Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Nursing Student Experiences Regarding Safe Use Of Electronic Health Records: A Pilot Study Of The Safer Guides, Karen Whitt, Katreena Merrill, Lacey Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students through the entire research process while they worked on a study to evaluate undergraduate and graduate nursing students’ and practicing nurse practitioners’ clinical experience and awareness of safe electronic health record (EHR) practices utilizing the SAFER guide checklists. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for the undergraduate students who worked on this project. We exceeded the original objectives of the study and included more opportunities for student research mentoring than were listed in the original proposal. The students had the opportunity for hands-on experience with all aspects …

Mentoring Nursing Students In A Refugee And Immigrant Public And Global Health Course, Debra Edmunds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The following excerpt from a student’s reflective journal illustrates that academic objectives were met (used with permission): “I have learned a lot from this population and this knowledge has allowed my attitudes to develop and mature in understanding of this high-risk population. Refugees are a misunderstood and, many times, forgotten population that have experienced extensive trauma. I worked with many people on my mission that came from these backgrounds but I never had the opportunity to help them in this type of a setting. I have come to realize that for many people, their story will never be truly known …

Improving Immunization Rates Among Pregnant Women: A Mentored Experience, Lacey M. Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this MEG to mentor nursing students through the process of implementing an education program for pregnant women regarding the importance of Tdap immunization during pregnancy, and to assist Utah County obstetric offices in improving Tdap immunization rates among their patients. Additionally, this project provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to educate the public and utilize health information-technology to empower the patient to be proactive about their care and the protection of their unborn child.

Validation Of Four Activity Trackers And Their Influence On Activity Level In Adolescents And Young Adults, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Objectives:

1. Validate activity trackers including FitBit Surge, Basis Peak, and Apple Watch, against the validated ActiGraph GT3X+.
2. Use quantitative and qualitative means to determine the influence on these commercial exercise trackers on changing sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) behavior.

Improving Immunization Rates Among Pregnant Women: A Mentored Experience, Lacey M. Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this MEG to mentor nursing students through the process of implementing an education program for pregnant women regarding the importance of Tdap immunization during pregnancy, and to assist Utah County obstetric offices in improving Tdap immunization rates among their patients. Additionally, this project provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to educate the public and utilize health information-technology to empower the patient to be proactive about their care and the protection of their unborn child.

The MEG funding was successfully utilized for its intended purpose (production of a mobile application to educate and remind pregnant women about needed …

Mentoring Nursing Students In A Refugee And Immigrant Public And Global Health Course, Debra Edmunds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The following excerpt from a student’s reflective journal illustrates that academic objectives were met (used with permission): “I have learned a lot from this population and this knowledge has allowed my attitudes to develop and mature in understanding of this high-risk population. Refugees are a misunderstood and, many times, forgotten population that have experienced extensive trauma. I worked with many people on my mission that came from these backgrounds but I never had the opportunity to help them in this type of a setting. I have come to realize that for many people, their story will never be truly known …

Nursing Student Experiences Regarding Safe Use Of Electronic Health Records: A Pilot Study Of The Safer Guides, Karen Whitt, Katreena Merrill, Lacey Eden

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to mentor undergraduate nursing students through the entire research process while they worked on a study to evaluate undergraduate and graduate nursing students’ and practicing nurse practitioners’ clinical experience and awareness of safe electronic health record (EHR) practices utilizing the SAFER guide checklists. This project provided multiple mentoring and learning opportunities for the undergraduate students who worked on this project. We exceeded the original objectives of the study and included more opportunities for student research mentoring than were listed in the original proposal. The students had the opportunity for hands-on experience with all aspects …

Getting To Know Veterans Through The Utah Honor Flight, Kent Blad, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were able to serve as individual guardians for a WWII or Korea War Veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington DC to allow those Veterans to visit those sites that are in place to honor their service to our country. For most of the 25 Veterans that were sponsored by BYU College of Nursing, this was their last visit to these sites before they pass on. Examples of these sites were WWII Memorial, Korea War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Navy Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine / Iwo …

Wic Clients And Immunizations: A Community-Wide Educational Project, Karlen E. Luthy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although most well-known for formula and food vouchers, the WIC Program also excels with their education programs. In fact, every three months WIC parents are required to complete authorized on-line educational modules or attend approved educational classes prior to obtaining their food vouchers for the subsequent quarter.

Getting To Know Veterans Through The Utah Honor Flight, Kent Blad, Ron Ulberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The academic objectives of the MEG proposal were met and exceeded. Specifically, students were able to serve as individual guardians for a WWII or Korea War Veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington DC to allow those Veterans to visit those sites that are in place to honor their service to our country. For most of the 25 Veterans that were sponsored by BYU College of Nursing, this was their last visit to these sites before they pass on. Examples of these sites were WWII Memorial, Korea War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Navy Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine / Iwo …

Wic Clients And Immunizations: A Community-Wide Educational Project, Karlen E. Luthy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although most well-known for formula and food vouchers, the WIC Program also excels with their education programs. In fact, every three months WIC parents are required to complete authorized on-line educational modules or attend approved educational classes prior to obtaining their food vouchers for the subsequent quarter.

In Utah, WIC clients establish their eligibility for program services at the WIC location within their county of residence. The WIC Program in Utah County is one of the largest in the state, providing services for approximately 8,000 women. During 2013-2014, a troublesome trend emerged among WIC clients in Utah County – a …

Validation Of Four Activity Trackers And Their Influence On Activity Level In Adolescents And Young Adults, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Objectives:

1. Validate activity trackers including FitBit Surge, Basis Peak, and Apple Watch, against the validated ActiGraph GT3X+.
2. Use quantitative and qualitative means to determine the influence on these commercial exercise trackers on changing sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) behavior.

Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kit Intiative, Holden Brimhall, Dr. Julie Valentine

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Sexual assault is a serious public health concern that has extremely long-term mental and physical health implications for victims. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) estimates that 1 in 71 men and 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime. The key for getting these men and women the justice and closure they need is often found in their Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs), which collect physical evidence from the sexual assault survivor for the state crime laboratory to analyze. Unfortunately, only 20% of SAKs are ever submitted to the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services state …

Validating Basis Peak Activity Tracker And Its Influence On Activity Level In Adolescent And Young Adults, Austen Tullis, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As the population of obesity is increasing, there is greater need to address this health issue (CDC, 2012). Many companies have been developing activity tracking devices to motivate people to be active and live healthy balanced lives. This research project is focused on the product Basis Peak and its influence on activity levels of young adults and adolescents.

Meaning Of Childbirth For Hmong Women In Vietnam, Jamie Gettys, Cheryl Corbett

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The basis of this research project comes from data collected on a BYU Anthropology field school in Vietnam during the summer of 2015. The data consisted of eight in-depth interviews with Hmong women who had given birth within the last eighteen months. The focus of the interviews was on their experience giving birth and what that experience meant to them. The purpose of this research is to educate healthcare providers on the perceptions of the Hmong women interviewed so as to better accommodate to their preferences.

Get Moving: Motivating Sedentary Young Adults, Rebecca Edmunds, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Obesity and sedentary behavior are increasing in the United States and the world. On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website recent statistics put over one third of the American adult population as obese and over half as overweight (2015). This epidemic has contributed to a drastic increase in disease and cost. Obesity and the accompanying diseases are not only expensive to treat but also decrease quality of life. Prevention is essential. Many companies are working to find devices that help motivate people and encourage physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. This research project focused specifically on the …

Immunization Rates Of Nicu Infants, Emily Gardner, Janelle Macintosh

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The goal of this project was to determine the vaccination rates of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of various hospitals throughout the Wasatch Front in Utah. We collected data related to possible reasons why infants may not receive their immunizations during their stay at the facility. Many are uninformed of the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) which states that that preterm and low birth weight babies should receive all immunizations at the same chronological age as full term infants. Yet, many pre term infants fail to be immunized. Preterm infants are at an increased …

Predicting New Graduate Rn Success Through Pre-Hire Simulation, Brooke Holman, Katreena Merrill, Rn, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Decisions about which new nursing graduate to hire can be difficult. Pre-employment testing and assessments have shown to aid in this process. Pre-employment testing, including both medical tests (drug screening) and psychosocial testing (simulations), are well known in both the health care field and other industries. Simulation is often used in healthcare for employees to teach and assess critical thinking. With the implementation of simulation in healthcare, however, little information is available related to how simulation can help us in the pre-employment process, especially when deciding which new nursing graduate to hire. The purpose of this paper is to discuss …

Parent Perspectives Of Their Child’S Diagnosis With Type 1 Diabetes, Elizabeth Kerr, Dr. Donna Freeborn

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the beta cells of the pancreas stop secreting insulin. Insulin is the hormone that delivers blood sugar to the body tissues. This life changing diagnosis affects not only the newly diagnosed child—It affects the whole family.

Although research has previously been done on parent experiences raising a child with type 1 diabetes, no research has been done from the perspective of a parent who has raised their child to adulthood. This unique outlook provides greater perspective and insight on the experience as a whole. The purpose of this project was to increase …

Electronic Health Records And Patient Safeety: Nurse Practitioners’ Experiences In Clinical Practice, Lindsay Dixon, Karen Whitt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to evaluate practicing nurse practitioners’ experiences and satisfaction with electronic health records (EHRs). In response to health policy initiatives and incentives, many healthcare organizations in the U.S. have recently implemented EHRs in clinical practice. Despite expectations that EHRs can improve patient safety, there is evidence that EHRs have the potential to contribute to adverse patient events and medical errors. Therefore, an urgent need to improve the safety of EHRs has been recognized. In June 2015, a study was conducted by Dr. Karen Whitt that invited nurse practitioners to share their experiences and satisfaction with …

Effects Of Poverty Simulation: Perceptions Of Medical Sociology Students, Mike Mcneil, Gaye Ray, Rn, Ms, Fnp-C

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Poverty affects 46.7 million people in the United States. The U.S. Census data show that poverty rates have increased 2.3% from 2007 to 2014 (DeNevas-Walt and Proctor, 2015). It is shown that poverty has become a major social determinant of health. Beckles (2011) states that the socioeconomic circumstances of individuals and the places where they live and work strongly influence their health. In the United States, the risk for mortality, morbidity, unhealthy behaviors, reduced access to healthcare, and poor quality of care increases with decreasing socioeconomic circumstances. Evidence indicates that students benefit remarkably from classroom and clinical learning experience in …

Critical Care Nurses’ Stories Of Eol Care Obstacles, Robin Grigg, Beckstrand Renea

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project was to discover critical care nurses’ perspectives of obstacles in providing end-of-life (EOL) care to patients. Because 20% of Americans die in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (CDC, 2011), EOL care is a vital component of critical care nursing. Therefore, discerning and overcoming obstacles to EOL care is necessary in order for critical care nurses to provide quality EOL care. Additionally, The National Institute of Nursing Research’s strategic plan lists five areas of focus, the third being EOL care, emphasizing the need for EOL care research (NINR, 2014).

Understanding Performance Improvement In A Post-Surgery Unit, Lindsey Shaw, Bret Lyman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this study was to discover how a health system, specifically a hospital unit, learned to improve patient and hospital outcomes. This study builds upon previous research in which the Learning History research method was used to discover and describe the pathway by which a critical care unit learned to achieve and sustain excellent outcomes. The previous study focused on hospital unit situated in a regional medical center that was part of a large, not-for-profit health system. That hospital unit’s history of learning improvement extended over 10 years, and included several distinct developmental eras, progressing from creating staff …

The Healer’S Art Learning History, Lisa Cowan-Echols, Bret Lyman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A primary purpose of this study was to discover new insights related to organizational learning in a college of nursing that may guide nursing faculty and administrators as they strive to improve outcomes in their own colleges.

Organizational learning is highly context-dependent process through which organizations progress toward achieving their desired outcomes. For a college of nursing, desired outcomes may relate to student achievement, faculty productivity, leadership in the profession, etc. Although organizational learning has been studied in a variety of business and industrial settings, it has not been studied in colleges of nursing. Understanding organizational learning in colleges of …

Nursing Perceptions Of End Life Care Obstacles In Critical Access Hospitals, Rebekah Leavitt, Renea Beckstrand

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Death is an unavoidable occurrence. Nurses are on the front lines when it comes to caring for dying patients. When providing end of life (EOL) care for critically ill patients, nurses frequently come across obstacles (Beckstrand, Giles, Luthy, Callister & Heaston, 2012). The purpose of this study is to identify the largest and the most frequent obstacles when providing EOL care to rural critical care patients. Our intent is to use the data to improve EOL care for rural patients and their families.

One quarter of community hospitals in the United States are critical access hospitals (CAH) and 19 percent …

Rural Critical Care Nurses’ Suggestions For Decreasing End-Of-Life Care Obstacles, Lisa Smith, Renea L. Beckstrand

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our research focused on gathering a rural cross-sectional, survey which will help determine the direction to move to improve the End-Of-Life care given by rural critical care nurses. The first step of our research was looking up over 1,300 rural hospitals names, addresses, phone numbers, and number of nursing staff at each hospital across the United States. I and another teammate were assigned to this task, and spent most of our research time completing it.

Activity Trackers: Are They The Answer, Connor Ogden, Neil Peterson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Physical inactivity in young adults leads to a 40% greater chance of cancer mortality, 50% greater risk of dementia, 60% greater risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and a number of other health related issues1. In our country in which sedentary jobs have increased by 83% since 1950, and 69%2 of all adults are obese or overweight, these health related factors due to inactivity become a real concern. Many companies have created these activity trackers as a solution to solving physical inactivity. The purpose of this project was to evaluate what aspects of the Microsoft Band that young adults …

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) In The Veteran Population: An Education Simulation For Nursing Students, Deven Jennings, Stacie Hunsaker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The veteran population receives health care in various locations outside of Veteran Affairs facilities. Current research supports that 18-30% of veterans suffer from PTSD. Census records show that in 2013, 19.3 million veterans living in the US, this means that nearly 3.5-5.8 million American veterans suffer from PTSD currently (Census.gov, 2014). The need for nurses to become more familiar with PTSD and specific nursing care related to PTSD is necessary to care for the diverse population we find in many health care settings. The purpose of this project was to create a simulated educational experience for nursing students in order …

Sexual Assault Kit Submission Tracking Initiative, Sage Williams, Julie Valentine

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Sexual assault has serious community health and social consequences and is a prevalent problem throughout the United States. Although many would like to believe that this is only a national problem, recent studies have shown that Utah is not an exception. In Utah, one in three women are sexually assaulted and one in six are raped (Mitchell & Peterson, 2008). Forcible rape is the only violent crime factor in which Utah is higher than the national average (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2013).

Utilization Of Pharmacogenetic Principles In Prescription Medications By Nurse Practitioners, Hyrum Wright, Karen Whitt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pharmacogenetics is the study of the relationship between genetics and the metabolism of medications. Some classes of drugs have been shown to be metabolized differently in people of specific genetic profiles, with gene markers correlating to the differences in metabolism. For example, patients taking simvastatin have a modest increase in myopathy risk even with lower doses of simvastatin if they have the C allele at SLCO1B1 rs4149056, compared with other alleles. This would be significant to the provider who prescribes a statin drug to patients. The provider, ideally, would be aware that certain patients have an increased risk for myopathy …