Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Wheels At Camp, Judith A. Medlin

Master's Projects

Students with special needs are being included into regular education classrooms in increasing numbers. Teachers in these classrooms are often reluctant to include students with special needs on overnight field trips. This reluctance stems from the teacher's concern for the associated responsibilities. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the process developed and used to successfully send a fully included student with disabilities to camp with his non-disabled peers. Dorthea Orem' s theory of nursing provided the conceptual framework for this case example. Overnight field trips (e.g., science camp) that are fun and safe learning experiences for the student …

A Comparative Study Of Nursing And Non-Nursing Majors Knowledge And Attitudes Toward Hiv And Aids At The Sophomore And Senior Level, Diana R. Lubandi

Electronic Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a baccalaureate nursing program on the knowledge and attitudes of United States nursing students towards HIV/AIDS. Mathematics and engineering majors were used as a comparison group and to control the threats to internal validity of history and maturation. Data for this study was obtained using an AIDS Knowledge Scale and an AIDS Attitude Scale in the form of questionnaires. A convenience sample of 103 students comprised of 30 sophomore nursing students, 34 senior nursing students, 16 sophomore Non nursing students and 23 senior non-nursing students was utilized. The …

Critical Thinking Attributes Of Undergraduate Nursing Faculty, Julie A. Coon

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the critical thinking skills of undergraduate nursing faculty to determine how these skills compared with the established critical thinking skill norms for undergraduate nursing students and if the critical thinking skills of nursing faculty were related to the type of program they teach in, their years of experience in nursing education, their level of formal education, their preferred methods of instruction, and their level of formal training in critical thinking. Nursing faculty from 17 Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs and 11 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs in the State of …

The Relationship Between Health Locus Of Control And Health Behaviors Of Women Who Have Undergone Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, Heather Ferrillo

Nursing Master’s Theses and Projects

Due to the increasing number of women who are diagnosed with heart disease and who are undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, it is important to explore the psychosocial aspects involved in the recovery process of these women. This study examined the relationship between locus of control and health behaviors of women who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting.

Patients' Attitudes Toward The Use Of Nurse Practitioners, Laurie Maxwell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Since the advent of the role of nurse practitioner in the mid 1960s, nurse practitioners have practiced in traditional settings such as health departments, clinics, and physicians' offices. More recently, nurse practitioners have been utilized in non-traditional settings such as the emergency department. Some studies have been done that support the theory that nurse practitioners can function effectively in this setting; however additional studies are needed on this topic. The purpose of this study was to explore patients' attitudes toward the use of nurse practitioners and to determine what patient variables were related to these attitudes. More specifically, this study …

Characteristics And Resource Utilization Of Patients Of A Proprietary Home Health Agency In Rural South Central Kentucky, Linda Sewell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The home health industry's introduction to managed care raises the prospect of reduced access to health care and poor outcomes for a vulnerable segment of our population—the rural elderly. Before effective intervention strategies can be accurately evaluated, a clearer picture of the sociodemographic features and home care service consumption is needed for this understudied group. The study was intended to provide a basis for future research into the evaluation of alternative methods of delivering effective care in terms of outcome and decreased cost for this population. A retrospective descriptive analysis was made of the patient record for the first six …

Personality Types Of Registered Nurses Employed In A Rural Community Hospital, Tina Snodgrass

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify the personality types of registered nurses in a rural community. An extensive literature review revealed that no studies, utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to identify personality types, had been conducted with rural nurses. Jung's Psychological Type Theory was the theoretical framework for the study. The MBTI operationalizes Jung's theory and was utilized to determine the most frequently occurring personality types of the nurses. A descriptive study was conducted at a 68 bed acute care hospital. The sample consisted of 40 experienced registered nurses working in staff positions within the hospital. Sensing, …

Maternal Age: Influence On Length Of Gestation And Birth Weight, Charlotte Bratcher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The findings indicated no significant differences among the age groups in relation to infant birth weight nor in relation to the risk factors of smoking, maternal weight gain, trimester of first entry into prenatal care, or marital status They did indicate a significant difference [F(2,85) = 4.1364, p < .05] between the oldest and the youngest group (CD = 3.37, a = .05) in relation to gestational length. These findings are significant for healthcare providers in rural areas, since much of the previous research had been done in highly urbanized or inner city settings.

Patient Satisfaction With A Nurse Managed Lipid Clinic, Memuna Ali

Master's Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine patient satisfaction with a nurse managed lipid clinic. This study investigated the effect of gender, age, level of education, and physical health on patient satisfaction. Measuring patient satisfaction has been regarded as the method of choice for obtaining patient views about their care. Fifty patients completed a survey rating various aspects of the lipid clinic. The results provided evidence that high level of satisfaction existed with the nurse managed clinic and there was no significant variation with gender, age, level of education or physical health of patients. Nurse Practitioners have been successfully …

Computer Anxiety And Nursing Informatics Needs Of Graduate Nursing Students, Margot Elizabeth Clark

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The impact of technology in today's society affects every aspect of life. This study focused on exploring the extent of computer anxiety among graduate nursing students using the Oetting's computer anxiety scale. Computer and information seeking skills required for both education and advanced nursing practice were also assessed using a survey by Jacobs and dela Cruz. Special emphasis was placed on retrieval of information from large data-bases. The conceptual framework was based on Roy's Adaptation Model.

The sample consisted of 28 students enrolled in a nursing informatics class in a south Florida university. Frequency distribution, and t-tests were used to …

Nurses Alumni Association Bulletin, Fall 1997, Betty Piersol, Elizabeth K. Prisnock, Marian E. Smith, Margaret Summers, Sue Henrie-Strup, Maureen Mcvail

Nursing Alumni Bulletins

1997-1998 Meeting Dates Calendar

1998 Annual Luncheon-Meeting Notice

Officers and Committee Chairs

Bulletin Publication Committee

1997-1998 Meeting Dates Calendar

The President's Message

Treasurer's Report

Trivia and News About Our Graduates

Highlights of 1997

Keeping Kids Healthy After Hours

Scholarship Funds At Work

Tribute to Tanya

Medical Mission Outreach 1996

History Of The Jefferson Pin

Facts Not Fiction

Rib Ticklers

Mama Will Protect Me

Happy Birthday

Fiftieth Anniversary

Resume of Minutes of Alumni Association Meetings

Alumni Office News

Committee Reports

• Bulletin
• By-Laws
• Development
• Diploma School of Nursing Alumni Association-Mabel C. Prevost Scholarship Fund
• Nominating
• Relief Fund
• Satellite
• Social
• Scholarship

Luncheon Photos …

Basics Of Research (Part 10): The Grant Application Process, Cheryl Thompson

Journal Articles: College of Nursing

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Selected Nonpharmacologic Pain Interventions In Infants, Cindy Smith Greenberg Dnsc, Ms, Rn, Cpnp

Dissertations

Infants subjected to painful stimuli respond with deleterious physiologic and metabolic effects, behavioral changes, and potentially long term effects on painful stimuli processing and response. There are few studies that address effective pain interventions for infants, particularly those interventions that staff nurses can implement independently. Interventions must be identified and their effectiveness must be validated for this vulnerable population. Pharmacologic management of pain may cause deleterious side effects and needs to be ordered by physicians or nurse practitioners. Nonpharmacologic methods to manage pain can usually be implemented by staff nurses independently. This study evaluated the efficacy of two nonpharmacologic pain …

Job Mobility Of Entry-Level Workers: Black And Latina Women In Hospital Corridors, Maria Estella Carrión

New England Journal of Public Policy

Based on data from interviews with fifteen black and fifteen Latina women in entry-level jobs, this article discusses job access strategies, patterns of job mobility, and barriers to upward job mobility for low-income minority women in the hospital industry. Concentrated in the lowest wage levels and job tiers, they are quite diverse in subgroup composition, in age, and in training requirements. The research confirms that deficiencies in schooling and skills remain the major obstacles minority women confront when they apply for hospital jobs and restrict their opportunities once they are within the hospital labor market. Efforts to provide training and …

From Welfare To What?: The Limitations Of Low-Income Work, Lande Ajose

New England Journal of Public Policy

The premise of the welfare law enacted by Congress is that people living in poverty could vastly improve their economic status if only they were employed. The author argues that economic security for welfare recipients will not be realized simply by increasing the labor-force attachment. Home health aides comprise an occupation that could absorb many of the large pool of workers expected to join the labor market because demand for their services is high and barriers to entry are low. However, as this survey shows, the home health field offers limited promise to welfare recipients because, significantly for women rolling …

Nursing: A New Day, A New Way, Lin Zhan, Jane Cloutterback

New England Journal of Public Policy

The U.S. health care environment is changing rapidly. Its structure, financing, and delivery are being reconfigured toward an integrated system based on managed care. Increasingly, national interest in health promotion and disease prevention is moving care away from a disease-oriented, institutionally based model to a population-focused, wellness-oriented, and community-based system. Health care consumers are diversifying in age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The approach emerging from these changes and others requires nursing to rethink, redesign, and retool its workforce to meet new challenges. This article analyzes nursing education, practice, and operations. The authors discuss the dilemmas and complexity of developing an …

Minimizing Infant Exposure To And Risks From Medications While Breastfeeding, Sandra Banta-Wright

Faculty Publications - College of Nursing

The advantages of breastfeeding to the mother and newborn are many. Lactating mothers frequently ask about the safety of taking medications and the risk to their newborn. It is well established that all drugs are excreted into breast milk. However, most medications appear in only small amounts within the breast milk. With the availability of numerous resources on drug use while breastfeeding, a medication can be identified as contraindicated or compatible with breastfeeding. By understanding the anatomy of the breast, principles of lactation, and drug passage into breast milk, an approach to minimize the transfer of the medications in the …

Autopsy In The Cancer Patient: The Nurse's Role, Patricia Rushton

Faculty Publications

Nurses spend many hours with dying cancer patients, developing close relationships with both the patients and their families. However, nurses are frequently not involved in the process of requesting an autopsy, either by choice or tradition. During this time of great stress, the nurse can be more involved. The nurse who understands the reasons for autopsy and its ramification for the grieving process can be actively involved in supporting the physician who makes the request and the family members who must make the this difficult decision. It is possible that the nurse can be the health team member designated to …

Appreciation, Please, Patricia Rushton

Faculty Publications

The question to be addressed in this study is "Why do actively employed registered nurses work?" The goal of the study is to determine what factor financial reimbursement is in maintaining active employment as a nurse.

An Investigation Into The Lived Experiences Of Racism Among African -American Nurses, Paula Alexander-Delpech

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experience of racism among African-American nurses. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected by interviewing 10 African-American nurses currently practicing in Dade county. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using the seven step method of Colaizzi (1978).

The findings of this study indicate that racism encompasses attitudes and beliefs which generate behaviors reflecting ethnocentric ideations. The process of racism creates glass ceilings that hinder the career advancement of African-American nurses. Internalizing these experiences of racism engenders feelings of betrayal and erodes unity and cohesion …

The Relationship Of Health-Promoting Behaviors To Hospital Admissions In Adults With Congestive Heart Failure, Debbie Mcfalls

MSN Research Projects

Successful medical treatment for acute health conditions has precipitated an increase in the number of chronic health problems. One such chronic condition is congestive heart failure. Heart failure is the number one discharge diagnosis among Medicare recipients. The financial burden for the management of this chronic condition is astronomical. Health care providers are commissioned to manage this chronic illness prudently. The purpose of this correlational descriptive study was to determine if there was any relationship between health-promoting behaviors and readmission rates of adults with congestive heart failure. A convenience sample of participants was obtained from a hospital facility. Subjects were …

Alternative Health Care Practices Of Patients Who Attend Nurse Practitioner Clinics In North Mississippi, Wesley Barrett

MSN Research Projects

As many as one out of three Americans uses alternative health therapies. The purpose of this study was to describe the type and frequency of alternative health care practices and sociodemographics of patients in nurse practitioner clinics in North Mississippi in order to determine implications for nurse practitioners. Leininger's Theory of Cultural Care Diversity and Universality served as the conceptual framework for this study. The researcher, using a descriptive study design, sought to answer the following questions: 1) What are the characteristics of patients who use alternative health care practices? 2) What types of alternative health care practices are being …

Nurse Practitioners' Attitudes Toward Substance Abuse, Anabel P. Pereda

MSN Research Projects

Substance abuse is a major health problem in the United States today. The prevalence of the problem in primary health care settings mandates examination of the nurse practitioner's attitudes toward substance abuse. Research has demonstrated that the attitude of the health care provider toward the substance abuser can affect the level and quality of care rendered. This descriptive study was designed to examine the attitudes of nurse practitioners certified and practicing in Mississippi. Pender's revised Health Promotion Model was utilized as the theoretical framework for the study. The research question asked in this study was : What are the attitudes …

Risk Factors Associated With Coronary Artery Disease In Individuals After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery, Deborah Benderman King

MSN Research Projects

Since the early 1960s coronary artery disease (CAD) has been the nation's leading killer of middle-aged men. Even with development of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, the recurrence rate remains high. The research question addressed in this descriptive study was what risk factors associated with CAD can be identified in individuals after CABG surgery? Using Becker's Health Belief Model as a theoretical framework, a convenience sample of 69 postoperative CABG clients from a rural Mississippi cardiac rehabilitation program completed researcher-developed surveys. Descriptive analysis identified the following risk factors in the sample : Forty-three (63%) of subjects reported eating fried …

Coping Mechanisms Utilized By Women Survivors Of Breast Cancer, Elizabeth Polk Thomas

MSN Research Projects

The suspected and confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer evokes feelings of fear, anxiety, guilt, frustration, and vulnerability in an individual. A woman diagnosed with breast cancer may utilize a variety of coping mechanisms. This descriptive study sought to identify the most common and most effective coping mechanisms utilized by women survivors of breast cancer answering the following research question: Which coping mechanisms are most effective and most frequently utilized by women survivors of breast cancer? This study used the theory of Lazarus and Folkman (1984) as a framework for understanding coping. The final sample (N = 20) consisted of women …

Relationship Between Selected Demographic Variables And Self-Esteem In Female Adolescents In The Rural South, Denise Tennison

MSN Research Projects

Self-esteem is recognized as a basic personality- characteristic of positive and productive behavior. The view the adolescent female has of herself is of utmost importance and may have an impact on behavior, achievement, social functioning, and physical and emotional health. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between sociodemographic variables and self-esteem in adolescent females. Roy's Adaptation Model was used to guide this descriptive correlation investigation. Data were collected from a sample of 3 0 adolescent females from a small rural high school in East Central Mississippi. Participants were surveyed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem …

Health Beliefs And Practices Among African American Men Concernign Prostate Cancer Screening, Beverly A. Howard

MSN Research Projects

African American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the United States and the world (American Cancer Society [ACS], 1996). Nevertheless, studies have indicated that African American men are the least likely to participate in prostate cancer screening programs (Myers, Wolfe, Balshem, Ross, & Chodak 1994; Underwood, 1991). Many researchers have hypothesized that health beliefs influence health practices. Therefore, this study examines the health beliefs and practices among African American men concerning prostate cancer screening. Becker's Health Belief Model was used as the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions examined the health beliefs and practices among …

Nurse Practitioners' Spiritual Perspectives And Attitudes Toward Providing Spiritual Care, Dennis R. Long

MSN Research Projects

Spirituality is viewed by many nursing theorists as an integral subset of personhood. However, current literature suggests that spirituality may be overlooked by health care providers when rendering holistic care. The purpose of this study was to assess the spiritual perspectives of nurse practitioners and ascertain attitudes toward providing spiritual care. A descriptive study was conducted to answer the following research questions : What are the spiritual perspectives of nurse practitioners and what are nurse practitioners' attitudes toward providing spiritual care? The theoretical framework was based on Ellison's (1983) Conceptualization of Spiritual Well- Being. The sample (N = 80) of …

Comparisons Of Outcomes In A Pediatric Primary Care Clinic In Patients Treated By A Physician Or A Nurse Practitioner, Ken Burnette

MSN Research Projects

Physician availability during the 2 0th century has waxed and waned. During periods of physician shortage and surplus, there have always been underserved segments of our society. Nurse practitioners (NPs) have provided care for these underserved populations. Unfortunately, 30 years after the first NPs began to practice there remain underserved populations and underutilized practitioners. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes between physicians and practitioners. The research questions are the following: Is there a difference in patient's satisfaction between care provided by a physician and a nurse practitioner? Does care differ when initiated by a physician or a …

Self-Esteem Levels Of Pregnant Adolescents From Different Races, Stephanie M. Gale

MSN Research Projects

Effective pregnancy prevention in adolescence remains elusive to researchers and health care providers. Several studies have been conducted on the relationship between self-esteem and race and between self-esteem and pregnancy in adolescent populations. The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists between self-esteem levels and race in pregnant adolescents. Leininger's Cultural Care Theory was the theoretical framework used in this study. The null hypothesis was there is no difference between self-esteem levels and race in pregnant adolescents. The setting for this descriptive comparison study was a prenatal clinic for underserved populations in the Southeastern United States. …