Nursing Commons^™

Mindfulness Sessions For The Prevention Of Compassion Fatigue In Pediatric Oncology Nurses, Sara Neal

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Over the last several years, compassion fatigue (CF) has been considered one of the main reasons that nurses choose to leave the bedside and the profession. While many healthcare organizations recognize the problems that are associated with CF, only a few have worked towards preventing it. An intervention that has shown promise of aiding nurses with CF is mindfulness. The purpose of this quantitative pretest-posttest design was to focus on the effects of the Koru® Mindfulness program with CF and resilience in pediatric oncology nurses. Data collected from the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) v.5 and the Brief Resilience Scale …

Application Of The Ideas Framework In Adapting A Web-Based Physical Activity Intervention For Young Adult College Students, Kimberly R. Hartson, Lindsay J. Della, Kristi King, Sam Liu, Paige N. Newquist, Ryan E. Rhodes

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

User-centered developmental processes are critical to ensuring acceptability of e-health behavioral interventions, and yet physical activity research continues to be inundated with top-down developmental approaches. The IDEAS (Integrate, Design, Assess, and Share) framework outlines a user-centered process for development of e-health interventions. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the application of the IDEAS framework in adapting a web-based physical activity intervention for young adult college students. Steps 1–3 emphasized integrating insights from users and theory and Steps 4–7 focused on iterative and rapid design with user feedback. Data were collected via repeat qualitative interviews with young adult college …

Evidence-Based End-Of-Life Comfort Care Guidelines, Myla Maranan

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: In the absence of end-of-life (EOL) comfort care guidelines, the nurses in a medical-surgical unit are apprehensive about caring for patients in their active stage of dying, which leads to abandoning the values of holistic and patient-centered care.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: "How do acute care bedside nurses (P) who utilize the evidence-based comfort care guidelines (I) compare to not using the evidence-based guidelines (C) perceive their confidence in their capability to provide holistic and patient-centered care (O) during the active onset of the patient's end-of-life stage (T)?"

Evidence: The literature indicated …

Recommendations For Perioperative Care Of Adolescents At Risk For Suicide, Rachelle Huber Dustin Rn, Bsn, Blaine A. Winters Dnp, Acnp-Bc

Student Works

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for the adolescent population, and as such, should be addressed when adolescents have any contact with the healthcare system, including perioperative appointments. Although some surgical facilities screen patients with a history of suicide attempt or severe mental health conditions, many adolescents who have died by suicide do not have official mental health diagnoses or history of previous suicide attempt. Because of the impact surgery can have on mental health, each adolescent should be screened for suicide risk during pre-surgical consult appointments to assess suicide risk and take proper precautions, as needed. …

The Covid-19 Pivot To Online Education And Bsn Graduates’ Readiness To Practice, Abigail Schulte

Dissertations

There is a major nursing shortage worldwide, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to invest in the acceleration of nursing education to meet global needs. Nursing schools had to pivot to online education overnight, and many are unsure how this has impacted students. The purpose of this study is to see if the pivot to online education, prompted by COVID-19, impacted the readiness to practice and grade point averages (GPA) of graduating Bachelor of Nursing students. In this quantitative study, a casual-comparative survey design is used to test for readiness to practice and program modality. A cross-sectional design …

School Of Nursing News, Georgia Southern University

Nursing: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• RN to BSN Program Ranked No. 4 in Georgia

• Nursing Students Assist with COVID-19 Vaccinations

Collaborating To Offer Hpv Vaccinations In Jails: Results From A Pre-Implementation Study In Four States, Amanda Emerson, Molly Allison, Lisa Saldana, Patricia Kelly, Megha Ramaswamy

Department of Nursing Papers

BACKGROUND: Correctional facilities are an underutilized venue for reaching young adults who have not vaccinated for human papillomavirus (HPV). The objective of this study was to identify factors that are associated with jail and local health department (LHD) interest in partnering to offer HPV vaccinations to young adults in jail.

METHODS: Consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR)-guided surveys were conducted with jail administrators in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, September 2017-October 2018. Jail survey data were analyzed using chi square distribution and relative risk regression. Using data from sister surveys conducted with LHD administrators in the same counties (results previously …

Birth Practice Beliefs Of Undergraduate Nursing Students, Cassandra Sharelle Land

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Spontaneous labor and normal birth are associated with optimal maternal-fetal outcomes for healthy women with low-risk pregnancies. Despite that fact, medicalized management of childbirth predominates the maternity health culture of the United States. Childbirth outcomes have been linked to the care provided by intrapartum nurses, and that care has been influenced by nurses’ beliefs about birth. As potential future intrapartum nurses, it is important to explore if nursing students who have completed a maternity nursing course have medicalized or normal birth beliefs. No studies were found in which undergraduate nursing students and their birth practice beliefs were examined after completing …

Importance Of Asking For Pronouns: Assessing Cultural Competency Among Bsn Nursing Students, Vincent Doan, Carlee Correia, Julie Baker-Townsend

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

As evidenced by research, the use of personal pronouns in the clinical setting is not very common and is why the LGBTQ+ patient population experiences health care disparities. The improper use of personal pronouns is due to a lack of culturally competent training and awareness among health care workers. This is a quality improvement project for the proper use of gender pronouns, endorsed by the American Nurses Association. It is essential to ask about patient preferences regarding pronouns because it creates a safe space for gender minorities and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Correctly identifying pronouns as healthcare professionals shows …

Painful Body Surface Area Variance Between Pre-Op And Post-Op Lung Cancer Patients, Brianna Pendergrass, Keesh Powell-Roach, Prashant Singh, Yingwei Yao, Diana J. Wilkie

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Honorable Mention Winner

The focal point of my study is painful body surface area (BSA). BSA is the calculated surface area of the human body. Alot of studies focus on pain intensity (PI) variance rather than painful BSA variance. In this study, painful BSA will be measured before and after lung cancer patients under-go a thoracotomy (lung resection surgery). At the conclusion of this study, the following questions should be answered. Does painful BSA increase, decrease, or remain constant after a thoracotomy surgery? Is there a relationship between PI and BSA? If so, are they inversely related or directly related? …

Planning Care For Visually Impaired Children In The Inpatient Setting: A Literature Review., Aubrey Townsend

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Project of Merit Winner

Topic: In visually impaired children experiencing hospitalization (P), how do specific and age-appropriate interventions (I) compared to that for a child with no visual deficits (C) affect the quality of care (O) during an overnight hospital stay? (T) Methods: This literature review was conducted through PubMed and CINAHL. The keywords searched were “Visual Impairment,” “Visually Impaired,” “Blind*,” “Pediatric*,” “Hospital*,” “VIP,” “Inpatient” and “Child.*” Results: The literature review yielded 20 articles, which were eventually narrowed down to 8 applicable articles. Analysis of the articles identified the need for further research on this topic. Analysis: Two systematic reviews …

Protecting Sleep To Reduce Delirium In An Adult Intensive Care Unit, Heather Thomas

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Delirium is a common, yet often preventable complication in hospitalized patients. It is often caused by fragmented sleep, medications, environmental stimuli, and treatment therapies.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this evidence-based practice change project was: For patients in an adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU), does using a nurse-initiated, non-pharmacological sleep-enhancement protocol, versus no sleep-enhancement protocol, reduce the incidence of ICU-delirium over a period of 2 months?

Evidence: The reviewed literature supported the evidence for effective use of a nurse-initiated protocol in reducing delirium in the ICU. Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria for the review of literature …

A Safety Program In A Tertiary Care Center Emergency Department: An Evidence-Based Project To Increase Safety Event Reporting And Improve Frontline Staff Perceptions Of Hospital Management’S Response To Safety Events, Elizabeth Anne Mcmaster

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: The lack of a non-punitive safety culture with a healthcare organization is associated with decreased safety event reporting, reimbursement rates, and staff satisfaction.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In emergency department frontline staff, does hospital management involvement in a safety event program, contrasted with no safety event program, improve frontline staff’s reporting of safety events and perceptions of hospital management’s response to safety events management involvement over four weeks?

Evidence: Three overlapping themes that guided this project included: improving organizational culture, open communication, and leadership support in promoting patient safety.

Intervention: A safety event …

Non-Anogenital And Anogenital Injuries Of Females Following Sexual Assault: A Retrospective, Descriptive Study From 5,464 Sexual Assault Forensic Medical Examination (Safme) Reports, Atalie M. Bradshaw

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this retrospective, descriptive study is to describe non-anogenital and anogenital injuries documented in over 5,000 sexual assault forensic medical examination (SAFME) reports of female patients. The study findings expand understanding of injuries documented following sexual assault by exploring associations between injuries and a multitude of variables: patient demographics (age, race, gender); time between assault and examination; patient-perpetrator relationship; perpetrator actions (strangulation, hit, verbally threatened/coerced, use of restraints, grabbed/held); number of assaultive acts; multiple-perpetrators; suspected drug-facilitated assaults; patient and perpetrator use of alcohol and drugs; and physically or mentally impaired patients. The various types and locations of injuries …

Efficacy Of Integrating Cbt For Mental Health Care Into Substance Abuse Treatment In Patients With Comorbid Disorders Of Substance Abuse And Mental Illness, Laura U. Madu, Jacqueline Sharp, Bobby Bellflower

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Abstract: Multiple studies have found that psychiatric disorders, like mood disorders and substance use disorders, are highly comorbid among adults with either disorder. Integrated treatment refers to the treatment of two or more conditions and the use of multiple therapies such as the combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Integrated therapy for comorbidity per numerous studies has consistently been superior to the treatment of individual disorders separately. The purpose of this QI project was to identify the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) instead of current treatment as usual for treating Substance Use Disorder (SUD) or mental health diagnosis independently. It …

Implementation Of The Visualdx Application By Nurse Practitioners And Physician Assistants Aimed At Improving Diagnostic Accuracy In Skin Of Color Patients, Jill M. Maddox

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

In 2016 the United States black population stood at over 43 million with a projected increase of 41% by 2060, and the “two or more races” category will increase by 197.8% (Vespa et al., 2020), thus intensifying the need for diagnostic accuracy of skin diseases for these demographics. The American Academy of Dermatology (https://www.aad.org, 2020) brochures as well as dermatology textbooks underrepresent skin of color (SOC) cutaneous appearance (Louie and Wilkes, 2018), and darker skin tone dermatology education is limited. This underrepresentation leads to misperceptions, misdiagnoses, and poorer outcomes. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was evaluation of a …

Developing Organizational Support And Leadership Structures For Advanced Practice Nurses In The Hospital Setting, Andrea L. Childress

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Hospitals are increasing utilization of advanced practice nurses (APNs). APNs do not fit within the traditional nursing or medicine department structures. They are often hired by organizations without full evaluation and assessment of management issues and structures to support them.

Problem: APNs are employed to work throughout an acute care hospital. They report to medical leadership but have no voting rights or representation on medical committees. They lack connection to nursing staff and existing structures which impairs their ability to exhibit leadership and advance nursing practice.

Purpose: This project seeks to answer: What organizational support and leadership structures are …

Reducing Patient Risk For Suicidal Behaviors With A Safety Bundle Of Best Practices With Non-Psychiatric Patients, Olayemi Akindele

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Suicide is a public health condition that affects people globally. The increased suicidal behaviors of patients in a medical-surgical unit demanded an effective screening protocol to identify high-risk patients.

PICOT: In patients 18 years and older on a medical-surgical unit, does the implementation of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) tool and application of a Safety Bundle of Best Practices (SBBP) increase early identification of suicide risk with decreased patient self-harm behaviors, compared to the current standard practice of no assessment tool or safety bundle of best practices within 12 weeks?

Evidence: Ten studies served as evidence …

Improving Emergency Department Throughput: Using A Pull Method Of Patient Flow, Jeffrey Collins

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) has been shown to increase the length of hospital stay, adversely impact patient outcomes, and reduce patient satisfaction. Problems with overcrowding and throughput are often thought of as an ED-specific inefficiency; however, the issue is indicative of hospital-wide inefficiencies.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was “For ED patients admitted to the medical-surgical unit at an acute medical center, will the implementation of a pull model for patient flow, when compared to the current push model, reduce admission delay and length of stay (LOS) within six weeks of implementation?

Evidence: …

Talking To Your Patients About Antibiotics: What Nurse Practitioners Need To Know, Danae M. Titensor, Katreena Collette-Merrill

Student Works

Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat to our current ways of treating infections. The overuse of antibiotics is a major contributor to this threat, especially with the prevalence of unnecessary prescriptions written for upper respiratory infections (URIs). Better education tools are needed for providers and patients regarding antibiotic resistance. The purpose of this project was to use evidence-based practice to produce an educational video about antibiotic resistance. Following a review of the literature, a 6-minute video was made using Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning. A convenience sample of 15 family nurse practitioner (FNP) students, from one master’s program, participated …

Optimizing Operating Room Throughput, Amanda Brendel

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Throughput is an instrumental aspect for hospitals to maximize patient capacity; therefore, methods to improve patient flow should be consistently implemented. Surgical areas are a major contributor to inpatient admissions and the subsequent revenue; however, without the appropriate oversight, patient throughput can be negatively impacted.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In operating room patients who require inpatient admission (P), how does the implementation of a standardized bed flow process (I), compared to the current methods for care transitions (C), reduce perioperative delays and improve hospital financial metrics (O), over a three-month period (T)?

Evidence: …

Ceramic Studio Assistant, Allison Jones, Adam Yungbluth

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

The research project will focus on learning the various activities involved in running a college level Ceramics Studio. Activities will include clay mixing for Ceramics 1 courses, mixing studio glazes & slips, firing bisque, reduction, soda, & wood kiln, and other activities to improve the Ceramics Studio.

The Art Of Preservation, Sinclaire Dorsey, Melissa Yungbluth

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

Proper preservation of creative works is imperative to sustaining documentation for future generations’ education. Exhibition designers, such as the students awarded with the undergraduate research fellowship for the Golding-Yang gallery, must be mindful of the environmental factors that impact creative works. For instance, light sensitivity of the materials can be overwhelmed by ultraviolet and infrared radiation produced by the sun. Atmospheric humidity, when not regulated, will destroy irreplaceable artwork that could provide future historians a better understanding of modern culture. Extreme temperatures are devastating to the preservation of artistic works. The regulation of these environmental factors will provide future generations …

Low Stress Handling Techniques In Shelter Animals And The Overall Effects On Physiological Parameters, Ashley Swim, Courtney Smart, Amy Staton

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

Animal shelters tend to be a very stressful environment for dogs as there are many new sounds, smells, and animals. This stress is not only bad for their psychological health and can lead to behavioral issues, but it can also have an impact on their physical health. Stress impacts multiple systems of the body, resulting in increased heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, temperature and even blood glucose levels in dogs. The impact stress has on these systems can lead to a compromised immune system and increases the probabilities of the dog becoming ill. However, by using Fear Free methods, …

Adverse Experiences, Depression, And Parenting Sensitivity., Lauren Oldiges, Savannah Gillis, Tiffany Hicks, Shari Kidwell

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

Parental sensitivity is a key determinant of attachment security and child well-being. Yet many parents in our region face challenges to parenting, such as increased exposure to adverse experiences and depression. Both cumulative exposure to adverse experiences and depression symptoms have been associated with increased risk to parenting (Hays-Grudo & Wilson, 2020). The present study explores connections between parents’ sensitivity/synchrony scores on the Toddler CARE-Index (TCI: Crittenden, 2007), Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) amongst parents, and parental depression. As part of a larger longitudinal study of Eastern Kentucky families, 35 children (mean age 4.5 years) and their parents participated in the …

French Textbook Illustrations, Abigail Hall, Nicholas Anderson, Karen Taylor

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

This project has been an update of an introductory French textbook in order to make the work more cohesive illustratively. Each week we were given a drawing task to go with a chapter or vocabulary assignment to replace, revamp or develop new art work of greater value than the preexisting illustrations.

Relation Among Potential Predictors Of Drug Abuse Risk In Rats, Emma Brock

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

Animal models have been used to investigate behavioral processes and mechanisms that underlie addiction. A variety of measures have been developed for rats that are modest predictors of drug abuse risk. The purpose of this pilot study was to begin to assess whether several established and potential measures of drug abuse vulnerability were correlated. The subjects were eight adult male Wistar rats. The rats were run on procedures that yielded measures of anxiety, sensation seeking, short term responsive to acutely administered drug, and sensitivity to conditioned stimuli. These measures were correlated with a potential new measure of drug abuse vulnerability—withdrawal …

Improving Patient Outcomes With High Nurse To Patient Ratios: A Quality Improvement Study, Alexis Bradshaw, Morgan Minton, Brenna Murphy, Abigail Ross, Hannah Dorton, Carson Jones, Cierra Connelly, Haley Nyderek

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

According to the United States Registered Nurse Workforce Report Card and Shortage Forecast: A Revisit published in the May/June 2018 issue of the American Journal of Medical Quality, a shortage of registered nurses is projected to spread across the country between 2016 and 2030. Surveyed nurses see the shortage in the future as a catalyst for increasing stress on nurses (98%), lowering patient care quality (93%) and causing nurses to leave the profession (93%) (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). A thorough literature review was conducted, and 40 studies were reviewed. Common themes that emerged include: high nurse to …

The Impact Of Power Yoga Training On Baseball Throwing Velocity, John Bakke

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of yoga on baseball pitching velocity, and the factors that affect throwing velocity such as power, flexibility, speed, and mobility. Thirteen volunteer collegiate baseball pitchers were pre-tested on their power, flexibility, speed, mobility, and throwing velocity. The intervention included a 10-week yoga training, with the goal of three sessions per week. Participants were then post-tested under the same conditions. Analysis included dependent t-tests for each of the fitness assessments, with alpha set at .05 a priori. The group was unable to reach the goal of three yoga sessions per week, …

Increasing Student Engagement In Introductory Physics Hybrid Classes, Breanna Epperson

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

The demand for online instruction is on the rise. In a classroom setting, research shows that student interactions are important for overcoming common misconceptions, but it is challenging to achieve the same level of engagement in an online setting. To try to improve online interactions in a hybrid physics class at Morehead State University, the Fall 2020 online class was required to post a total of three times about a closed, multiple choice, conceptual physics question in each assignment while following certain criteria. In the Spring of 2021, the discussion format was kept the same, but was moved to a …