab University In Zenodo Community, Subhajit Panda, Dr. Atasi Sinhababu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The crisis in open access scholarly communications leads to several initiatives promoting the development of open access repositories. It reduces the repetition of research studies by minimising the cost of access and encouraging the reuse of research data. But at the same time, the contributor researchers are also concerned about the long term preservation, meta-descriptions and citation support of their research publication shard in open access repositories. Zenodo, as an open access repository, supports a wider variety of use cases, and many of them implement minimal control on the data uploaded by users. The present study discusses the research output …

The Importance Of Improving Literacy Skills For Indonesian Women Migrant Workers In The Pre Departure Stage To Support Safe Migration (Sdg 10); Gender Sensitivity Approach, Bunga Aprillia, Ida Widianingsih, Junita Budi Rachman, Sinta Ningrum

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Women migrant workers from Indonesia are in great demand by placement countries to work in the domestic sector. West Java province ranks third largest as a contributor to the dominance of women migrant workers in Indonesia after Central Java and East Java. At the pre-placement stage their ability to understand all information about migration is very reliable. Prospective migrant workers must be given access to read, understood, and agree to every article in the employment agreement. Especially women, the dominance of the number of women working as migrant workers in the domestic sector adds to the condition of their vulnerability. …

Emerging Technologies And Social Media Are Creating Environment Flexible For The Libraries: A Brief Review, Anwar Muhammad Mr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Purpose- The basic purpose of this paper is to find out the Library professionals how these libraries perceive the importance of social media and emerging technologies what would make the difference in the libraries and how they help libraries to create environments flexible and exclusive.

Design/methodology/approach – the survey method and qualitative research design were used to determine the data as per the set of objectives of the study.

Findings – This study revealed the perception of library professionals about the use of social media and emerging technologies is very high. The reviewed literature has identified the importance and use …

A Descriptive Study On Digital Innovations And Technologies In Libraries, Neethu Mohanan, Ajo Geevarghese Thomas

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Libraries are social institutions that adopt new innovations for enhancing service and quality. This paper is about the descriptive study of three major technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, BlockChain and their application in libraries and information centers. This paper also investigates, Libtech, an innovative open platform in Iran by merging these technologies. The adoption of new technologies will help the libraries to be up to date in quality and it also improves the user experience.

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Nermeen Mohamed El Nawawi

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.