Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Coaching On Nurse Manager Leadership Of Unit Based Performance Improvement: Exploratory Case Studies, Cynthia A. Baxter

DNP Projects

The nurse manager role has experienced an explosion of responsibilities and expectations over the last decade. As a result, competency and skill acquisition for the successful nurse manager has become the focus of many nurse managers, nurse executives, researchers and organizations. The three manuscripts contained in this final capstone report will explore the acquisition of nurse manager competency, propose coaching as a methodology for acceleration and improvement of nurse manager skill acquisition and describe the results of three case studies using coaching as an intervention to improve the performance improvement skill acquisition of nurse managers.

Military Tobacco Dependence Treatment: Implications Of Treatment Type On Abstinence And Weight Management Ability, Bradley A. Briscoe

DNP Projects

Military readiness, employer productivity and individual health are all significantly impacted by high rates of tobacco use. Current research, to date, suggests that use of brief, individually tailored behavioral modification strategies through group therapy may be most effective in smoking cessation. The objective of this Practice Inquiry Project was to explore aspects of tobacco use the U.S. military population and examine potential relationships between type of treatment, smoking abstinence, and maintenance of body weight (e.g. avoid weight gain) among those seeking tobacco use cessation. The findings of this project can provide guidance on enhancing current tobacco cessation efforts to enable …

Educational Materials And Brief Counseling Improve Diabetes Knowledge And Self-Efficacy, Tamara K. Wellman

DNP Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to see if education and counseling of the Appalachian individual with diabetes and a family member/friend would improve knowledge of the disease and self-efficacy of the patient in regard to their diabetes care.

Setting: The setting was one of eight primary care offices of Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, Bon Secours, located in the Ashland, Kentucky.

Design: A pilot study of descriptive, comparative design was used.

Subjects: Data were collected from a convenience sample of patients with type 2 diabetes (n=15) that were established at the primary care office and their family members/friends …

Evaluating Discharge Readiness Of Patients At A Primary Stroke Center, Amanda Green

DNP Projects

The diagnosis of stroke is very prevalent in healthcare and it is estimated that someone in the United States suffers from a stroke every 40 seconds (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). In order to optimally prepare these patients for discharge and improve patient outcomes, it is important to understand the needs of the patient and caregiver and to meet these needs. In order to evaluate this, the focus of this project was to evaluate the discharge readiness of patients at a primary stroke center. “Discharge Needs of the Stroke Patient and Caregiver” focuses on a review of the literature in order …

Predicting The Risk Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Difficult Endotracheal Intubation In A Surgical Population In A Rural Community Hospital Setting, Craig S. Atkins

DNP Projects

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework with practical application for facilitating patient flow through the operative process using the Lean philosophy to minimized delays and cancellations.

Theoretical orientation:

Efficient, quality patient care has always been the hallmark of Nurse Anesthetist practice. Lean healthcare introduces continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes used in Lean manufacturing to the healthcare system. The principal aspect of Lean healthcare is the concept of a value stream where work is standardized, work flow is streamlined and waste is eliminated, thus creating value.

Nature of Review:

In the surgical suite waits, delays …

Influence Of Coping Styles On Emotional State, Illness Perception, And Information Sources Of Men With Prostate Cancer, Gwendolyn M. Hooper

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

Prostate cancer (PCa) has been the leading cause of cancer death in men since1930. While studies pertaining to PCa have primarily focused on the disease and the subsequent side effects of treatment, psychological distress in this group has yet to be adequately addressed. The purpose of this dissertation was to: 1) conceptualize health related quality of life (HRQL) and health seeking behavior of men by describing lifestyle, cultural and health risks associated with being male, 2) evaluate the psychometric properties of the SF-12 Health Survey (SF-12) combined with the urinary and sexual portions of the UCLA PCa Index (UCLA-PCI), 3) …

Barriers To Effective Pain Management In Preterm And Critically Ill Neonates, Sharon W. Lake

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore potential barriers nurses experience in providing effective pain management for preterm and critically ill infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The specific aims of the study conducted are to examine (a) NICU caregivers’ knowledge about pain, (b) scales used to evaluate pain in infants, (c) NICU nurses’ documented pain practices, and (d) bias in treating pain of certain types of infants.

This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts. The first manuscript is an integrated review of the literature describing caregiver knowledge, barriers, and bias in the management of pain in neonates. …

The Factors That Influence Duration Of Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Mixed Methods Design, Roxanne K. Bowman

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

Breastfeeding is the gold standard of infant feeding and its benefits extend beyond the mother and child. Multiple organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life. Exclusive breastfeeding rates nationally and in the state of Kentucky fall below the Healthy People 2020 goals. A mother’s intention to breastfeed has been shown to impact actual breastfeeding behavior. The current state of the measurement of intention was explored through a literature review. A majority of the measures were single item scales. The reliability and validity of the scales should be further tested in diverse populations.

The purposes …

A Grounded Theory Model Of Mother Role Development While In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Kathy B. Isaacs

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

When a woman discovers that she is pregnant, she begins a process of internal work to develop her mother role. This process has been outlined in the literature for the delivery of a healthy full-term baby, however little is known about the process for mothers of medically fragile babies. A threatened pregnancy and subsequent delivery of a medically fragile baby involves a different process of internal work by the mother to prepare for her role. Mothers with a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience stress, uncertainty, and anxiety potentially causing a permanent impact on the successful development …

Evaluation Of Depression Screening Practices For College Women In A Primary Care University Health Clinic, Sarah E. Lester

DNP Projects

Mental disorders, including depression, are increasing in frequency and intensity in the college student population. College-aged women appear to be particularly vulnerable to depression. Primary care providers play an important role in addressing this issue, as they are the principal health care contacts for more than 50% of patients with mental illnesses. Guidelines from the 2009 United States Preventative Services Task Force recommend screening all adults (age 18+) for depression in primary care when depression care supports are in place. However, current screening rates for depression in the primary care setting from are estimated at only 1.6 to 3.3% (United …