Quality Improvement Commons^™

Collaboration In Acute Care: Enhancing Occupational Therapy Outcomes Through Canine Therapy Integration​, Deanna Hamke

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

The utilization of animal-assisted therapy has the potential to increase patient participation, motivation, and help simulate real-life experiences to promote a successful discharge from therapy services. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to: 1) expand collaboration between occupational therapists & canine therapy handlers through use of a communication platform and 2) to create a resource outlining in-session responsibilities to facilitate partnership between occupational therapists and canine therapy handlers. Occupational therapy treatment sessions were completed using canine therapy interventions targeting mobility, engagement, and emotional regulation. The final deliverables included multiple educational resources and a platform for communication. These deliverables …

Communication Matters! Exploring Experiences Of Non-English Language Preferred Families In The Neonatal And Pediatric Intensive Care Units, Sana Haq, Erin Cohen, Susan Schmidt, Rochanak Moassabeb, Folasade Kehinde

St. Chris Research Day

No abstract provided.

A Retrospective Chart Review Analyzing The Relationship Between Blood Pressure Rechecks And Polypharmacy, Callie M. Bartkowiak, Meghan K. Gwinn, Danielle Heidemann

Medical Student Research Symposium

ABSTRACT BODY:

Background: Hypertension (HTN) affects nearly 80 million people in the United States. A patient’s blood pressure (BP) measurement may influence the number of antihypertensives prescribed. Providers often do not recheck BP when a patient’s measurement is elevated despite research supporting that remeasuring may result in a significant decrease in BP. We hypothesized that patients who have BP remeasured in clinic would have lower BP values and thus less antihypertensive medication. In our academic general internal medicine (GIM) clinic, providers are encouraged to manually repeat BP if elevated on vitals taken by medical assistants using an automated cuff at …

Post-Partum Depression (Ppd) Screening Tools Effectiveness In Refugee Populations, Joshua Jensen

Annual Research Symposium

Purpose:

Immigrant mothers check all the boxes that are significant risk factors for developing or exacerbating Postpartum Depression (PPD). These risk factors include, suffering in solitude, cultural conceptualizations, barriers to help seeking, and a lack of facilitators to help seeking. Despite this very little research has been done to find effective screening methods for this population.

The purpose of this research project is to compile the works of those before me to determine whether the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression or the PHQ 9 screening tool is the most effective for immigrant mothers.

Methods:

Research determining the effectivity of the two tests …

Management Of Opioid Use Disorder In Primary Care, Carolyn Jeffries

Capstone Showcase

The prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States, and worldwide, has drastically increased in the span of 2-3 years. OUD is considered chronic condition and as such requires routine care over a lifetime. This makes OUD patients excellent candidates to be managed by primary care providers (PCPs). This article discusses the various barriers to treatment of OUD in a primary care setting as well methods and models that aim to mitigate these barriers. We will also review how to take a detailed assessment of an OUD patient, mainstays of medication assisted treatment (MAT), and management of side …

Converting Clinical Orientation Materials From Paper To Electronic: A Quality Improvement Project, Megan Bowles, Abby Lust, Teresa Bigand

2022 Providence Nurse Research Conference

Background:

In one region including 4 hospitals, acute care nurses historically met with professional development practitioners (PDP) and received binders containing printed, specialty-specific policies and a competency checklist (required to be signed and returned to the nurse leader) upon new hire or transfer. Creating physical orientation packets is costly, time-consuming, and restricts the ability to share appropriate orientation materials in the event of a PDP sick call. Real-time communication between the orientee, preceptor, PDP, and nurse leader regarding status of the competency checklist cannot occur with a physical binder. Providing electronic onboarding materials is a potential solution.

Purpose:

To …

Culturally Sensitive Care For Hispanic Americans, Christopher Dodson, Courtney Hall

Scholars Week

The number of individuals that speak another language that is not English as their primary language is at an all time high in the United States, and this can make healthcare harder to access for this portion of the population. This research examines what barriers are present for those who do not speak English as their primary language, such as miscommunications, reduced trust in their provider related to being unable to speak directly with them, parts of their cultural practices and alternative medicines being ignored or misunderstood by healthcare providers, and not feeling secure enough to reveal sensitive information to …

Evidence-Based Practice: Delaying Infant Bathing, Gabrielle Wadle, Grace Frankland

Scholars Week

A hospital's policy regarding infant bathing is currently not congruent with best nursing practice. The hospital’s current policy is to bathe an infant once they are stable and their rectal temperature is at or above 98.6 °F. Although the infant may become stable within the first 24-hours of birth, the World Health Organization recommends that, “Bathing should be delayed until 24 hours after birth.” (2013, p. 4). Research has been completed to support delaying infant bathing until 24 hours post-delivery, suggesting potential modifications to current policy.

Implementing Bedside Regional Anesthesia: Improving Clinical Effectiveness, Geoffrey Ho, Everett Chu, Adam Greenwood, Jason Podolnick, Rachel Lubran, Natalie Pudalov, Philip Th Dela Cruz, Paul Dangerfield

Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Posters and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Effective Communication: A Vital Skill In Healthcare, Allison Crabtree

Presentations, Proceedings & Performances

Members of the healthcare team conduct thousands of patient and peer interactions over the course of a career. The call to action from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on Health Professions and Training stresses the importance of communication training for all members of the healthcare team. As with other healthcare procedures, communication skills can be learned and improved upon, but requires commitment and practice.

Given the wealth of evidence linking ineffective clinician-patient communication with increased malpractice risks, patient nonadherence, patient and clinician dissatisfaction, and poor patient health outcomes, the necessity of addressing communication skills deficits is of utmost importance