Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Physician Assisted Suicide: Promoting Death With Dignity Or Empowering Exploitation?, Laura Klodnicki

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

United States health care is intentionally moving in a direction which emphasizes patient autonomy. This mentality has caused some patients to seek control over their own death when faced with a terminal illness. Claiming the right to “death with dignity,” patients exercise the method of physician assisted suicide in order to avoid the inevitable suffering that comes along with certain disease progressions. Is such medical practice ethical? Should a patient have the choice to end her own life rather than experience the devastating pain that comes with a terminal illness? Could physician assisted suicide evolve to encompass putting to an …

Persisting Substance And Human Dignity: When Is A Human A Person?, Jacob Countryman

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Peter Singer believes that only humans have value when they become self-conscious. This assertion implies that infants, as beings unable to be self-conscious, are acceptable for scientific experimentation. All humans, however, have intrinsic value in every stage of development. Embryos, fetuses, infants, and adults belong to one kind. This kind is rational. Since it is human nature to be rational, humans have greater value than other organisms. When a new person is formed at conception, a new primary substance is made and this substance persists throughout the entire life of the new human. Humans are not made of temporal parts; …

Evaluating Antioxidant Activity Of Selected Plant Species Native To Cedarville, Ohio, Daniel A. Benson, Alexander P. Treide, David Woodfield, Joshua A. Sitler, Denise S. Simpson, Robert L. Paris

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Over the past several decades, there has been an increase in the number of synthetic drug molecules developed and utilized to treat various conditions. Although these synthetic drugs have proven useful, there has been growing public concern regarding the potentially negative long-term effects of synthetic agents on the body. As a result, there has been an increased interest in identifying and utilizing plant extracts and purified compounds since they are perceived to be a more natural alternative to synthetic drugs. The goal of this study was to evaluate the specific antioxidant properties of alsike clover Trifolum hybridum when produced under …

Interstitial Cystitis: The Estrogen Connection, Heather G. Kuruvilla

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Interstitial cystitis (IC), or painful bladder syndrome, is an autoimmune condition with an unknown etiology. Common symptoms include urinary urgency, frequency, and bladder and urethral pain and burning. This condition, like many autoimmune disorders, disproportionately affects females; therefore, female sex hormones are hypothesized to play a role in the disorder. My hypothesis is that estrogen, both endogenous and synthetic, affects the severity of IC symptoms. Through surveying the available literature on interstitial cystitis, I have found that IC symptoms often correlate with low estrogen. My hope is that by understanding more about how hormones affect IC, we can come up …

Gmo Vs. Non-Gmo: Comparing The Addictiveness Of Corn In Rats, Christian A. Carroll, Sara L. Hill, Kelly A. Huston, Tyler Michael, Courtney Noll, Melissa J. Beck, Ginger D. Cameron

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) refer to organisms whose DNA has been altered to produce a certain characteristic. GMOs account for a significant proportion of the crops produced in the United States. Specifically, GMO corn accounted for approximately 88% of all corn grown for human and animal consumption in the year 2012. Previously conducted studies have not uniformly demonstrated the safe use of GMO corn, and no studies have been conducted to analyze the addictiveness of GMO corn.

The idea of addiction refers to more than just a physical dependence, but to a psychological dependence on something as well. Addiction is …

Effects Of Noise Reduction And Care Clustering On Quality Of Sleep In Critical Care Patients, Micaila S. J. Iversen, Natalie L. Neidig, Muriel P. Shannon

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Introduction: Sleep deprivation has detrimental effects on critical patients’ health. A lack of sleep can affect multiple body systems. There are nursing interventions that can reduce sleep deprivation. However, there is inconclusive evidence on how to properly assess sleep deprivation and implement sleep promoting nursing interventions in clinical practice.

Purpose: The purpose of this literature review is to examine the effects of noise reduction and nursing care clustering on improving the quality of patient sleep in the critical care setting.

Methods: This literature review was conducted using 10 sources published within the last 5 years. Inclusion criteria consisted of articles …

Burnout Rates In Undergraduate Athletic Training Students Compared To The Burnout Rate Of Certified Athletic Trainers: A Comparative Study, Aaron Wass, Michael S. Weller

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Burnout was first described in 1974. Since then, the condition has been researched and studied numerous times. The healthcare field has experienced this condition at a very high rate and Athletic Training, as a profession, has been affected. Burnout has become prevalent in the healthcare field due to highly stressful situations, heavy workload, and emotionally draining work environments. The profession of Athletic Training has been significantly affected by this condition and many Athletic Trainers (AT) experience burnout over the course of a calendar year. Seemingly every AT has been affected by burnout personally, known a colleague who has struggled with …

Ohio Athletic Trainer's Reactions To New Ohio Concussion Legislation, Alexander K. Heaton

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

This research examines the effects that concussion legislation has had on how Certified Athletic Trainers practice medicine in the state of Ohio. In the spring of 2009, the state of Washington passed a bill that would change how concussions are handled in youth sports. According to the legislation, all athletes who display any signs and symptoms of a concussion are to be removed immediately from play and are not able to return to play until cleared by a licensed professional health care provider. Since then, concussion legislation of some form has been passed in every state, with Ohio passing its …

Certified Athletic Trainer’S Perceived Comfort Level With Shoulder Reductions, Jessica Pearson, Michael S. Weller

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Joint dislocations are a common injury in the athletic world. The shoulder is the most commonly dislocated joint. It is important for health care professionals to be aware of this injury and be able to treat it. Athletic trainers play a vital role in the immediate care of injured athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived comfort level of athletic trainers with reducing a shoulder dislocation. The results showed that there was a significant difference between ATC’s perceived comfort level in the 5-10 and 20+ years of experience groups when reducing posterior dislocations (p=.016). Another significant …

Cognitive Distortions And Institutional Misconducts In Juvenile Delinquents, Shannah C. Gardiner, Jenna Berkstresser

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

It has been found that juvenile delinquents usually possess inaccurate explanations or thoughts about their experiences, which are called as cognitive distortions. The prior findings also suggested that juvenile delinquents’ antisocial behaviors are associated with their cognitive distortions. Therefore, many juvenile centers utilized cognitive treatment programs and tried to reduce juvenile delinquents’ cognitive distortions. Thus, it is useful to measure the changes of juvenile delinquents’ cognitive distortions in a rehabilitation center to design treatment plans and evaluate its effectiveness.

The present study aimed to measure the changes of cognitive distortions in a group of 43 adolescent juvenile delinquents at a …

Incidence Of Injuries In Collegiate Cross Country, Haley Merical

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Running is becoming increasingly popular not only recreationally, but also competitively. With the increase in the number of people who are running comes an increase in the number of people who are injured. The purpose of this study was to determine if increasing mileage would result in a greater prevalence in injuries among collegiate cross country runners. Participants for this study included cross-country runners in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The hypothesis for this study had two parts: the greatest increase in mileage would be seen between the senior year of high school and the freshmen year of college; and …

Community Education On Mtm Services, Jacob M. Davis, Kristin Lessig, Lindsay M. Mailloux, Samantha A. Smolinski, Stephen K. Yeboah, Aleda M.H. Chen, Ginger D. Cameron, Thaddeus T. Franz, Jenna G. Lawhead

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Background: Medication nonadherence, defined as “the number of doses not taken or taken incorrectly that jeopardizes the patient’s therapeutic outcome,” is a major health problem with about 43% of the general population nonadherent to their medications. Medication nonadherence accounts for an estimated 125,000 deaths per year in the US, 33-69% of medication-related hospital readmissions, and an estimated $100 to $300 billion in direct and indirect medical costs. Medication therapy management (MTM), defined as “a distinct service or group of services that optimize therapeutic outcomes for individual patients,” has been found to reduce medication nonadherence. However, many individuals eligible for MTM …

Effects Of Smoking Vs. Nicotine Replacement Therapy During Pregnancy On Childhood Health Outcomes: An Integrative Literature Review, Andrew J. Mcbride, Kristen P. Sabo, Emily D. Williams

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

PICOT: In pregnant women does the use of nicotine replacement therapy compared to smoking during pregnancy reduce the risk of future childhood health concerns?

Methods: A search was conducted on healthcare literature databases (Alt HealthWatch, AMED, CINAHL, and Medline).The initial search yielded 940 results related to the topic. Initial review narrowed the search to 25 articles. Articles were excluded if published before 2008. After reviewing the full articles and evaluating effectiveness of the studies, 12 studies met the criteria. These 12 articles focused on the effects of smoking and childhood outcomes, NRT, and success of NRT.

Findings: The articles concluded …

Simulation-Based Interdisciplinary Team Learning—Pilot Study, Brian C. Patterson, Adam H. Altman, Brittani H. Purkeypile, Bethany Sibbitt, Zachary Ilgiovine, Nicholaus Christian, Phillip J. Wenzell, Natasha Mehta, Raymond Ten Eyck

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Background: Currently, interprofessional education (IPE) is becoming widely integrated into healthcare professional education with regulating bodies including IPE as a curricular requirement. Although recent studies have concluded that students value IPE, there are a number of challenges associated with initial engagement. Many schools are unsure how to approach this interdisciplinary integration. In addition to IPE, simulation has become an important tool in the education of health professionals. As the first exercise at Wright State University involving interprofessional groups composed completely of undergraduates, interested students from the Boonshoft School of Medicine, the WSU College of Nursing and Health, and the Cedarville …

Medication Reconciliation Of Medically-Complex Emergency Department Patients By Second-Year Professional Pharmacy Students, Lauren Haines, Neal S. Fox, Rachel R. Bull, Jeb Ballentine, Thaddeus T. Franz, Zachary N. Jenkins

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Background: There is a high potential for medication discrepancies to occur during patient care transitions. However, health professionals must find ways to reduce these and improve patient care, such as with medication reconciliation. This intervention is used to identify a patient’s most accurate medication list by comparing the medical record to another list obtained from the patient, hospital, or other provider. Pharmacists have a major role in this process because of their medicinal expertise, but paying them is expensive, so using students may be more cost-effective. Research has examined fourth-year professional pharmacy students (P4s) performing medication reconciliation during their advanced …

Prevention Of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia: An Integrative Review, Taylor M. Craig, Jessica L. Lingaas, Rebekkah C. Reisner, Mary C. Smith

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Background: Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) not only brings about physical challenges to patients that can lead to death, it also involves financial burdens. Research on how to prevent HAP is a necessity; however, a deficit exists in research concerning prevention of non-ventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP). The purpose of this study is to synthesize the current research on the nurse’s role in prevention of NV-HAP, identify where additional research is needed, and suggest clinical standards of care to prevent pneumonia in hospitalized patients.

Methods: Data for this integrative review was collected from the following databases: PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied …

Alarm Fatigue, Gretta Weindorf, Jennifer Payne, Justin Eckberg, Hannah Eckberg

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Alarm fatigue in hospital nursing settings is characterized and caused by false positive alarms and clinically insignificant alarms, sometimes referred to as the “crying wolf” effect (Gross, Dahl, & Nielsen, 2011; Funk, Clark, Bauld, Ott, & Coss, 2014). The phenomena of repeated false alarms over time causes nursing staff to become desensitized, responding less frequently and less punctually resulting in compromised patient care and safety (Konkani, Oakley, & Bauld, 2012). As estimated by The Joint Commission (2013), hereafter referred to as TJC, 85-99% of sounding alarms are insignificant, reinforced by Graham and Cvach (2010), who estimated less than 1% resulted …

The Use Of Turning And Repositioning Versus Pressure Redistributing Support Surfaces In The Prevention Of Pressure Ulcers, Rachel M. Collins, Ayana A. Kleckner, Brianna P. Sparks

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Currently, 1.3-3 million adults in the United States are affected by pressure ulcers, costing $37,800 to $70,000 per ulcer (Smith, 2013). This costs the United States 11 billion dollars annually (Smith, 2013). This review’s PICO question is “In hospitalized critically ill patients, how does turning and repositioning every two to four hours compared to the use of pressure redistributing support surfaces prevent the occurrence of pressure ulcers?” For this review, the articles found were rated as excellent (n=7), good (n=2), and fair (n=1). Appendix A shows the critical appraisal of all pertinent articles used. Findings suggest that there is minimal …

Cancer Treatment During Martha Mcmillan's Time (1913), Taylor L. Stephens

Martha McMillan Research Papers

No abstract provided.

California Trip (1904), Michael J. Newman

Martha McMillan Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Gerasim's Compassion In Tolstoy's The Death Of Ivan Ilyich, David V. Urban

Resuscitating Paideia: Reading Literature for Wisdom

In this article on Gerasim, from Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, David Urban examines this character's example of compassion in the face of his master's terminal illness. Urban suggests that all humans would do well to follow Gerasim's example, especially in light of everyone's mortality.

Representatives Perales, Hackett Participate In Healthcare Forum, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Cedarville University School of Pharmacy will host a policy forum on healthcare legislation with State Representatives Rick Perales and Bob Hackett along with Antonio Ciaccia, director of government and public affairs from the Ohio Pharmacist Association. The event, open to the public, will be held on Thursday, Feb. 5, in the Health Sciences Center in Room 107 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

This event will allow students to interact with representatives on legislative issues related to pharmacy. Currently the topics set in place for the forum are: student involvement, advocacy and communication with legislators, health care reform, Provider Status for pharmacists, …

A Biblical Approach To Cadaveric Organ Transplants, Erica Graham

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Upon passing their driver’s license exam every American has the opportunity to become an organ donor. Organ donor status allows immediate retrieval of transplantable organs after death for transplantation into other patients in order to save their lives. Many citizens endorse this action because one donor can save multiple lives by donating viable organs postmortem. However, some people do not endorse organ transplants arguing that it violates the body and that being an organ donor results in a premature declaration of death.

The current standard for cadaveric transplantation is retrieval from heart beating donors. A heart beating donor is brain …

Charity As A Moral Duty, Erica Graham

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

A question many Americans frequently encounter is whether or not they should give money to aid developing countries. We have the opportunity, through a charity, to help fund efforts to feed, clothe, and employ people lacking one of these from no fault of their own. What is the moral duty in this case? Society views these donations as beyond one’s moral duty but Peter Singer argues that such giving is a moral duty. This paper will explore Singer’s argument regarding this case, ultimately agreeing with Singer that charity is a moral duty.

A Grounded Natural Law, Benjamin German

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

For many Evangelical thinkers, natural law is an untenable ethical framework. The very phrase makes some cringe. Many Evangelicals find it irreconcilable with their conception of the totalizing effect of sin upon the human will and intellect. In his article “Natural Law and a Nihilistic Culture,” Carl Henry illustrates this deep-rooted fear of many within the movement. However, in recent years, some evangelical thinkers are reconsidering natural law. While Henry enumerates valid concerns over possible abuses of natural law, he forfeits the common denominator by which Evangelicals can engage in helpful ethical debate with the secular world.

Virtue Ethics And Abortion, Jacob Countryman

CedarEthics: A Journal of Critical Thinking in Bioethics

Singer suggests that the argument of abortion has missed the point. He asserts that the debate should focus on if it is wrong to kill an innocent human being instead of arguing whether a fetus is or is not an innocent human being. The Pro-Choice arguments of when personhood begins are vague and, therefore, cannot provide a concrete moment of when personhood starts. Since reason can only go so far in its ability to determine ethics, this paper will explain that Singer also misses the point; rather, striving to be virtuous demonstrates that abortion is morally wrong.

Indoor Air Quality, Angelia Mickle

Nursing Faculty Publications

Poor indoor air quality kills more than 4 million people around the world, and disables millions more with chronic illnesses such as COPD, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and lung cancer, according to the World Health Organization.