Nurses’ Perceptions And Expectations Of Patient Violence: Language Matters, Darcy Copeland, Mary Potter, Susan Tipton, Debra Culter

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Patient violence is a serious occupational risk for nurses. Some professional rhetoric presents this risk as not part of nursing work, discounting widespread exposure. There is a disjunction between nurses’ experiences and the discourse they are exposed to. There is little to no evidence indicating whether nurses think it is possible to eliminate patient violence or whether their expectations of exposure to patient violence align with the significant risk they face. Purpose: The purpose of this analysis was to examine nurses’ perceptions related to the elimination of, expectations of, and desired state regarding exposure to patient violence. Methods: This …

A Secondary Analysis Of The Psychological Capital And Gratitude Of High School Students In Northeast Texas, Rachel Smith, Ashlyn Peppler, Angela Preston

Honors Nursing Posters

Presented at Great Plains Honors Council (GPHC) Conference, March 7, 2025; UNT, Denton, Texas.

Patient And Family Involvement In Nursing Bedside Handover: A Qualitative Descriptive Study Of Consumer Perceptions Of Nursing Care, Manonita Ghosh, Beverly O’Connell, Hien Thi Nguyen, Linda Coventry, Amanda Towell-Barnard, Olivia Gallagher, Karen Gullick, Lucy Gent, Rosemary Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background/Objectives: Patient and family involvement in bedside handover is a requirement of the national standards on patient safety and quality in Australia. To ensure patient-and-family-centred care, it is essential to understand how patients and families perceive their involvement in nursing bedside handover and what difficulties they face when participating. This study aimed to explore patient and family perceptions of their involvement in nursing bedside handover. Methods: We employed a qualitative descriptive study design with in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Using purposive and convenience sampling, 24 patients and family members were recruited from two adult hospitals in Western Australia between November 2021 …

Nursing Knowledge In Cardio-Oncology: Results Of An International Learning Needs-Assessment Survey, Anecita Fadol, Geraldine Lee, Valerie Shelton, Kelly C Schadler, Asma Mohammed Younus, Mary Stuart, Lisa Nodzon, Edith Pituskin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: With early detection and improvements in systemic and local therapies, millions of people are surviving cancer, but for some at a high cost. In some cancer types, cardiovascular disease now competes with recurrent cancer as the cause of death. Traditional care models, in which the cardiologist or oncologist assess patients individually, do not address complex cancer and cardiovascular needs. Nursing disciplines should be an integral part of holistic assessment in cardio-oncology care. To learn what educational needs nurses perceive important for provision of competent cardio-oncology nursing care, we undertook an international survey, aiming to understand their learning needs and …

The Integration Of Video Recording In Health Assessment Simulation To Improve Feedback Quality, Stephanie Bork, Meredith Deegan, Allison Gregory

School of Nursing Publications

Introduction

Simulation-based learning is integral in preparing nursing students, especially graduate-level nurse practitioner (NP) students. Simulation bridges the gap between theory and practice, providing a safe space for students to practice clinical skills, communication, and develop appropriate clinical judgment and reasoning before delivering care to patients in healthcare settings. Video recording in the simulated environment enhances educators’ ability to assess student competency and performance. During a faculty-observed simulation, it can be challenging to deliver consistent, meaningful, and competency-based feedback to each student. This project aims to integrate Echo360 video recording in graduate health assessment simulation to enhance the quality of …

Medical Aid In Dying Education For Hospice Nurses, Ian Woo

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: Medical aid in dying (MAID) is an option surrounding end-of-life care for hospice patients. This process gives patients the autonomy to end their life during the time and location of their choosing. MAID is growing in legalization and practice across the US. However, many nurses feel uncomfortable or unprepared when providing care for patients contemplating it. Hospice nurses should have confidence in their ability to care for patients through the process of MAID. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of education in strengthening new hospice nurses’ ability to care for patients through the process of MAID. Method: The research will …

The Impact Of Roe V. Wade Overturning On Women’S Access To Medical Abortions: Exploring Alternative Care Models, Gillie Mason

Nursing | Senior Theses

This study explores the impact of educational interventions on California based Nurse Practitioners. And their willingness to provide telehealth abortion services in states with restrictions. By using a mixed methods approach it assesses how increased knowledge may help influence providers attitudes, adding to improved reproductive healthcare access. The study addresses the critical issue of reduced abortion access which stems from recent policy changes, which have left patients in certain regions with limited options. The literature shows that telemedicine and mail-order services hold promise for improving access. This research proposal explores the impact of educational interventions on California-based Nurse Practitioners’ willingness …

Building An Interdisciplinary Simulation Orientation For The Mobile Health And Wellness Program, Meredith Deegan, Lauren Goeke

School of Nursing Publications

No abstract provided.

Roadmap To Developing Clinical Competency For Novice Nursing Students, Meredith Deegan, Lauren Goeke

School of Nursing Publications

No abstract provided.

Building Confidence In Critical Thinking Through Faculty Implementation Of Simulation, Melissa Morris

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Simulation provides nursing students with experiences that are as effective as clinical experiences in a non-threatening environment. Clinical experiences such as obstetrics, pediatrics, and mental health have been observation only at the project site. With observation-only clinicals, students do not have opportunities to master skills specific to nursing, which bridge theory to practice. The purpose of this Quality Improvement (QI) project focuses on educating nursing faculty who may not be simulation experts to learn the skills to build and implement simulations that align with the International Nursing Association Clinical and Simulation Learning (INACSL) simulation standards. The Primary Investigator (PI) utilized …

Enhancing Faculty Confidence And Candidate Selection: Evaluation Of A Standardized Holistic Interview Rubric In Nursing Program Admission, Jennifer M. Bray

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nursing programs continue to struggle with high attrition rates, which impact student success, program outcomes, and the development of a competent nursing workforce. National data show that associate degree nursing programs report attrition rates as high as 50% in the first year, highlighting the urgency for more effective admission strategies. The problem addressed in this quality improvement project was the use of traditional academic metrics, such as grade point average (GPA) and standardized test scores, as primary admission criteria, which often overlook essential non-cognitive attributes linked to student persistence and success. The purpose of the project was to improve faculty …

Exploring The Barriers To The Implementation Of Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Roles, Madeline Wd Mcnulty

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) are associated with improved patient outcomes and are among the fastest-growing professions in healthcare. However, this growth is accompanied by barriers to the ACNP role. Despite this expansion, limited research has examined these barriers or identified strategies to reduce them in acute care settings. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the obstacles to ACNP practice and to describe approaches to overcoming them. A qualitative descriptive design was employed. Twenty-one pioneering ACNPs participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using the “Sort and Sift, Think and Shift” method. We identified nine themes in the study: four …

Perceptions Of Influence And Collaboration Amongst Healthcare Providers, Nurses And Allied Health Professionals, Barbara Harrison

Dissertations

Problem

While attention to interprofessional collaboration is increasingly present in academic settings and in clinical practice, there is little understanding of the role power, specifically the scope of influence, plays in interprofessional collaboration.

Method

Targeted cross-sectional sampling was used to select possible candidates to participate in this quantitative study. An email invitation was sent to healthcare providers, nurses and allied healthcare professionals in a multi-hospital healthcare system in the mid-western United States of America. Willing participants proceeded to the Microsoft Forms survey via an embedded link which was available to them for eight days. The survey sought demographic information, and …

An Integrative Review Of Specialised Nursing Career Frameworks To Develop A Nursing Career Framework For Registered Nurses Working In Aged Care, Sachini Thennakoon, Seng Giap Marcus Ang, Victoria Traynor, Karen Strickland

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: The aim of this study is to synthesise literature on specialised nursing career frameworks to inform the development of an aged care nursing career framework. Design: An integrative review was conducted. Method: The review followed Whittemore and Knafl's five-step integrative review method. To appraise the quality of the studies, the Quality Appraisal for Diverse Studies tool for peer-reviewed articles and the ACCODS (Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, and Significance) checklist for grey literature were used. Data were extracted and synthesised using the constant comparison method. Data Source: The electronic databases of CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were searched …

Evaluating The Mental Health Of Newly Graduated Nurses In Transition From Undergraduate Training To Professional Practice, Victor Louis C. Alinas

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: There is an increasing demand for nurses worldwide as healthcare systems slowly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, there is a high turnover of registered nurses and an even higher turnover in the demographic of newly graduated nurses. Newly graduated nurses (NGNs) are constantly faced with high levels of stress upon starting out in the professional environment and as a result of mental burnout and inadequate preparation, there is a notably high turnover of newly graduated nurses within their first year of employment. Purpose: This research aims to use existing information on the transition from undergraduate training to professional …

Implementation Of Robotics And Artificial Intelligence To Oncological Surgery, Ian Ngo

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background/ significance: Introduced in the late 20th century, robotic systems have enhanced surgeons’ capabilities by providing accurate and precise control of instruments. These systems helped minimize invasiveness in surgical procedures, providing greater precision, and gave flexibility to difficult-to-access areas of the body. Tools powered by AI help surgeons accurately identify and remove cancerous tissues, which can lead to better surgical outcomes and fewer complications. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to focus on evaluating how Robotic-Assisted Systems (RAS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) impact surgical precision, patient recovery, and to address economic efficiencies. associated with integrating said systems into the …

Preventing Nurse Burnout In The Trauma Icu, Annelise Wilson, Samantha Pendleton, Hailey Dowd

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This change project identifies that nurse burnout is a prevalent problem within the healthcare setting, specifically with nurses working in a critical care environment. Burnout can be described as a negative outcome resulting in exhaustion (emotional, mental, physical) due to stress. The population focused on is the nursing staff on the trauma intensive care unit at VUMC. The proposed recommendation for change is to have a mandatory resource nurse on every shift. Essentially, this nurse is one who has no patients and can be utilized to fill in for breaks and perform anything under the nurse's scope of practice when …

Exploring Lgbtq+ Competency In Healthcare, Jordan Whiteman

Honors College Theses

Marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ+ community are known to face healthcare disparities that negatively affect their process of navigating healthcare systems. This project explores the perceived lack of representation and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community within healthcare settings, exposing the deficits in knowledge for unique challenges and inequalities these patients may face. By viewing the literature, a myriad of complications faced by LGBTQ+ people in clinical settings can be identified. They possess a generalized feeling of mistrust towards the healthcare system. Healthcare staff overall describe low confidence with caring for this demographic. Heteronormativity’s presence in the field of healthcare …

Promoting Student Retention Through Mandatory Remediation, Randi Mccoy

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This DNP Project seeks to identify and evaluate among associate degree nursing (ADN) faculty, will implementing a pilot remediation policy, compared to the current remediation policy, impact faculty perception regarding exam remediation? Exam remediation is important as it helps students understand why they missed questions, how to improve on their next exam, provides guidance and confidence. It is also essential to determine whether required remediation for students after failing an exam promotes student retention, growth, and expansion at a local university in Oklahoma in the setting of an unprecedented program. Does adding required remediation after a failed exam offer students …

Quality Improvement Project - Virtual Escape Rooms: A Teaching Strategy For Nurse Educators, Alisha Mcafee

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Virtual escape rooms (VERs) are an active learning activity that engages students with learning materials while applying theory and knowledge to life-like patient scenarios. Nursing faculty at one nursing program required education about VER development. The problem identified for this quality improvement (QI) project was the lack of knowledge of the nursing faculty on the use and development of this active learning strategy. This QI project aimed to enhance nurse faculty knowledge and ability to utilize VERs within their courses. Faculty participated in an educational session about VERs. Completion of a pre-and post-questionnaire took place. Three Likert-scale questions were asked …

An Exploration Of The Clinical Senior Nursing Student Preceptor Relationship, Kimberly Nicole Dunker

Dissertations

Problem

The use of clinical preceptors for training is well documented in the literature as an effective strategy for helping students, new graduates, and RNs orient to their roles in healthcare facilities. The need to ensure that the preceptor is adequately trained and then matched to a preceptee for a successful relationship is a challenge. The healthcare facility does its best to identify a preceptor and ensure adequate training is completed and there is a willingness to facilitate the experience. The academic institution is required to ensure that preceptors are chosen based on criteria outlined by the board of nursing …

Design And Implementation Of A Nursing Peer Practice Case Review Program In An Academic Surgical/Trauma Icu, Natalie Tredway

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: Peer review has been in use in healthcare for many years, primary by physicians. Recently, however, nursing has adopted a framework for peer review within the profession. According to the American Nurses Association (admin, 2011), organizations are required to maintain a systematic peer review process aimed at evaluating nursing care and nursing care providers to obtain/maintain Magnet designation. According to Foster (2015) nursing peer review (NPR) is “process by which practicing registered nurses systematically assess, monitor, and make judgments about the quality of nursing care provided by peers as measured against professional standards of practice”. The focus is on …

A Framework For Mixed Reality Within Healthcare Education, Benyamin Ebadinia

Theses

Understanding complex three-dimensional systems and spatial relationships is a recurring difficulty in healthcare education, where students are often expected to reason about internal structures and multi-system processes from 2D diagrams, textbook figures, and static mannequins. This thesis presents the design, implementation, and mixed-methods evaluation of Systems Simulation, a reusable mixed reality (MR) application intended to help undergraduate nursing students explore human anatomy and pathophysiology using immersive 3D visualization.

Built in C# with the StereoKit framework for Microsoft HoloLens 2, Systems Simulation organizes nine anatomical body systems within a shared application. Learners can select a system, anchor the model in their …

Quality Improvement Project: Improving Nursing Faculty Perception Of Student Advising, Gayla Micek

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This DNP Project aimed to influence a process change within the nursing faculty advising process for pre-licensure nursing students at the project site. The clinical site mandates faculty to meet with their assigned advisees twice per academic semester for advising. However, no guidelines have been provided by the educational institution on items to cover during these advising meetings. A mixed method approach, pre- and post-survey design with quantitative and qualitative data collection was utilized for this project. The major findings from this DNP project support evidence from the literature review that include the need for a structured faculty advising process, …

Improving Nurse Knowledge And Attitudes Through Education On Integrative Pain Management In A Medical-Surgical Unit: A Quality Improvement Project, Samantha Hamilton

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abstract

Background: Pain management in medical-surgical microsystems is complex, with many patients experiencing acute and chronic pain that can be difficult to control. Nurses often receive limited continuing education on integrative and comprehensive pain management strategies, highlighting a need to improve their knowledge and attitudes toward evidence-based, multimodal approaches.

Local Problem: Nurses in this 38-bed medical-surgical microsystem identified a gap in education related to integrative pain management strategies. This may lead to a reliance on pharmacological interventions and missed opportunities for holistic, patient-centered care

Methods: A 25-day quality improvement project was conducted using an asynchronous educational PowerPoint on integrative …

The Role Of Game-Based Learning Simulation To Enhance Leadership In Pandemic Preparedness For Nursing Students, Scott James Andrews

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses around the world suffered with the impact of resource scarcity on the provision of quality nursing care to patients. Nursing staff were at higher risk of infection than all other healthcare workers, with working conditions during the pandemic resulting in significant staffing pressures. The challenges faced by staff during the pandemic inevitably influenced the quality and delivery of clinical education, highlighting the need for innovative solutions such as digital learning to address emerging training needs. Further, the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on clinical education has highlighted the benefits of digital learning environments as alternatives to …

The Effects Of School-Based Menstruation Education Programs On Anxiety And Self-Efficacy In Adolescent Girls: A Systematic Review, Hannah C. Hart

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A significant global knowledge gap exists for adolescent girls regarding what constitutes a healthy menstrual cycle, proper menstrual hygiene practices, and the implications of reproductive maturity that is ushered in by menarche. This limited understanding can lead to poor health outcomes and the development of negative sentiments and beliefs surrounding the normal experience of menstruation.

This systematic review aims to comprehensively investigate the current state of research regarding the effects of school-based, formal menstruation education programs on adolescent girls, particularly the effects on anxiety and self-efficacy related to the management of menstruation. Furthermore, this work aims to take a stance …

Sickle Cell Disease Nursing Education: A Mixed Methods Program Evaluation, Lauren Brooke Clemons

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a common disorder of the hemoglobin and affects more than 100,000 people in the United States and millions worldwide. In response to a drastic lack of available education a group of SCD experts developed the Sickle Cell Boot Camp to Promote Nursing Excellence Train the Trainer. This initiative provided the first opportunity for nurses worldwide to gain knowledge and skills curated by the leading experts in a safe and interactive environment. By adapting the program to a train the trainer modality, education materials are provided to the attendees, and they are encouraged …

Nursing Students' Clinical Placement Experience In A Residential Aged Care Facility: A Comparative Study, Nitasha Aarni Narayan

Theses

Nursing education programs play a significant role in preparing future nurses to care for the growing number of older people who will require health care. A key component of this preparation is the learning that nursing students acquire through clinical placement experience in a residential aged care facility. This clinical placement provides them with opportunities to experience caring for older adults. However, many students are reportedly reluctant to accept clinical placement in aged care and are ill-prepared for the challenges of the residential aged care facility environment. Hence, it is important for the development of future nursing programs and the …

Implementation Of A Process To Improve Compliance With A Nurse Driven Foley Catheter Removal Protocol In Nursing Staff Of A Medicine Intensive Care Unit, Kendall L. Pfister

DNP Projects

Background: Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are the most prevalent healthcare acquired infection (HAI) in the acute care setting. Unfortunately, CAUTIs can lead to high morbidity and mortality rates, longer length of stay (LOS) and increased healthcare costs. Unfortunately, in critically ill patients which often suffer multi-organ failure/injury, there remains an increased risk for infection and poor outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to increase medical intensive care unit (MICU) nursing staffs’ knowledge of existing nurse driven indwelling urinary catheter removal protocol and to implement an electronic medical record (EMR) prompt for removal of unnecessary urinary catheters …