Digital Commons Network^™

The Hand We Hold: Reflections On Empathetic Practice In Medicine, Aravind Sreeram

Patient Experience Journal

In this narrative, I reflect on an early clinical encounter that reshaped my understanding of what it means to provide patient-centered care. As a medical student, I entered the exam room with a preset algorithm of what to say and how to act. Yet, when faced with a patient whose suffering could not be measured or addressed by any checklist, I realized the limitations of my scripted approach. I began to understand that some of the most meaningful contributions we offer in healthcare come not from solutions, but from presence. This experience helped me see that patient partnership is not …

Anonymity And Social Pressure: A Sociological Analysis Of Lolcows On Kiwifarms, Mary R. Smith

Honors Theses

This research assesses the website KiwiFarms using a mixed-methods approach, including content analysis and descriptive statistics, to determine whether demographic factors, such as weight, disability, and sexuality, influence an individual’s susceptibility to online trolling for others' entertainment.

The study found that most disproportionately targeted group was found to be overweight females. Meanwhile, Kiwi Farms users were found to be predominantly male, aged 18-24, and reside in the United States. The study's results indicate that the expressions of anomie on KiwiFarms are predominantly disciplinary, suggesting that KiwiFarms users mainly focus their criticism on rule violations rather than targeting individuals based on …

‘In Texas, Everybody Wants Antibiotics’: Reducing Inappropriate Antibiotic Expectations And Use With A Provider-Patient Communication Tool In Primary Care, Ashley Collazo, Paige Wermuth, Johanan Luna Rodriguez, Kiara Olmeda, Azalia Mancera, Fabrizia Faustinella, Michael K Paasche-Orlow, Roger Zoorob, Barbara Wells Trautner, Larissa Grigoryan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background/objective: Patients often expect antibiotics for self-limiting diseases, pressuring providers to prescribe antibiotics unnecessarily. These expectations also contribute to the unsafe practice of taking antibiotics without a prescription (non-prescription use), such as pills retained from prior prescriptions or antibiotics from non-medical sources. Previous work shows that non-prescription use is due to strong, widely held misconceptions regarding the curative power of antibiotics. To reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics, we developed and pilot-tested a patient-focused, bilingual (English and Spanish) educational tool with patient and provider stakeholder input. The tool, a trifold brochure, included information on safe antibiotic use, potential antibiotic harms and …

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 7 - November 6, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 7 - November 6, 2025. 16 pages.

Differences In Patient And Parent Preferences For Prognostic Communication Across Disease Milestones In Advanced Childhood Cancer, Rachel A Kentor, Shoshana Mehler, Caroline Christianson, Harmony Farner, Tara M Brinkman, Justin N Baker, Pamela S Hinds, Jennifer W Mack, Erica C Kaye

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Navigating prognostic communication is challenging for clinicians caring for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with poor-prognosis cancer. Presently, little is known about how AYA and parent preferences for prognostic disclosure evolve over time. This study explored communication preferences at key illness milestones of disease progression to inform individualized, person-centered approaches to optimize prognostic disclosure.

Procedure: Sixty-five participants, including 25 AYAs aged 12-25 years and 40 parents, were recruited at distinct illness timepoints-diagnosis, relapse/progression, Phase I/II trial enrollment, and bereavement-to participate in semi-structured interviews about their preferences for timing, style, and content of prognostic communication. Rapid analysis was conducted to …

Rock Outcropping, Kaliakra Peninsula, Black Sea, Bulgaria, Barbara L. Gracious

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

This photo, taken in June 2024 at the Northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, captures our fleeting time against that of ocean and rocks.

Cape Kaliakra (“Beautiful Headland”) has been fought over by various tribes and groups across centuries. Succession included the Dacians, Greeks, Ottoman Turks, the Russian Navy, and in the last century, the communist government of Bulgaria. Now a nature reserve, dolphins play off the coast and cormorants seek its updrafts.

Cape Kaliakra sits on the Via Pontica, an ancient Greek road and major bird migration route from Africa into Eastern and Northern Europe.

Its beauty and its importance …

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 6 - October 30, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 6 - October 30, 2025. 20 pages.

Learning From Our Future Colleagues, One Case At A Time, Paul B. Freeman Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Editorial

The Current - Volume 36 Issue 4, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 5 - October 23, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 5 - October 23, 2025. 20 pages.

Safe In The Storm Or Making Waves? Safe Harbor & High-Stakes Communication, Delia L. Abbott

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Organizations focused on a safety culture, who strive to create a just culture can achieve a work environment where nurses feel heard and encouraged to raise safety concerns. Collaborative communication when Safe Harbor is invoked results in a healthier, safer work environment for patients and nurses.

Detailed abstract attached.

Creating A Healthy Work Environment In Nursing: An Interdisciplinary Approach At The Point-Of-Care, Melinda Rodriguez

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Research has demonstrated that a consistent practice of interprofessional collaboration among interdisciplinary health care teams helps to promote a healthy work environment by fostering skillful communication, interprofessional teamwork, shared decision-making, thus contributing to a reduction in medical errors, decrease in poor patient outcome and increase in job satisfaction among nurses.

Detailed abstract attached.

Developing And Implementing An Interprofessional Education Scholars Program For Nursing And Medical Students, Selena Gilles, Beth Latimer, Natalya Pasklinsky

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

This presentation discusses the design and implementation of an IPE program with a goal of improving the quality of teamwork, collaboration, and communication among members the healthcare team by providing opportunities to take care of the same patient together in the clinical setting and practice patient care using case studies.

Detailed abstract attached.

Implementation Of Standard Communication Tools And Collaboration To Streamline Student Onboarding And Increase Student Placement, Mojgan Haririfar, Kathleen Bradley, Lisa Muniz

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Utilization of the communication and collaboration standards from American Association for Critical-Care Nurses Healthy Work Environment allowed an academic medical center to safely resume student clinical placements and increase the number of clinical rotations by 65% during the pandemic.

Detailed abstract attached.

Implementation Of The Sbar Tool Among Nurses And Providers In An Assisted Living Facility To Increase Patient Safety, Caroline Shirima

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

After-hours communication is common for patient management, as patients often need support or answers after hours, and miscommunication can lead to frustration or even compromised care. The Picot question that guided this quality improvement project was: For nursing staff and healthcare providers in an assisted living facility, does implementing an educational program on the use of an SBAR tool during phone calls, compared to previous practice, increase staff knowledge and utilization of the tool to increase patient safety over a 12-week period? The purpose of this scholarly project is to implement the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) tool within a …

Nurse-To-Nurse Change-Of-Shift Handoff Communication: The Experience Among Senior Nursing Students In A Hospital Setting—A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Karen Bryson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of senior nursing students with nurse-to-nurse change-of-shift handoff communication during their clinical practicum at a major healthcare system in the United States. The guiding research question was: What are the lived experiences of senior nursing students when communicating shift-to-shift handoff reports to incoming nurses during senior clinical practicum in an acute care hospital setting? Bandura's social cognitive theory and Kolb's experiential learning theory are the two theories that support the conceptual framework of this study. Ten nursing students were purposefully recruited from local two-year and four-year nursing …

Feeling At Home In The Basic Communication Course: A Qualitative Case Study Of Faculty And Student Perceptions Of A Connected Classroom Climate At One Midwestern University, Cynthia Grobmeier

Basic Communication Course Annual

The concept of a connected classroom climate considers that peer-to-peer interaction, not just instructor-student interaction, contributes to a sense of community in the classroom that can impact student outcomes. This qualitative case study considers both student and instructor perceptions of what contributes to that sense of connection in the classroom at a mid-size, four-year, Hispanic-serving university. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and member checks with students and instructors who engaged in the first-year basic communication course during the Spring 2022 semester. Four themes emerged in this study: a) the communication classroom is uniquely positioned to create a sense of …

Talking About Dying: Enhancing Comfort With End-Of-Life Conversations With Patients And Families, Mary Ann Villano, Denise Mcnulty

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

End-of-life discussions can be difficult for patients, their families, and clinical nurses. Yet, studies have shown that early end-of-life discussions increase patient/family acceptance of the illness as terminal, promote satisfaction and involvement with end-of-life care, and have the potential to reduce emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and length of stay. This pre-/post- evidence-based practice implementation aimed to improve clinical nurses' confidence in initiating and participating in end-of-life discussions with patients and families. A pre-survey created by the author and subject-matter experts was distributed via an electronic survey to nurses on an acute care, oncology unit before attending a 2-hour continuing …

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 4 - October 9, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 4 - October 9, 2025. 16 pages.

The Current - Volume 36 Issue 3, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 3 - October 2, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 3 - October 2, 2025. 20 pages.

It Just Means More: The Cultural Bond Between The South And Sec Football, Ryan Stinson

Senior Theses

With the success of programs like Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech in the early 1900s, college football quickly became means of establishing Southern superiority over the northern U.S. Their success continued into the 20th and 21st centuries with the creation and rise of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). During and prior to the existence of the SEC, rivalries, traditions, and pageantry developed and thrived in communities across the southeast. These aspects created a unique environment that drew in fans of college football across the region. This resulted in a unique bond between fan, university, team, and community that has thrived within all …

In-Patients Views Regarding Communication Skills Among Medical Students, Luma Mohammed, Nibras Hussain, Zeena Mahdi

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

Background :The competence of the physician is determined not only by scientific and clinical knowledge, but also by excellent communication skills to ensure optimal doctor –patient interactions. Study objectives: To investigate patient views and satisfaction regarding communication skills of medical students and to find out the association of patients satisfaction with some sociodemographic features of them.Methodology: cross sectional study with analytic component was carried out at "Al-Imamain Al-Kadhmain Medical City" during March-May 2022 on admitted patients from different wards.Results: The study involved 314 patients from different wards in the hospital, 52% of patients was in the age group 30-60 years, …

Com 312-101: Effective Communication, Michael Edmondson

Humanities Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Com 312-103, 105: Effective Communication, Nigora Raufova

Humanities Syllabi

No abstract provided.

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 2 - September 25, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 2 - September 25, 2025. 16 pages.

Carry On: A Multi-Campus Faculty Perspective On The Barriers And Facilitators To Implementing Service Learning Curriculum During A Global Pandemic, Adrianne Widaman, Kirsten Leisses Tuck

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Service learning (SL) faculty faced substantial and unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore SL faculty perspectives during the crisis. Higher education faculty who taught SL designated courses during 2020/2021 identified and prioritized challenges and strategies to teaching SL courses without direct person contact. A total of 144 unique responses were collected from 16 faculty from 5 universities using the nominal group technique, a qualitative and quantitative method. Highly ranked themes included the emotional burden felt by the faculty, decreased student learning, a lack of faculty time, the need for alternative assignments, and …

Before “Once Upon A Time”: Creative Class Exercises That May Foster Law Student Proficiency In Gathering Information During A Client Interview, Laura A. Frase

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Cowl - V. 89 N. 1 - September 18, 2025

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 89 No. 1 - September 18, 2025. 20 pages.

Emphasizing A Student-Centered Process: Open Pedagogy Course Assessments Across Disciplines, Angela M. Mcgowan-Kirsch, Kelly Soczka Steidinger, Christina R. Hilburger, Heather J. Hether, Jean Hertzberg, Amanda Lohiser

Milne Open Textbooks

Emphasizing a Student-Centered Process: Open Pedagogy Course Assessments Across Disciplines showcases how Open Educational Practices (OEP) empower students as active contributors to knowledge creation. Grounded in constructivist principles, this collection highlights student-centered assessments—from collaborative course design and renewable assignments to generative artificial intelligence—that foster critical thinking, active learning, and inclusivity. Through practical examples and reflective discussions, the book provides educators with actionable strategies to integrate open pedagogical practices across disciplines while addressing challenges such as institutional support, professional development, and resource accessibility.