Nursing Commons^™

Effectiveness Of De-Escalation Training To Medical-Surgical Nurses, Tammy L. Sullivan

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nurses are the most common victims of workplace violence and typically are not equipped deliver appropriate prevention interventions. Although most violent episodes occur in the emergency department and mental health units, violence towards nurses on the medicalsurgical units is on the rise. Patient perpetrated aggression and violence is positively correlated with poor patient outcomes and length of stay. In addition to the physical effects on the nurse, there are psychological effects that can impact their career and personal life. The direct and indirect cost for an organization includes decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and turnover. In potentially violent situations, nurses must …

Simulation Based Learning To Increase Competency And Self-Confidence In Novice Nurses, Veronica Eubank

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

New nursing graduates lack competency and confidence in failure to rescue situations could result in failure to rescue (FTR). High-fidelity simulation (HFS) is a potential solution to ensure a controlled environment in which new graduates can practice safely and gain the knowledge they need to develop critical thinking skills. Utilizing simulation education to improve an individual’s ability to recognize deterioration early, communicate, prioritize, delegate, and provide role clarity can foster confidence and competence in new graduate nurses. The project evaluated the effectiveness of using HFS for novice nurses to increase knowledge, competency, and confidence when a patient status deteriorates. The …

Preparing For Obstetrical Emergencies In The Emergency Department, Tracy Littlehale

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Emergency Department nurses must maintain the skills to manage OB emergencies in the ED, especially in hospitals with no OB unit. Limited contact with OB patients diminishes the self-confidence, knowledge and skill of ED nurses, which may minimize their ability to recognize OB problems in a timely manner. As increasing numbers of patients with OB emergencies are expected to seek care in rural EDs due to closure of rural OB units and rising OB risk factors, maintenance of OB skills by ED nurses is critical. Simulation has been identified in the literature as an effective strategy to help nurses advance …

Selecting A Journal For Your Manuscript: A 4-Step Process, Claire Olivia Sharifi, Robin Buccheri

Gleeson Library Faculty and Staff Research and Scholarship

Background Identifying the most appropriate journal for a manuscript can be challenging for both experienced and novice nurse authors. Several factors should be considered when selecting a journal (e.g., peer-reviewed, target audience, type of manuscripts accepted, type of copyright and publishing model used). Selecting the most appropriate journal can save time for both authors and publishers.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to provide nurses, particularly those new to scholarly publishing, with clear, plain language guidance on the processes and considerations involved in selecting a journal for publication.

Methods A librarian and a nurse educator collaborated to develop an …

Effects Of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression On Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (Doms) In Long Distance Runners, Shane N. Draper, Emily L. Kullman, Kenneth E. Sparks, Kathleen Little, Joan Thoman

Nursing Faculty Publications

© 2020, Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. The purpose of this study was to observe the effectiveness of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) on reducing C-reactive protein (CRP) and DOMS after long distance running. Ten distance runners, five males and five females, ages 20-53 years performed two 20mile runs at 70% VO2 max. Each run was followed by either no treatment (control) or IPC treatment for five consecutive days. For the IPC run, participants were treated for one hour immediately following the run and daily for five more days thereafter. On control runs, participants did not receive any treatment. Serum …

Neonatal Outcomes In Planned Community Birth Settings, Catherine E. Binger, Kaitlin Kinkoph

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background/Purpose: The safety of community births is a common point of discussion, especially in regard to neonates. Planned community births are supported for low risk, informed patients by the ACNM. The purpose of this literature review was to understand neonatal morbidity and mortality in planned community birth settings. Theoretical Framework: Orlando’s Nursing Theory focuses on immediate patient needs and promotes growth of nurses in unstable environments. This theory applies the competency of the nurse’s practice and the satisfaction of the patient. The Orlando Nursing Theory will be applied and explored as a framework in relation to neonatal outcomes in different …

Ethical Imperatives Critical To Effective Disease Control In The Coronavirus Pandemic: Recognition Of Global Health Interdependence As A Driver Of Health And Social Equity, George A. Gellert Md, Mph, Mpa

Journal of Health Ethics

Ethical imperatives critical to effective disease control in the coronavirus pandemic: Recognition of global health interdependence as a driver of health and social equity

George A. Gellert MD, MPH, MPA

ABSTRACT

Decades into the era of emerging infectious diseases, the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic has caught the world, and the United States in particular, poorly prepared to engage effective public health disease prevention and control measures. In part, this reflects poor public health planning, response, logistical preparation and pandemic readiness, and complacency by governments and disease control agencies. In terms of future responses to emerging infection pandemics, these deficiencies can be …

Infection Prevention In Patients Receiving Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Through Proper Hemodialysis Line Care, Nicole Ingram, Susan Mckenna

VCU Health Nursing

The goal was to reduce Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT)-related Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) rates by introducing a just-in-time re-education toolkit for proper hemodialysis (HD) line care in adult Intensive Care Units (ICU).

CRRT requires specialized expertise delivered in the ICU setting with the support of HD nurses. Problem-solving when cartridges clot or clog requires ICU nurses to return the blood and notify HD to restart therapy. Current evidence supports the use of white Curos^TM caps and Tego^TM connectors when deaccessing lines in order to prevent CLABSIs, air emboli, and bleeding. A learning needs assessment revealed inconsistent …

Front-Line Nurse Manager Succession Planning: Building And Promoting Strong Nurse Leaders Through Implementation Of A Nurse Manager Development Program, Melany Boyd

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Succession planning plays a pivotal role in the infrastructure of any company. Succession planning is designed to identify individuals with potential and prepare them as successors when the current leader vacates their position. With the ageing nurse population, increased role demand, and lack of interest from incoming nurses there is an increase in nurse leader (particularly nurse managers) vacancies. Through the implementation of a Nurse Manager Development Program, executives have the opportunity to strengthen the nurse manager pipeline and promote succession planning through early identification of potential leaders and placing those individuals through a 3-month program that focuses on the …

Reducing Nurses' Communication Anxiety During End Of Life Care, Susan Dunbar Wolfrom

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

End of life (EOL) conversations are meaningful discussions pertaining to the patient’s disease trajectory, symptom management, and the patient’s goals at end of life. End of life care discussions have been associated with many benefits for the patient including: decreased healthcare costs, less aggressive treatments at EOL, and a good death. These sensitive discussions must occur over the course of several interactions or spontaneously in the moment in order to support the patient during delicate moments. This makes the nurse the prime candidate to help facilitate and harbor these discussions. However, barriers to communication exist, leading to the omission of …

Students’ Knowledge Of Alzheimer’S Disease, D'Anna Helms

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

Preparing nursing students to care for the ever-growing aging population with memory impairment is vital. This research study aimed to determine the prevalence of knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) among Baccalaureate nursing students. A descriptive correlational design was used to determine the prevalence of AD knowledge among juniors in an Adult I course and seniors in a Mental Health nursing course. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data using the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS). A convenience sample of 63 student cohorts completed the survey. Results indicated that students were aware that AD is a form of dementia; however, …

Health Care Provider’S Perspectives Of A Woman’S Quality Of Life Facing Endometriosis And Infertility, Bridget Ford

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

This study assessed the quality of life of women with endometriosis and infertility issues through the perception of health care providers. The purpose was to increase awareness of the psychosocial aspect of endometriosis to encourage health care providers to incorporate the assessment of the mental health of women diagnosed with endometriosis into care, as well as their partners. The findings of the study showed the importance of providing holistic care to women with endometriosis related infertility and the vast impact endometriosis has on mental health, relationships, and in a woman’s daily life. Implications for nurses as a result of the …

Improving The Relationship Between Emergency Nurses And The Behavioral Health Patient, Alea Bundy

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

There is an increasing number of behavioral health patients entering through the emergency department for behavioral health treatment and crisis intervention every day. Workplace violence against nurses has also increased leaving some nurses feeling anxious and fearful of interactions with behavioral health patients. The increase of behavioral health patients and unstable situations have created a gap in communications and has strained the nurse patient relationship yielding poor patient outcomes. The purpose of this project is to educate nurses on the care of the behavioral health patients and improve nurse-patient relationships for better outcomes for the patient. The framework for this …

Shared Governance Council: Improving Staff And Patient Satisfaction, Haley O'Brien Hall

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Due to the decreased staff and patient satisfaction on one post-operative unit, the author has developed a project plan to establish a unit specific Self Governance (SG) committee to improve staff and patient satisfaction. One SG committee and two councils will be formed giving all staff the opportunity to be a voice for change on their unit. The committee is focused on building and maintaining each council. One council will focus on staff satisfaction and one council will focus on patient satisfaction. The progress and outcomes of each committee and council will be evaluated in three ways: staff surveys, patient …

Postpartum Depression In Military Mothers:Active Duty And Partners Of Active Duty Service Members, Amanda Willis

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common complication of pregnancy. Active duty mothers and mothers with active duty spouses have a unique risk factor, deployment. Military mothers may receive PPD education prenatally and during postpartum visits if necessary. This project created a postpartum depression video that was mandatory for mothers to watch before they were discharged from the postpartum unit after the delivery of their baby. Early education and treatment are the key to managing PPD in all mothers. The mothers were surveyed at their postpartum office visits to evaluate effectiveness of video.

New Nurse Graduate Mentoring: An Early Implementation Program, Stacy Inman

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Mentoring of new nurse graduates is an opportunity for our future nurses to grow and evolve. This concept is growing in popularity and has proven effective in retention of new nurses as well as improved staff satisfaction. Many mentoring programs for new nurse graduates begin at one year of employment, which leaves open the crucial turning point of transitioning from academia to professional practice. New nurse graduates are vulnerable at this stage of transition and an effective mentoring relationship can help the new graduate gain confidence in the profession of nursing.

Gratitude Journaling As Intervention To Combat Nurse Burnout In Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Nurses, Melinda Simpson

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

As a practicing registered nurse in the intensive care setting, this researcher witnessed an episode of burnout characterized by a public meltdown, crying, and yelling. This sparked an interest in an intervention to combat nurse burnout. Literature was found on gratitude which has been found to increase resiliency. An increase in resiliency, in various populations, has been found to decrease perceived stress and feelings of burnout. This researcher investigated the use of gratitude journaling for 21 days as means to decrease perceived stress and feelings of burnout while increasing gratitude and resiliency. The PSS, GQ, BRS, & BBI tools were …

Clinical Grading Rubric And Interrater Reliability, Stephanie F. Lunsford

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Clinical documentation is an integral part of the nursing curriculum. Nursing students utilize clinical documentation to reflect on weekly clinical experiences and clinical instructors grade this clinical documentation to view the students understanding of the experience and the nursing process. As the student progresses, the documentation changes to a more critical thinking piece of the student’s advancement toward their future work experience. Grading of clinical documentation can be challenging and often leads to poor self-efficacy of the instructor as well as the student. It has been known that students are often given the benefit of the doubt and passed when …

Proposal Of The Need For Mental Health First Aid Training Of Associate Degree Nursing Faculty In A Community College Setting, Amy Kelly

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Mental health issues are on the rise among students in universities as well as community colleges. College can be a stressful time in many people’s lives especially when the added demand of work and family are involved. Community colleges and universities use counseling services for their mental health needs but sometimes the services are not used due to the stigma that comes along with mental health. Nursing school can be a challenging time for students because of the rigorous training and workload. This project poses to implement Mental Health First Aid Training (MHFA) for faculty and staff of a nursing …

Correlational Impact Of Workload, Teamwork And Retention Rate For Clinical Nursing Units, Phillip J. Nutter

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Healthcare organizations face an impending shortage of over one million nurses. Staff turnover adds costs to healthcare and decreases the morale of the unit. Teamwork has been shown to be related to engagement as engagement has been shown to be related to retention. Understanding how teamwork mitigates increasing workload at the unit level is critical to reducing turnover at the nursing unit level. This research explored relationships between teamwork and productivity and teamwork and retention rates for nurses. The Neuman Systems Model was used as the framework to guide this retrospective correlational analysis with teamwork as a flexible line of …

Preparing The Nurse Aide I Student For The Workplace: Combating Burnout And Compassion Fatigue, Patrice Staley

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

Abstract not available

Communication Within The Perioperative Department, Leah Quinn

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

No abstract provided

A Systemic Review And Meta-Analysis On The Antihypertensive Effect Of Aromatherapy Essential Oils, Mikyoung Lee, Ji-Ah Song, Mina Ahn, Ahra Jo, Jeongah Park, Wonjong Kim, Claudia M. Davis, Yeon Sook Kim, Myun-Haeng Hur

Nursing Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study is a systemic review of experimental results on the effects of aromatherapy on blood pressure.

Materials and Methods: Journal articles published to December, 2017, were retrieved from twelve databases. Randomized controlled trials in which were evaluated for changes in blood pressure following aromatherapy were selected. Risks of bias were assessed using the risk-of-bias (ROB) tool of the Cochrane Collaboration. Meta-analysis were dine using RevMan.

Results: Of the 2545 articles retrieved from the electronic databases, 580 duplicate articles and 1891 articles that were unrelated to the PICO (patient/problem, intervention, comparison, outcome) elements or did not satisfy the inclusion …

The Impact Of Lifestyle Medicine On Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Kelli L. Noble

DNP Research Projects

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide. The main risk factor for the development of NAFLD is metabolic syndrome. Women are at greatest risk, typically in their 5th to 6th decade of life. The more aggressive form of NAFLD is nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which is characterized by inflammation associated with NAFLD. NASH has the greatest tendency to progress into cirrhosis. However, lifestyle intervention has been shown to effectively treat, and even reverse NAFLD. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to lend additional research and demonstrate improvement in NAFLD through lifestyle intervention with 1) …

Extraction And Analysis Of Data For Fragility Fracture Patients To Help Determine The Likelihood Of Follow-Up With A West Michigan Fragility Fracture Service, Michael Joseph Lamphere

Doctoral Dissertations

Fragility fractures and secondary fractures are a large physical, financial, and emotional drain on the individuals and families affected. Improving post fragility fracture care and increasing follow-up rates with specialty services, such as a fracture liaison service, may promote post-fracture recovery and help prevent future fractures. The purpose of this doctoral project was to increase and improve post osteoporotic fracture care by increasing appropriate referrals and follow-up care. Patient data was retrieved and analyzed on 60 fragility fracture patients referred to a local fracture liaison service. The analysis found that patient gender, fracture site, and history of a previous fracture …

A Randomized Control Trial To Compare Npo Status Against A Specialized Pre-Cardiac Cath Diet, Carri Woods Mba, Msn, Rn, Michelle Wood Msn, Rn-Bc

Nursing Active Studies

The purpose of this research study is to identify best practice for NPO status prior to a cardiac catheterization through a comparative evaluation. This prospective, randomized control study will evaluate current standard of care NPO guidelines and a specialized pre-cardiac catheterization diet in low-medium risk patients undergoing elective cardiac catheterization.

PI: Carri Woods MBA, MSN, RN; Michelle Wood MSN, RN-BC

Contact: [email protected]; [email protected]

Effect Of Warming Iv Fluids During Micu Transport On Patient Comfort And Temperature, Jennifer Esslinger Bsn, Rn, Cfrn, Ctrn

Nursing Active Studies

This study is to determine if during the transport of critically ill patients receiving intravenous fluids (IVF), the use of an IVF warmer may increase comfort, reduce pain, and prevent hypothermia.

PI: Jennifer Esslinger BSN, RN, CFRN, CTRN

Contact: [email protected]

Postoperative Vital Signs: Traditional Versus Evidence Based, Linda Otis Bsn, Rn

Nursing Active Studies

This study compares the current standard vital sign frequency in postoperative recovery patients to an investigator-designed vital sign algorithm, the Trax Algorithm. This tool guides nursing care based on assessments of the postoperative patient to determine appropriate vital sign frequency.

Fatigue In The Nursing Workforce, Vicki Maisonneuve Msn, Rn, Crrn

Nursing Active Studies

Many injuries or adverse events related to patient care may be caused by fatigue in nurses. This phenomenon is under-reported and has not been a focus in healthcare. The purpose of this survey is to identify fatigue in Parkview Nursing Workforce and determine causes that potentially could be mitigated in the future with a change in practice. By determining the amount of fatigue and identifying potential causes, interventions can be implemented to mitigate these risks.

Evaluation Of Nursing Experience Of Caring For Patients At The End-Of-Life In Units Without An Established Bereavement Program, Lisa Morgan Bsn, Rn, Cnrn

Nursing Active Studies

This research study is an effort to identify and describe nursing attitudes and experiences with caring for patients at the end-of-life in a unit without an established bereavement program. The study will assess attitudes and experience pre and post implementation of a facility-wide bereavement program. The anticipated benefit will be acknowledging the impact of death on nurses who provide end-of-life nursing care. When nurses have support for bereavement, patients and their families will benefit.

PI: Lisa Morgan BSN, RN, CNRN

Contact: lisa.morgan@ Parkview.com