Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Therapeutic Use Of Intraoperative Music To Reduce Postoperative Pain In Patients Receiving General Anesthesia, Caroline Ford

Nurse Residency

Background: The recovery from surgery can be very painful for some patients and require opioid management and longer hospital stays for unmanaged pain. Music has been a non-analgesic way of helping patients with chronic pain and recent studies have shown that music intraoperatively can greatly improve the patients' pain after surgery requiring general anesthesia.

Environmentally Friendly Disposal Of Pharmaceuticals In The Hospital Setting, Kate Sobanik

Nurse Residency

Background: The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Drug Enforcement have regulations on the safe handling of narcotics as well as guidelines for environmental sustainability with the disposal of all pharmaceuticals. Federal, state and local regulations can vary but hospitals are required to dispose of pharmaceuticals in specific ways to prevent injury to the environment and living organisms.

Implementation Of Frequent Skin Assessments, Tiffany Gagnon

Nurse Residency

Background:

The current skin assessment policy at the Behavioral Health Unit at Southern Maine Health Care requires more frequent skin checks for patients who are immobile in a mental health department.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports “hospital-acquired pressure injury rates continue to rise across the United States” (Pittman et al., 2022).

Initiating Chlorhexidine Wipes For Infection Prevention In The Icu, Samantha Carey

Nurse Residency

Background

• Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) result in approximately 28,000 deaths and approximately $2.3 billion in added costs to the U.S. healthcare system each year, and yet, many of these infections are preventable (Reynolds, 2021).

• Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is an antiseptic that can be used for skin cleaning and has been shown to be effective against a wide range of organisms, including some antimicrobial-resistant organisms.

• The primary objective of this study was to assess the incidents of CLABSI’s when CHG wipes were implemented compared to traditional bathing soap and water for patients with a central line in …

How Important Are Regular Breaks For Bedside Nursing Staff?, Gabriel Wohl

Nurse Residency

Background: A career in nursing can be a challenging one and a rewarding one. Nurses work directly with patients in need, in a way that their efforts have an immediate and tangible impact. Due to the nature of the work itself, nursing is also a physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding career that often leads to exhaustion, burnout, and in many cases, a departure from the profession altogether. It is well known that nurses work long hours and often receive little to no breaks. Is this lack of proper breaks a chief accessory to the overall dissatisfaction and burnout that nurses …

The Registered Nurse, Fall Prevention, And Mobilization Alarms, Anna Williams

Nurse Residency

Background:

Current Maine Health policy requires response to a mobilization alarm within 5 minutes by a RN, CNA or other clinician. Fall risk assessments are required upon arrival and admission, at the beginning of each shift, transfer between units, changes in patient condition and after a fall.

Current practice involves the TIPS tool.