Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Bus Stops Here: Mobile Education Program, Katie Juskewitch

Theses and Graduate Projects

Medical knowledge and technology are rapidly evolving. Nurses need to continuously adapt their practice to provide the best care for their patients and to meet the financial incentives being applied to hospitals. The need for continuous nursing education is apparent since healthcare continues to advance. A project to the develop an alternative method of continuing nursing education for hospital nurses called "bus stop education" was designed to optimize the retention of new knowledge by addressing the needs of the adult learner. The framework of a hands-on learning approach guided by Malcolm Knowles classic theory on andragogy of learning, Watson's theory …

Patient-Family Centered Advisory Council For The Emergency Department, Kelly Sanocki

Theses and Graduate Projects

Issues such as overcrowding and long wait times in the ED cause an increase in patient frustration and dissatisfaction, which may lower hospital satisfaction scores,, and reimbursement. This project proposes the implementation of a Patient-Family Advisory Council (PFAC) in the Emergency Department (ED) setting in a large urban hospital. The addition of a PFAC will offer patients and family members a voice in their care, as they work collaboratively with various healthcare providers to improve patient care, patient safety, and overall satisfaction. The addition of Watson's Caring theory will serve as the theoretical framework for the PFAC since it is …

Breast Milk For Preterm Infants: A Nursing Education Program, Lynn Root

Theses and Graduate Projects

The incidence and duration of breast milk feedings for preterm infants, via gavage, bottle and/or breast, is less than that of full-term infants despite scientific-based benefits of breast milk for preterm infants. Maternal-neonatal nurses play a critical role in supporting mothers of preterm infants and promoting breast milk for this population. However, when caring for the mother-preterm dyad, the maternal-neonatal nurse may encounter several barriers in the promotion of breast milk. It has been identified that one of the major barriers to the initiation and maintenance of lactation in mothers of preterm infants is the inconsistent information and lack of …

Intentional Rounding On A General Surgical Unit, Lisa M. Patterson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Patient safety for the hospitalized patient is a coneern. Hospitalized patients are affected by pain management issues, a risk of falling, and the potential to develop pressure ulcers. Research has shown that by reducing these events, patients report increased satisfaction which ultimately increases hospital reimbursements, not to mention cost avoidance. Intentional rounding is a nursing best practice designed to anticipate patient care needs and improve patient safety. A project to implement intentional rounding on a general surgical unit provided a leadership opportunity for a Masters of Nursing student to plan, implement, and evaluate a nursing unit quality initiative using Watson's …

Community Gardening And The Somali Immigrant Community, Sarah Sanford

Theses and Graduate Projects

Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are all common diagnoses within the Somali immigrant community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There is an opportunity for collaboration between graduate nursing sfudents at Augsburg College, which is a small inner-city college, the Health Commons, which is a drop-in health center staffed by nurses, and community members in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood to address improvement in health, food choices, and socialization opporfunities for Somali immigrants. The purpose of this project is to develop relationships with Somali immigrant community members in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, Augsburg College graduate nursing students, University of Minnesota Extension Office dieticians and master gardeners, and …

Rn Study Coordinator: The Role And Education, Karlyn E. Pierson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Nurses have been identified as having the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct and lead research studies. An educational foundation in research regulations, study management, and patient interactions would enable a registered nurse (RN) study coordinator to represent the nursing profession well through skills acquired to perform the job with efficiency and confidence. The purpose of this project is to create an educational module that highlights the importance of defining the role of the RN study coordinator and provides foundational research knowledge to assist with the transition into the role within a Thoracic Surgery Clinical Research Unit. A literature review …

Communication Metaphor Of Patient Prognosis In The Spirit Of Hope, Dory Hanks

Theses and Graduate Projects

Prognosis for terminally ill patients is intended to serve the purpose of educating patients on the expected clinical outcome of their illness. This information is generally communicated to a patient by their primary physician when options for fufiher treattnent or "cure" are limited. Learning a prognosis may be helpful to some patients, while burdensome to others. A review of the literature reveals many barriers to effective communication of prognosis. The purpose of this project is to develop a metaphor for enhanced communication of prognosis to be used by hospice nurses that incorporates a caring perspective on living with hope during …

Support Of The Informal Kinship Care Family, Emily J. Hansen

Theses and Graduate Projects

Most children cannot imagine living without their parents; for some though, because of social instability, substance abuse, or parental neglect, life apart from their parents is the reality. When these children are cared for by a relative or a close family friend without the involvement of a child welfare agency, the family that is created is known as an informal kinship care family. Because of the fluid nature of these families, little is known about them, leaving this group disadvantaged and neglected by the health care community. After a review of the existing literature, observation of informal kinship care families, …

Proposal Of A Caring Companion Program For Emotional And Spiritual Wellness, Lori A. Larson

Theses and Graduate Projects

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2013), Americans frequently struggle with more than one, if not several, health care conditions impacting their quality of life. Literature review substantiates the need for emotional support for patients impacting hope and emotional wellness. Caregivers may suffer a physical impact from caregiving and also psychological impact from worry and fatigue (Pinquart and Sorenson, 2003). Caregiver strain is common but it often goes unrecognized, which can lead to poor health outcomes for caregivers (Honea et al, 2008). In addition, nurses are at high risk for compassion fatigue, comparing nurses to 'first …

Advocacy For The Perioperative Patient, Patricia R. Ballinger

Theses and Graduate Projects

Thousands of surgeries and procedures happen daily. Patients place their lives and well-being in the hands of the surgical team. The operating room is a high risk environment and unfortunately, errors can occur resulting in harm and even death. Each surgical team member has a role and responsibilities during the surgical case. One main role of the perioperative nurse is patient advocacy and patient safety. However, this role can be impeded due to hierarchy and the operating room culture. Identifying the perioperative nurse's role and responsibility relating to patient advocacy will provide directions in the perioperative nurse's daily practice. An …

Influenza Vaccination: An Educational Module For Health Care Workers, Lisa A. Hogan

Theses and Graduate Projects

The seasonal influenza virus continues to have a significant impact on the health of hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States each year, despite the availability of a vaccine shown to be effective at reducing both illness and death. All Health Care Workers (HCWs) at a large Midwestern medical center must make a choice whether to receive the yearly influenza vaccine or not, and approximately 5,000 HCWs chose to decline the vaccine in 20l2. Reasons given for these declinations included fears about vaccine safety and effectiveness, as well as misperceptions about vaccine side effects and the intended recipients. …

Integrating Mindfulness Meditation Into Undergraduate Nursing Curricula, Michelle Yankowiak

Theses and Graduate Projects

Stress and anxiety impact the lives of undergraduate nursing students. Learning how to cope with the stressful demands of nursing school is essential for student success. Watson's caring and healing philosophy notes that learning to care for self is foundational in learning to care for others. Literature also reports that nursing programs across the country are lacking instruction on alternative therapies as a self-care method. A need to integrate self-care into curricula was identified by personal knowing as a nursing clinical instructor and through a self-care questionnaire to undergraduate obstetric nursing students. The integration of mindfulness meditation, as a means …

Education And Opportuntty: Creating A Scholarship Program In Ecuador, Holly Hanson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Educating young women offers significant benefits to societies, including economic progress and improved health outcomes. Despite the benefit, many girls around the world lack access and opportunity to education. The Rochester, Minnesota 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Hands For Humanity, addresses this inequity through offering a college scholarship program for young Ecuadorian women living in Portoviejo, Manabi province, Ecuador. Hands For Humanity collaborates with Ecuadorian teachers and business leaders to select high-achieving students with a financial need. Currently there are six young women completing their college education with the help of the scholarship. Due to rising tuition costs and extended academic program …

Nursing Leadership Team Orientation Program, Sheryl Capelle

Theses and Graduate Projects

Nursing is a dynamic profession. Throughout the history of nursing, leaders have emerged. Some leaders have joined a nursing leadership team to provide care and support to the unit staff and patients. Developing a highly functioning leadership team comes through having a well-developed orientation plan. The nursing leadership team must learn, their roles and expectations from each other. This project explains nursing leadership teams and discusses the development of a new orientation program for the nursing leadership team. A conceptual model of a puzzle is used to describe how nursing leaders bring the ptzzle pieces of leading, caring and relationships …

Who Do You Think You Are? And Who Would You Like To Become?, Sandra Koeller

Theses and Graduate Projects

Ultimately -y goal would be to enhance staff satisfaction to the point of better retention of nursing assistants on my floor. I thought this would also assist in improving RN satisfaction, as there would be solid, reliable assistive staff on the floor. Research of the literature shows staff retention has a direct impact on patient satisfaction as well. The constant cycle of replacing staff is costly to the organization and diminishes satisfaction to all staff as they become trapped in the endless cycle of training new staff in. Patient quality of care suffers, as newly trained staff needs time to …

Community Engagement In The Prevention Of Teenage Suicide, Janet M. Benz

Theses and Graduate Projects

Adolescent suicide is a serious problem. Worldwide suicide is the tenth leading cause of death for all people (World Health Organization, 2002) and in the United States suicide is the third leading cause of death for teenagers (Centers for Disease Control, 2010). Minnesota, however, fares worse than the rest of the country, where suicide is the second leading cause of death for those 15 to 34 years of age (Minnesota Department of Health,2009). Suicide does not discriminate as it happens to people of wealth, those who live in poverty, people of all ethnic backgrounds, people from all walks of life …

A Standardized Wound Care Nursing Education Program, Craig Cardel

Theses and Graduate Projects

Patients with vascular wounds are medically complex and require registered nurses (RNs) with specialized education in vascular disease and vascular wound care to assess and freat their wounds. A standardized vascular wound nursing education program was developed for RNs at affiliate regional clinics to provide specialized education on types of vascular wounds, co-morbid diseases associated with vascular wounds, diagnostic procedr:res used to diagnose vascular diseases, treatments to improve vasculature to the wound, debridement of wounds, and wound care products used to treat the wound and promote healing. An interactive nursing education progrirm containing three nursing education modules was created for …

Shift To Shift Report: Improving Handoffs In Care In The Nicu, Karen Martin

Theses and Graduate Projects

Shift to shift report in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is an interaction between nurses to share patient information and prepare the next caregiver to provide safe, high quality care to their vulnerable patients. An examination of the research identifies that there are multiple factors that can have a negative effect on the shift to shift report or handoff, creating the potential to not only harm the patient, but create dissatisfaction for both nurses and families as well. The purpose of this project is to create a new shift report process based on the work of theorist Jean Watson …

Picc Education For The Discharging Patient, Angela S. Lowrie

Theses and Graduate Projects

Individualized education, regarding peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) care, should be provided by nurses to patients who are being discharged with PICCs in order to help patients achieve optimal outcomes. Without proper PICC care, patients are at risk for acquiring a catheter-related bloodstream infection or multiple attempts at venous access which can lead to venous depletion. At a large Midwestern medical center, all maintenance care for PICCs was being transitioned from the unit nurse to the PICC nurse, which created an opportunity to expand the part of the nurse educator role to the PICC nurse. The purpose of this project …

Floattng Through Uncharted Waters, Amanda Moscatelli

Theses and Graduate Projects

The act of floating or flexible staffing is a cost effective way to maintain nursing staffing levels through times of shortages and surplus. While the financial and patient care benefits are abundant, the culture of floating tends to be negative. Nurses cite difficulty adapting to a changed environment, caring for different patient populations, and working with different staff members as the most difficult and anxiety provoking aspects of floating. Although nurses at a large Midwest medical center frequently float across a number of nursing units, they receive no formal education on the practice of floating. Introduction of an online floating …

Creating A Culture Change Through A Unit-Based Coaching Model For Improved Effectiveness Of A Safe Patient Handling Program, Nancy Kirchner

Theses and Graduate Projects

Nurses have one of the highest work-related musculoskeletal injury rates of any profession. Much research has been done to define the high-risk nature of patient handling and further to describe the necessary components of a Safe Patient Handling (SPH) program. Despite the evidence and the purchase of equipment, overall musculoskeletal injury rates remain high among nurses and nursing assistants in the United States. New strategies are needed to incorporate safe patient handling into everyday practices of healthcare providers to create a culture of safety. The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a SPH unit-based coaching metaphor and …

Culturally Appropriate Nursing Care For International Patients, Kate Larson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Cultural competence is a necessary skill for nurses. It requires ongoing learning for continuous improvement in the healthcare setting. Nurses who are knowledgeable in providing culturally appropriate nursing care are able to meet patients' needs by building trust and minimizing cultural pain. Providing nursing care with nurses who have advanced nursing degrees and knowledge of culture and international patient care is an effective model for the ambulatory setting. Trans-global travel for healthcare is increasing therefore a nursing model designed to meet the culture care needs of international patient care is required. This nursing model describes culturally appropriate nursing care in …

Reviving The Dream: Giving Form To A Faith-Based Holistic Clinic At An Urban Lutheran Church, Kathy Leu

Theses and Graduate Projects

To be able to live full, productive lives, all people can benefit from having a consistent, unified team of health care providers who offer emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual support at one health care center. Historically, churches have been involved in health care, and the Christian faith has been integral in holistic healing. Today, the spiritual component of health is often missing in clinic settings. This project will lay the foundation for the establishment of a faith-based holistic clinic in a large charismatic urban Lutheran church. Utilizing Leininger's Culture Care Theory, the transcultural nurse, a key member of the holistic …

Feeding The Homeless Through Collaboration: A Proposal For Consideration, Valetta M. Johnson Massaquoi

Theses and Graduate Projects

The homeless are faced with many challenges of adverse nutritional deficiencies that predispose them to several illnesses commonly associated with the lack of adequate nutrition and the frequent utilizations of health care resources. Provision of nutritious food for the homeless can help decrease the prevalence of these identifiable markers and can be accomplished by u collaborative effort. The purpose of this project is to describe a collaboration between Regions Hospital and the Dorothy Day Center to provide supplemental nutrition for the homeless. Leininger's culture care diversity and universality theory along with culture care accommodation/negotiation are used as a theoretical framework …

Creating A Healing Environment In The Operating Room By Reducing Noise, Emily Grimshaw

Theses and Graduate Projects

The operating room can be a very noisy environment. Noise in this setting can affect patient's physiologically as well as psychologically and it can also affect operating room staff. The review of the literafure shows the effects noise in the operating room has on patients and staff. Patients can become tachycardic and hypertensive due to the exposure to increased noise in the operating room while staff concentration can be impeded as well. The creation of a noise reduction program for the operating room will create a healing environment. The healing environment will help both patients and operating room staff, Patients …

Prevalence And Factors Associated With Maternal Postpartum Haemorrhage In Khyber Agency, Pakistan, N Gani, Tazeen S. Ali

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is one of the main causes of maternal mortality globally. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of PPH and identify factors associated with PPH in Khyber Agency, Pakistan.
Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional study design was selected to estimate the prevalence and associated factors for PPH among married women aged 15–49 years, residing in the Khyber Agency, FATA, Pakistan. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was adapted with some modifications to interview 1,000 women.
Results: Prevalence of PPH was 21.3% in the study population. Factors associated with PPH were age, number of pregnancies, …

Sleep Experiences Of Hospitalized Antepartum Patients, Andrea M. Erwin

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

For many women, pregnancy can be a time of sleep disturbance. Physiological, hormonal, and emotional changes associated with pregnancy often lead to sleep disturbance. Women who develop antepartum complications frequently are prescribed bed rest and hospitalization. Both pregnancy and hospitalization can influence sleep. This study examined the sleep experience of hospitalized antepartum women. The purposes of this descriptive correlational study were to determine whether being in the hospital affects sleep in pregnant women, gestational age influences sleep while hospitalized, and patient's usual sleep patterns influence sleep during hospitalization. A conceptual model of impaired sleep for the childbearing family provided theoretical …

The Relationships Between Nursing Staff Knowledge Of Personhood And Resident Cognitive Status, Leeanne Compere Yopp

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the relationships between nursing staff knowledge of extended care resident personhood and resident cognitive status. Eighty nursing staff from two similar extended care facilities in Arkansas completed a self-administered questionnaire to assess their knowledge of 21 residents, including information related to residents’ past jobs/careers; likes/dislikes/ interests; family members; other non-specific knowledge; and total knowledge. The Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) was used to evaluate resident cognitive impairment. Results of a Pearson correlation demonstrate a positive correlation between (1) staff knowledge of residents’ families, and (2) total knowledge of residents with …

Breast Health Teaching In Predominantly African American Rural Mississippi Delta, Kaye Wilson-Anderson, Renee P. Williams, Tracilia Beacham, Naekhia Mcdonald

Faculty Publications - College of Nursing

This study's primary focus was breast health education to rural African American women in Mississippi and training of community members. Through practice in this area, women were found to lack knowledge of breast health which is the third leading cause of death in Mississippi Black women. They were open to education: N = 130, t = -16.6, df = 126, p < .001; 1 year, N = 35; 2-3 year N = 16 and 3 trained. Data suggest knowledge increased, a small percentage continued practices and community members would become trainers. One participant was diagnosed with breast cancer, received treatment and remained cancer-free after two years.

Hope At The End Of Life Among U.S. Military Veterans, Jaime L. Huffman

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine the meaning of hope at the end of life among Veterans. As people enter the terminal phase of life hope becomes especially important. Recent research has been conducted examining hope among various cultural groups and their experiences of the phenomenon. These studies showed that although hope is a universal phenomenon, different cultural groups ascribe different meanings to it. These cultural variations are important for nurses to consider when caring for patients.

Research conducted among Veterans has shown that as a cultural group, Veterans have different experiences and needs throughout their lives …