Nursing Commons^™

Where Do Nurses Thrive? A Call For Healthy Work Environments, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Carmel Bond, Rebecca Jarden, Michelle Cleart

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Compassion In Mental Health Nursing: A Scoping Review, Carmel Bond, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Hattie Painter, Debra Jackson

Faculty Publications

Compassion is widely recognised as a core component of mental health nursing, yet its meaning and application within this specialty remain underexplored. This scoping review examined how compassion is conceptualised, experienced, and enacted in mental health nursing practice, and the extent to which this aligns with existing models of compassion. A systematic search of CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO identified peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2016 and 2026. Studies were included if compassion was a central focus and excluded if related to children’s services, student nurses, or general nursing contexts. Nine studies were included; seven qualitative and two quantitative designs. …

Constructions Of Medical Misogyny: A Corpus-Assisted Study Of Women's Healthcare Narratives In Media Texts, Carmel Bond, Debra Jackson, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Background: Internationally, women continue to report health inequities that are increasingly being framed as medical misogyny, yet the linguistic mechanisms underpinning them remain understudied.

Objective: To examine the discourse through which women's healthcare experiences are publicly framed and interpreted as medical misogyny.

Methods: A 37,327-word corpus was constructed and analysed using established corpus-assisted discourse study approaches. The software 'AntConc' was used to identify frequent and collocated words. Concordance line analysis identified four discursive patterns operating across the genres represented within the corpus.

Results: Four discursive patterns were identified: (1) professional authority and normalisation, (2) epistemic struggle, (3) communicative asymmetry, and …

Parenting Stress And Nurse Workforce Sustainability: An Integrative Literature Review, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Background

Parenting stress among clinical nurses has been associated with turnover-related outcomes. For many nurses, critical periods of career development and accumulated clinical responsibility overlap with reproductive and early parenting years. Features of nursing work may shape parenting stress through demands related to scheduling, workload, and limited flexibility.

Design

Integrative literature review.

Methods

An integrative literature review was conducted following the methodological framework of Whittemore and Knafl. The final searches across three databases (CINAHL Complete, Medline, and Embase) were completed on May 14, 2026. Eligible articles were published in English, addressed parenting stress, and, when empirical, included nurses as a …

Broken Links: Gender Disparities Across The Chain Of Survival In Out‐Of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest, Rylie Rasmussen, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Aim(s)

To examine gender-based disparities across each link of the American Heart Association's Chain of Survival for women experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, highlighting systemic, cultural and educational barriers that compromise equitable outcomes.

Design

A discursive review synthesizing epidemiological studies, public health data and qualitative research on cardiac arrest and gender disparities.

Methods

A comprehensive search of databases including PubMed and CINAHL identified studies on gender differences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest recognition, bystander intervention, emergency response and post-arrest care. Literature was critically analyzed using constant comparative analysis and organized according to the five links of the American Heart Association's Chain of …

Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: A Critical Analysis Within The Nursing Workforce, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Debra Jackson, Carmel Bond

Faculty Publications

Healthcare systems routinely frame breastfeeding as an ethical and clinical priority requiring institutional protection, particularly in maternity and newborn services. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative represents a global effort to embed these commitments through policy, practice, and environmental support. While these protections are well established for patient-mothers, far less attention has been given to how they are applied to the nursing workforce responsible for enacting them. The authors critically appraise an ethical contradiction experienced by lactating nurse-mothers. Breastfeeding is institutionally supported for patients but structurally constrained within nurses’ own workplaces. Using relational ethics as the primary interpretive lens, supported by clinical …

Translational Research On Peer-Led Reflective Practice Using Stress First Aid: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Jeanette Drake, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Background

Nursing students experience persistent academic and clinical stress that impacts mental health, learning, and readiness for professional practice. Peer support and structured reflection are increasingly recognized as essential to trauma-informed and sustainable nursing education. Yet, they remain inconsistently integrated into curricula.

Purpose

To explore undergraduate nursing students’ experiences of participating in a peer-led stress first aid reflective process.

Method

A qualitative descriptive design was used. Thirty-seven undergraduate nursing students participated in weekly peer-facilitated stress first aid check-ins and student-led reflective discussions over six weeks. Data from peer-led focus groups were analyzed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

Four themes …

Community-Based A1c Screening Initiative To Improve Diabetes Risk Identification Among People Experiencing Homelessness, Rebecca Drake, Deedee Long, Mariita Carter

Student Works

Abstract

Purpose: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) experience high rates of undiagnosed diabetes yet face significant barriers to preventive screening. This quality improvement project aimed to improve access to diabetes screening for PEH through on-site hemoglobin A1C (A1C) testing in a trusted community setting.

Methods: On-site A1C screening was implemented at the Utah County Food and Care Coalition (F&CC) using a low-barrier, community-based approach. Screening was conducted during routine service hours and integrated into existing workflows. Process, outcome, and balancing measures were used to evaluate feasibility, reach, and unintended effects.

Results: The intervention primarily supported identification of diabetes risk and referral …

Fatherhood As Professional Transition: Conceptualizing Patrescence In Nursing, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Rachel Detrick

Faculty Publications

This concept analysis clarifies the meaning of patrescence in nursing, the developmental transition through which a male nurse becomes a father. Using Walker and Avant’s eight-step method, we identified defining attributes including: identity integration, relational reorientation, moral recalibration, temporal development, and work-life negotiation. We also explore antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents. Patrescence is presented as a moral and relational transformation linking personal fatherhood with professional caregiving identity. Understanding this process informs nursing theory, education, and organizational policy supporting nurse-fathers’ well-being and role integration.

Compassion, Nursing's Lifeblood A Concept Analysis, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Samuel Bennett Watson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Resuscitating ‘Code Sepsis’ In The Nursing Workforce, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Carmel Bond, Debra Jackson

Faculty Publications

Sepsis ranks among the top global health threats, responsible for approximately one in every fivedeaths and accounting for over 30 million cases and 5.3 million deaths annually (Rudd et al.,2020). Clinically, sepsis arises from a dysregulated host response to infection that featuresboth hyperinflammation and immunosuppression, leading to organ dysfunction and, too often,shock and death if recognition and treatment are delayed. Sepsis is not always immediatelyapparent, and its recognition can be complicated when patients present with other acute illnessesor underlying chronic conditions. Comorbid conditions may blur the clinical picture, delayingsuspicion of sepsis until the illness has progressed. More than half of …

Emerging Workforce Nurse Resilience-Enhancement Program: A Qualitative Descriptive Phenomenological Study, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Hiromi Tobe, Gabriela Marquez, Rachel Detrick

Faculty Publications

Background: Nursing students experience heightened stress and emotional burden during clinical training, but opportunitiesfor structured resilience skill development remain limited.

Aim: To explore undergraduate nursing students' lived experiences of participation in a resilience-enhancement program.

Design: Qualitative descriptive phenomenology.

Methods: Undergraduate students participated in a resilience-enhancement pilot program adapted from Japan for Americannursing students. Upon program completion, four semi-structured focus groups were conducted. Sessions were audio-recorded,transcribed and analysed inductively.

Findings: Three themes were identified: (1) Intrapersonal Resilience Strategies; (2) Interpersonal & Accountability Supports; and(3) Intervention Design & Delivery Factors. Students described increased emotional insight, stronger coping tools and the value ofsocial …

Care Without Judgement: Political Awareness In Nursing Beyond Divides, Carmel Bond, Debra Jackson, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

In everyday nursing practice, political regimes and power structures must be recognised as essential influences. These forcesshape resource access, funding priorities, and the invisible biases that threaten equitable, non-judgemental care. In contexts of global armed conflict, forced displacement and system collapse, these dynamics are magnified, producing avoidable suffering along deeply stratified social lines. The disproportionate suffering experienced by marginalised populations in contexts of conflict, displacement and system collapse is not accidental but is produced through discursive and policy regimes thatnormalise exclusion, justify scarcity and render some lives lessworthy of care. Nursing is not external to these forces. It is practiced …

Dual Role Caregivers In Critical Care Nursing: Matrescence And Workforce Sustainability, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Brooklynn Nelson, Grace Houston

Faculty Publications

Aims: To interpret the lived experience of matrescence (becoming a mother) among critical care nurse-mothers during maternity leave and the transition back to clinical practice.

Methods: An interpretive phenomenological design was used, guided by Heidegger’s hermeneutics and Patricia Benner’s framework. A purposive sample of 54 U.S. critical care nurse-mothers was recruited through a national nursing organization. Semi-structured Zoom interviews were analyzed.

Findings: Four emergent main themes captured the intersection of becoming a mother with high-acuity nursing practice: (1) Cognitive Recalibration, subjectively experienced as a “slowed” thinking followed by perceptions of increased ability to multitask in caregiving roles; (2) Emotional Labor …

Competency Talk Is Cheap: Rethinking Global Standards In Nursing Education, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Carmel Bond, Debra Jackson

Faculty Publications

Competency has become one of the most frequently invoked concepts in nursing education. Across curricula, accreditation standards, and scholarly discourse, it is presented as a solution to concerns about graduate readiness. Yet despite the proliferation of frameworks, the meaning, assessment, and application of competency remain inconsistent and unevenly applied. This commentary critiques the contemporary emphasis on competency, arguing that the lack of coherence in definition and implementation risks reducing it to rhetoric rather than reality. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of these frameworks. Despite years of discourse, few nursing programs had embedded pandemic-ready preparation. Nurses across both high- and …

Why We Peer Review: A Shared Stewardship In Nursing, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Peer review is both an inheritance and a responsibility. Though often perceived as an individual act of service, it is, in truth, a collective movement that shapes the intellectual, ethical, and political future of the profession. Each review participates in the ongoing conversation through which nursing defines what counts as knowledge, whose voices are amplified, and how care is understood in both theory and practice. When we engage in review with curiosity, fairness, and compassion, we reaffirm that nursing knowledge is not built through competition but through contribution. In doing so, we exercise the political and clinical power of conversation; …

Organisational Factors And Nurses' Well-Being In The Workplace: An Integrative Review, Carmel Bond, Rebecca Jarden, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Debra Jackson

Faculty Publications

Aim

To report organisational factors known to positively contribute to nurses' well-being in the workplace.

Design

Integrative literature review.

Methods

Peer-reviewed journal articles using various methodological approaches, and theoretical works, published in English with a focus on organisational factors and nurses' well-being were included. Papers reporting on other healthcare professional groups and/or nursing students were excluded. Data were synthesised into an integrative review, with findings organised theoretically, according to the PERMA model (Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment), otherwise known as The Well-being Model.

Data Sources

Relevant papers published between May 2020 and April 2025 were identified using CINAHL and …

Nurse Engagement In Professional And Organisational Citizenship Over The Past Decade: An Integrative Review, Adrianna Lorraine Watson, Carmel Bond, Rebecca Jarden, Debra Jackson

Faculty Publications

Aim

To report the current state of nurses' engagement in professional and organisational citizenship behaviours worldwide and identify the factors that enable or hinder these discretionary, value-adding actions.

Design

Integrative literature review.

Methods

Peer-reviewed empirical studies, theoretical works and editorials published in English between January 2015 and April 2025 were eligible. Reports had to examine nurses' engagement in professional citizenship behaviours or organisational citizenship behaviours. Conference abstracts, dissertations and studies centred on non-nursing workforces were excluded. Quality was appraised with the mixed methods appraisal tool; data were synthesised narratively using constant-comparison techniques.

Data Sources

CINAHL Complete and MEDLINE were searched …

When Words Fail: Icu Nurses' Experiences Caring For Patients With Limited English Proficiency In The United States, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Aims

To explore the lived experiences of intensive care nurses caring for patients with limited English proficiency.

Design

A hermeneutic, interpretive phenomenological design was used.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with intensive care nurses recruited through purposive sampling. Data collection included Qualtrics screening surveys and semi-structured Zoom interviews. The research team, comprising linguistically diverse faculty and undergraduate research assistants, employed reflexivity techniques to minimise bias and enhance interpretive rigour. Data were analysed via inductive analysis using the hermeneutic circle.

Results

Five main themes emerged organically from the data:

1. Complications of Care Relating to Verbal Communication Challenges.
2. Benefits and Barriers of …

Paid Parental Leave As A Boundary-Management Strategy For Nursing Workforce Sustainability, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Aim(s)

To demonstrate, through an integrative theoretical synthesis, how fully paid parental leave functions as a boundary-management strategy that enhances nurse well-being and retention; thereby supporting sustainable workforce capacity.

Design

Discursive paper.

Methods

Directed literature synthesis (2010–2025) across nursing, organisational psychology, labour economics and health-policy databases; thematic mapping of findings to organisational support theory, ethics-of-care theory and role theory; cross-case comparison of four national leave frameworks.

Results

Paid, discretionary leave raises perceived organisational support and predicts lower turnover intention. Leave is framed as moral reciprocity and restores both relational energy and capacity for job satisfaction. Extended, clearly sign-posted leave reduces …

Hearing From Working Nurses: Incorporating Real-World Knowledge Practices Into The Framework To Better Instruct Tomorrow's Healthcare Professionals, Anne R. Diekema, Elizabeth (Betsy) S. Hopkins, Britt Fagerheim, Brandon Patterson, Nena Schvaneveldt

Faculty Publications

There is a certain duality to the role of librarians in higher education as the job requires preparing students for their current academic work, such as doing research for writing papers, while at the same time preparing students for their future professional information work. Librarians seeking guidance on teaching information literacy more comprehensively are left to study the professional standards of the targeted professional group, and find or carry out research on these practitioners. Synthesizing and translating these findings into instructional approaches while staying true to existing information literacy standards, however, can be challenging. In this chapter we demonstrate how …

Taking Back The Authentic Nurse, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Recently, I attended a conference in which the idea of nurses being their authentic selves (Watson 2012, p. 81) was discussed. In the weeks since the conference, I have reflected on this. There is currently no practical space made for this within nursing professional roles or workplace environments. The efficiency-driven performance metrics of healthcare frequently seem to prioritise productivity over human connections (Pullyblank 2023). Organisational expectations and demands often conflict with the application of authentic engagement and leadership, complicating nurses' efforts to maintain congruence between their personal and professional role identities (Travelbee 1966; Ulrich et al. 2022).

A Postmodernist Qualitative Research Approach: Choosing Between Descriptive And Interpretive Phenomenology, Adrianna Lorraine Watson

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Phenomenology is essential for researchers exploring human experience. To apply it rigorously, an understanding of its philosophical foundations is needed. This discussion outlines the key distinctions between interpretive and descriptive phenomenology to illustrate philosophical and methodological implications. Nursing researchers seeking to either uncover universal essences or interpret deeper, contextually situated meanings in lived experiences may find this discussion instructive.

Background: Phenomenology examines lived experiences, focusing on interpretation and meaning. The question of under-standing follows either an epistemological (descriptive) or ontological (interpretive) line of questioning. Husserl's descriptive approach seeks to objectively capture the essence of experiences through bracketing, while Heidegger's …

A Descriptive Study On Holistic Nursing Education: Student Perspectives On Integrating Mindfulness, Spirituality, And Professionalism, Sara P. Prescott Student Nurse, Adrianna L. Watson Phd, Rn, Ccrn, Tcrn, Chelsey D. Young Msn, Rn, Carly Peterson Msn, Aprn, Nnp-Bc, Doctoral Candidate, Daphne Thomas Dnp, Rn, Chse, Cne, Cnml, Cen, Matthew Anderson Dnp, Aprn, Fnp-C, Samuel B. Watson M.A., Doctoral Candidate

Student Works

Background: Mindfulness has gained prominence in education as a method for enhancing student well-being and learning, yet its integration into nursing curricula remains underexplored. Student lived experiences are essential to understanding the potential benefits and challenges of mindful nursing practice.

Aim: To explore the lived experiences of undergraduate nursing students who practice mindfulness as it relates to nursing education.

Methods: This was a qualitative descriptive phenomenological study. Data was collected using semi-structured Zoom interviews. Recruitment used word of mouth and snowball sampling. Out of 80 applicants, 17 undergraduate nursing students were interviewed until data saturation was achieved. Data were analyzed …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Incidence Of Sexual Assaults And Victim Services, Jessica Hunter

Student Works

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Sexual Assaults and Victim Services

Purpose: The purpose of this literature review is to discuss incidents/rates of sexual assaults (SA), access to or accessibility of SA victim services, and the utilization of SA services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: In the U.S., 1 in 5 women experience rape or attempted rape, while 1 in 4 men experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. Additionally, SAs affect roughly one-third of the world's population, making SA a prominent problem worldwide.

Methods: Electronic searches in CINHAL and MEDLINE were performed using …

Assessing Medical Adherence In A Volunteer Community Health Clinic, Jessica Clark, Matthew Anderson, Janelle L. B. Macintosh, Corinna Trujillo Tanner, Kristen Erekson

Student Works

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to identify the rates of and reasons for nonadherence in medical follow-up care among patients who utilize the Volunteer Care Clinic (VCC).

Background: The VCC is a free outpatient care center for acute medical conditions. The VCC serves uninsured, low socioeconomic residents of Utah County, and many of the patients who come to the clinic primarily speak Spanish. The director of the VCC expressed concern that patients who were assigned medical follow-up care to complete after their visit were not completing these assignments. Nonadherence is associated with increased costs, more hospitalizations, and worse …

Exploring Caregiver Support For Advanced Practice Nurses Following An Error, Sunnie Lee Nield

Theses and Dissertations

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) are a growing population of employed individuals within the healthcare system, working in outpatient and inpatient settings. Like other healthcare professionals, nurse practitioners can and do make errors while practicing. Nevertheless, little to no research has focused on them. This research aimed to better understand nurse practitioners' attitudes towards error approach, perception, and cause using the Medical Error Attitude Scale (MEAS). Additional purposes included the further exploration of APRNs' experiences following an error and support they may or may not receive. A convenience sample of ARPNs licensed in Utah was sent an electronic survey via …

The Effect Of Educating Mas On Hpv Vaccination: A Pilot Project, Alexis Petersen, Karlen E. Luthy, Michael S. Robinson, Janelle L. B. Macintosh

Student Works

Background: The HPV vaccine protects patients against infection and cancers, yet it is underutilized. Medical Assistants (MAs) can play a pivotal role in vaccination and are the focus of this project.

Aim Statement: This project aims to examine whether one educational session can improve the perceptions, knowledge, and comfort level of MAs regarding HPV vaccination.

Methods: The project took place at three separate clinics of one pediatric organization in Utah.

Interventions: A 10–15-minute educational session about the HPV vaccine was presented to the MAs at each clinic, and a pre- and post-survey method was used to analyze the effect of …

Psychological Safety Of Pre-Licensure Nursing Students: A Longitudinal, Qualitative Study, Laura Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Previous studies have explored the concept of psychological safety among pre-licensure nursing students; however, the literature is notably sparse on personal descriptions of pre-licensure nursing students' experiences of psychological safety in clinical settings. Individual descriptions of psychological safety will provide added insight and understanding about the elements that shape psychological safety in pre-licensure nursing students. Objectives: This research aimed to longitudinally explore pre-licensure nursing students' experiences of psychological safety during clinical rotations and how their experiences of psychological safety change over time. Methods: This study used a longitudinal, qualitative, descriptive approach. Participants were recruited from a nursing program in …

Improving Patient Care For Individuals With Autism Through An Evidence-Based Education Video: A Pilot Feasibility Project, Emily Santillan, Katreena Collette-Merrill, Terisa P. Gabrielsen, Petr Ruda

Student Works

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects approximately 1 in 36 children in the United States, presenting challenges in healthcare provision due to varied severity and frequent comorbidities. Despite increased healthcare utilization by individuals with ASD, they often encounter barriers to receiving adequate care, including communication difficulties and untrained healthcare providers. Consequently, there is a pressing need for autism-friendly healthcare environments.

This study aimed to assess the feasibility of improving healthcare provider self-efficacy in caring for patients with ASD through an evidence-based online educational video. Following Bandura's Self-Efficacy Theory, the project developed a video outlining simple accommodations for ASD patients in ambulatory …