Digital Commons Network^™

Tips To Turn New Members Into Lifelong Members, Laura Perkins

Leadership Connection

Your chapter is likely to lose half of your new members after the first year! This session will discuss ways to turn the newly inducted into lifelong members.

Teaching Undergraduate Nursing Students With The Siciliano-Mclaughlin Model Of Ethics, Mary Ann Siciliano Mclaughlin

Leadership Connection

The Siciliano-McLaughlin model of ethics addresses the major tenets of ethics including advocacy, dignity, humanity, integrity, and leadership. The major concepts, related to ethical decision making, surround the central concept of authenticity. Students can draw upon the concepts behind this model in an effort to make ethical decisions in practice.

Collaboration, Chaos, And Compliance: A Pilot Study Merging Clinical Practice And Academia, Terri Moore, Heather Anderson

Leadership Connection

An in situ active shooter exercise was conducted with Baccalaureate nursing students and a home health and hospice organization in response to the new CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule. Tips for planning the exercise, participant feedback, and global implications will be discussed.

The Meaning Of Hope For Women Diagnosed With Terminal Illness: A Literature Review, Stephanie J. Orth

Leadership Connection

The concept of hope at the end of life is a personal and complicated phenomenon. Researchers have investigated the concept of hope as it relates to caregivers and nurses. However, the meaning of hope for women at the end of life is underreported and literature shows further study is needed.

Integration Of Infection Management In Physician Orders For Life-Sustaining Treatment (Polst), Aluem Tark

Leadership Connection

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is an advanced care planning tool which aims to facilitate End-of-Life communication between a dying patient and medical providers. Our research team examined the status of POLST program implementation across U.S. and identified state-level variations in how infection management is captured in POLST forms.

Implementing A Bereavement Risk Assessment In A Hospital Setting, Marilyn K. Parker, Jill Peltzer

Leadership Connection

Improving support for bereaved populations in hospitals is a priority in palliative care. Bereavement risks are not routinely assessed in hospitals, creating gaps in policy and practice. Using the clinical microsystems approach to quality improvement, a bereavement risk assessment tool was selected and implemented in a hospital setting.

Impact Of Nurses' Sanctification Of Work On Work-Related Outcomes And Patient Satisfaction, Hazel Ada, Elizabeth Johnston Taylor, Ellen D'Errico

Leadership Connection

How sacred is your work? This study of hospital nursing personnel answered this question. In addition, results showed that the sacredness ascribed to one's work of nursing explained not only patient satisfaction, but also job satisfaction, employee engagement, and organizational commitment.

Impact Of Hemoglobin A1c Screening Program Among Medicare Patients, Mary Jo Quinn, Susan Schaffer

Leadership Connection

In 2016, HouseCalls began conducting point-of-care hemoglobin A1c screening as part of an annual preventative home visit program for patients covered under one Medicare Advantage health plan. This retrospective study (n = 34,348) evaluated the impact of this intervention on the following year's body mass index and hemoglobin A1c.

Encouraging Meaningful Engagement Of Professionals, Jana J. Zeller, Alicia Arias, Christine Hober, Kathleen R. Ward, Rebecca Sander, Carolyn Insley, Tanya L. Smith, Terry J. Siek, Sarah Green

Leadership Connection

Recruiting and retaining members are not the only important parts of a chapter's success. Engaging members in professional and valuable programs that foster educational tools that will help members in their practice are also successful tools that keep members active within a chapter.

Distance-Technology Delivered Grief Support Program: Perceived Quality And Satisfaction Of Training Provided To Social Workers, Daniela Mccroby

Leadership Connection

Through a research grant provided by the Cambia Health Foundation, Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program, a non-profit organization located in the College of Nursing at the University of Utah, extends grief support groups to rural/frontier Utah via distance-technology to diminish health care gap in under-served communities.

Differences In The Rothman Index Scores In Evolving Emergent Events In Medical-Surgical Patients, Deborah Cardenas, Cathie E. Guzzetta, Quiping (Pearl) Zhou

Leadership Connection

The Rothman Index, an early warning system using software integrated with the electronic medical record, provides scores monitoring patient conditions. Minimal findings exist regarding Rothman Index scores in medical-surgical patients. Differences in Rothman Index scores were explored for medical-surgical patients who suffered rapid response, cardiopulmonary resuscitation or death events.

Using Systems Thinking Leadership And Qsen Competencies To Design A Nursing Career Development Framework, Noreen T. Bernard, Cynthia A. Oster

Leadership Connection

The purpose of this presentation is to share the journey one Accountable Care Organization (ACO) took to meet the changing needs of the community by addressing current and future workforce shortages through building a sustainable nursing career development framework supported by Quality Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies.

Three Questions To Ask About Your Competition, Michelle Coburn

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Sunday, September 18, 2016:

Your nonprofit chapter has to compete for the time and membership dollars of potential members. Are you aware of your competition? Are you asking the right questions about your competition?

Proactive Nurse Driven Frailty Screening For Early Palliative Care Intervention, Teresa Ann Hobt-Bingham

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Monday, September 19, 2016:

Our older population is growing, our estimated population of older adults, 65 years of age and older is projected to be 83.7 million by the year 2050 (Ortman, J., Velkoff, V.A., 2014, p. 25). This increase in our older adult population creates an increase in the number of older adult trauma patients admitted to the hospital. Many different variables must be considered when caring for our geriatric population, including their end of life wishes. Palliative care is often a misunderstood term by not only families and patients, but also physicians and nurses. The …

Examining Dnar Status In Pediatric Palliative Surgical Patients: An Application Of A Decision Analysis Tool, Margaret H. Hartig

Leadership Connection

Pediatric palliative care (PPC) involves a multidisciplinary approach for the improved quality of life of children with life-limiting conditions. Many PPC patients present for palliative surgery, which involves procedures that manage symptoms but include risks that could result in catastrophic perioperative events. Determining a patient's and family's wishes regarding do-not-attempt-resuscitation (DNAR) order status can be a difficult topic to broach for providers who encounter these patients for the first time during the preoperative evaluation. A decision analysis tool may help in determining the need for preoperative DNAR communication.

Interactive Classroom Education Versus Simulation-Based Teaching: A Comparative Study Of Nursing Students In Palliative Care, Matthew M. Earnest

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Sunday, September 18, 2016:

The likelihood that a nurse will care for a patient during the end of life is increasing. Yet, new graduate nurses continue to feel unprepared to care for them. While there is little disagreement that end of life education should be integrated in the curriculum, the evidence is unclear on the most effective way to accomplish it. This comparative study was designed to determine if a difference exists between providing education on end of life in a classroom-based learning experience versus receiving the same experience through a patient simulation lab. Both interventions used …

Heart Failure Readmission: From The Eyes Of A Patient, Allison M. Sadowsky

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Sunday, September 18, 2016:

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of patients, who have congestive heart failure and who had a recent admission to the acute care setting, regarding factors that influenced their readmissions to the acute care setting, as well as to identify if there are areas of teaching that needed to be increased in emphasis or added to patient education to decrease future readmissions. The sample consisted of seven patients who had a readmission to the acute care setting and had a diagnosis of acute congestive heart failure. This qualitative study utilized …

Comfort-Focused Wound Care: Development Of Standardized Protocol For Wound Care At End-Of-Life, Traci L. Brackin

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Sunday, September 18, 2016:

Successful wound management in the palliative care and hospice arenas is a challenging process that requires progressive clinical knowledge, explicit goal communication, and creativity to provide comfort and symptom control. While most acute and chronic wounds encountered by a provider can be healed effectively if the appropriate treatment is employed, there are some recalcitrant wounds and many comorbidities that prevent wound healing, especially at the end of life. This circumstance causes providers to evaluate appropriate interventions for wound maintenance. Providers should be able to utilize protocols with symptom control in mind when providing …

The Copd Journey: Care Management Across The Continuum, Allison Mcgee, Nichole Ricks

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Friday, September 26, 2014:

Purpose: The purpose of the care management program is to provide patients and family members with a safe and smooth transition from the acute care environment to the outpatient setting. The significance of the care management program is to improve a patient's quality of life while living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The goals include, "BREATHING EASIER" education to empower patients to take control of their disease process, referral to appropriate outpatient programs, and reducing hospital readmissions.

Methods: The program was implemented due to excessive repeated COPD readmissions in an attempt to …

Work Stress, Zalika Jackson Ladet

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Thursday, September 25, 2014: Abstract: It is easy for health care professionals to take care of others yet neglect themselves. Long hours, moral conflict, workload, outside of work drama, coworkers and a list of other stressors makes it easy to fall victim to stress. The first goal is to acknowledge that it exists and that it is affecting the overall quality of life including health, attitude, sleep, and overall well-being. Continuous chronic stress can cause physical health problems and may lead to death. It is important for individuals to acknowledge and become more informed on those things …

The Ethical Issues Confronting Nurses' Participation In The Death With Dignity Act, Ifeanyi N. Madujibeya, Teresa Villaran

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Friday, September 26, 2014:

Background: On March 4th, 2009 and May 25th, 2013, respectively, Washington state and Vermont joined Oregon State in the enactment of the Death with Dignity Act. On December 31st, 2009, Montana State Supreme Court ruled that a terminally ill, competent patient has a legal right to die with dignity, under Article II, Sections 4 and 10 of the Montana Constitution.

Findings: In the states that enacted the Death with Dignity Act, terminally ill patients and their families turn to nurses for information regarding the Death with Dignity Act. In a survey of 1,678 …

Predictors Of Quality Of Life In Dyspneic Patients With Advanced Cancer, Sara M. Tinsley

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Thursday, September 25, 2014:

Uncontrolled dyspnea is frightening for patients and adversely affects quality of life. It is disabling and interferes with daily activities and limits valuable time spent with family and friends. Dyspnea and related symptoms in advanced cancer are not adequately treated due to limited research and understanding of the total symptom experience. Dyspnea is a complex, distressing symptom in advanced cancer which occurs with other symptoms and smothers QOL. The purpose of this study was to identify symptoms which correlate with dyspnea in advanced cancer patients, and how the dyspnea symptom cluster predicted quality …

End Of Life In African American Older Adults: An Integrative Literature Review, Karen O. Moss, Karen M. Rose

Leadership Connection

Session presented on Friday, September 26, 2014:

End-of-life care in the United States is described as deficient and fragmented. Minority populations engage in end-of-life planning less frequently than Caucasians. African Americans represent the second largest minority group in the United States with its older adult population projected to increase by 114% by 2030. The Patient-Self Determination Act of 1990 requires Medicare and Medicaid funded healthcare organizations to empower patients to refuse or accept medical care and execute advance directives. The Study to Understand Prognoses and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatments (SUPPORT) confirmed substantial shortcomings of healthcare for seriously …

Disaster Nursing: From Headline To Frontline, Cynthia Vlasich, K. Joanne Mcglown

Leadership Connection

LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this presentation, the learner will be able to …. • Describe the global frequency, severity and impact of disasters. • Identify potential roles for nurses in the US Federal response system. • Outline various ways in which nurses may enter the disaster response system. • Describe initial expectations of disaster nurses as part of an effective disaster response.

End-Of-Life Care For Hispanics In The United States, Rebecca Zarate

Family Perspectives

No abstract provided.

Palliative Care: Improving Eligible Patient Identification To Encourage Early Intervention, Norma H. Clark

Group: Northern Arizona University School of Nursing, DNP Doctoral Papers

Palliative care (PC) encompasses a holistic way of caring for patients and families with chronic disease or life-limiting illness through optimal symptom management. Individuals in need of PC has reached 20 million annually world-wide. Many patients in need of this service never receive a consultation, or if they do, it comes late in the disease process. Some health care specialists see PC as incongruent with treatment, while others have a lack of understanding of what this service provides. Additionally, many providers have few or no resources to guide in the recognition of PC needs. This practice improvement project emphasized identification …

Telehospice: A Systematic Review, Paul Repass Iii Umberger

Group: Northern Arizona University School of Nursing, DNP Doctoral Papers

Purpose: A review of the literature was conducted in order to identify, appraise, and report on the use of telehospice in patient care. Questions addressed in the review were, what is the current state of telehospice practice, who is using telehospice technology, and how is it being utilized in patient care?

Methodology: Inclusion criteria for the review were articles concerning hospice care providers, patients and family caregivers involved with telehospice. Telehospice interventions for patient care were included in the review. Editorial reviews and commentaries concerning telehospice were excluded for review. Search strings were designed to identify telehospice use and applications. …

Compassion Fatigue: A Leadership Driven Quality Improvement Project, Peggy Bradley

Group: Northern Arizona University School of Nursing, DNP Doctoral Papers

Compassion fatigue, defined as the physical and mental exhaustion experienced by those who care for sick or traumatized people over an extended time-period (Merriam-Webster, 2019; Berg, et. al., 2016), has emerged as a leading concern for healthcare professionals and organizations locally, nationally, and globally. It negatively impacts personal and professional relationships, physical and mental health, personal and professional performance, as well as standards of patient care. Approximately 16% to 85% of the healthcare workforce suffers from compassion fatigue, putting them at increased risk for poor personal and professional judgment, reduced job satisfaction, increased turnover, and costs the economy billions of …

Effect Of A Multimodal Intervention On Advance Directive Completion Rates, Maria B. Douthett

Group: Nebraska Methodist College

Advance care planning (ACP) could be working better both in the primary and hospital settings. When a patient is admitted in the hospital, there are several questions asked during admission regarding ACP but little screening on ACP is done in the primary care setting. Existing research supports ACP as a benefit to quality of death and health care costs, however, there is limited research on how to apply it in the primary care setting. Most of the research regarding ACP and end-of-life (EOL) care focuses on the process in the hospital or in nursing homes.

The goal of this project …

Complex Illness Support Alongside Standard Oncology Care, Kimberly A. Bland

Group: Nebraska Methodist College

Aim. To evaluate the effect of Complex Illness Support alongside standard oncology care for patients with incurable cancer on symptom control, patient satisfaction with care, and chemotherapy utilization within 30 days of death.

Design. This was a descriptive study to evaluate the effect of Complex Illness Support alongside standard oncology care for patients with incurable cancer on symptom control and patient satisfaction with care. Additionally, the use of chemotherapy within 30 days of death was evaluated using inferential statistics.

Method. A convenience sample of consecutive patients with incurable cancer who presented through a lung cancer clinic in a Midwestern urban …