Nursing Commons^™

Behavioral Code Team, Daniel Mcgrath

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: The organization lacked an evidence-based intervention for behavioral emergencies within the inpatient acute care setting, leading to increased mechanical restraints. A security-driven paradigm was the organization's primary tool for addressing behavioral crises and lacked a more patient-centered treatment and support paradigm.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was In the Veteran patient population admitted to acute inpatient services (P), how does having a behavioral code team respond to behavioral emergencies (I) compared to the current practice (C) affect the prevalence of mechanical restraint usage (O) within an eight week period (T).

Evidence: Seven …

Quality Reporting On Dialysis Water Testing And Dialysis Machine Disinfection, Jennifer Boquiren Quitevis

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Kidney failure affects 0.1% - 0.2% of the general population, yet the dialysis expenditure is 5%-7% of total healthcare budget spending. The increased incidence of chronic disease will result in more End Stage Renal Disease patients on dialysis along with more comorbidities. Thus, it is imperative for health organizations to have well established protocols and guidelines to manage the care of the dialysis patient.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: in patients receiving dialysis at an acute care dialysis unit (P), does utilizing a Standardized Policy for Quality Reporting on Dialysis Water Testing and …

Does An Educational Intervention For Registered Nurses Improve Comprehension And Accuracy Of Scoring The Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Tool On Newborns?, Michelle Porter

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

This study aims to prove that improved comprehension of the Neonatal Abstinence Scoring Tool on neonates born to mothers with addiction will decrease the length of stay and decrease medical interventions. The Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring Tool consists of 21 questions with different symptoms, each associated with a number. This scoring is compared to determine the degree of learning or increase in knowledge after the educational presentation. Participants (N= 16) were recruited through a convenience sampling of registered nurses working at an acute care hospital in Northwest Arkansas on a Women’s and Children’s department. The participants completed a …

Association Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration With Prior Hyperthyroidism And Hypothyroidism: A Case-Control Study, Shih-Han Hung, Sudha Xirasagar Mbbs., Ph.D., Tung-Mei Tammy Kuang, Wei-Wen Chang, Yen-Fu Cheng, Nai-Wen Kuo, Herng-Ching Lin

Publications

Prior studies suggest a possible association between thyroid disease and the subsequent development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), although it remains inconclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the association of AMD with prior hyper-/hypothyroidism based on nationwide population-based data. We retrieved records of the study patients from the National Health Insurance Research Database, 7522 patients with a first-time diagnosis of AMD and 7522 propensity score-matched controls. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the association of neovascular AMD with previously diagnosed hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. The Chi-square test shows that there was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of …

Reducing Immigration-Related Stress In An Immigrant Population, Stephanie Avdagic

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Immigrants are a growing population in the United States and face stressors specific to immigration. Stress is associated with increased mental and physical health issues, so increased stress puts this population at risk for many health concerns. A review of literature showed that implementing community resource classes for immigrants may help decrease immigration-related stress. The purpose of this evidence-based project was to assess if implementation of community resource classes at a local day center for immigrants could help decrease immigration-related stress. The classes addressed issues such as limited English proficiency and lack of legal immigration status. The Stress of Immigration …

Retention Of Physician Assistants Within A Specialty After Completion Of A Postgraduate Training Program, John Ansiaux Pa-C, Carly Farrell Pa-C, Kathryn Hess Pa-C, Aubrey White Pa-C, Charlotte Peeters Pa-C, Jill Schulten Pa-C, Ryan Krasnosky Mpas, Pa-C, Dfaapa, Drph

Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety

Background: The advantages of a specialized training program have led to over 84 postgraduate training programs for Physician Assistants (PAs) covering over 25 specialties. Employee lateral mobility is more prevalent within the PA profession, which allows PA providers to switch between medical specialties. The versatility of PAs promotes higher turnover rates compared to physician counterparts. These high turnover rates can result in increased institutional burden. Postgraduate PA programs provide pre-employment exposure to more in-depth medical training, enabling a well-rounded knowledge base of the PA’s roles and responsibilities, minimizing turnover rates.

Purpose: The goal of this survey study is to identify …

The Lived Experience Of Older Adults With Visual Impairments And Their Integration Into Social And Recreational Activities In The Long-Term Care Setting: A Phenomenological Study, Julie Ann Conboy Russo

Theses & Dissertations

The prevalence of vision loss in the elderly is high. Visual impairment in long-term care (LTC) settings may be a barrier to fully interacting in therapeutic recreational and social activities. Living with visual barriers may hamper safety (i.e., fear of falling and navigating in unfamiliar settings); cognitive ability; and participation in activities leading to isolation, depression, and loss of self-esteem. Decreased stimulation may affect one’s overall happiness and quality of life. A qualitative phenomenological design was followed to capture the lived experience of older adults with visual impairments living in LTC settings and their integration into social and recreational activities …

An Evidence-Based Practice Handbook For The Reduction Of Perioperative Pressure Injuries: An Implementation Guide, Krystal Dopson

Student Scholarly Projects

The Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN) Prevention of Perioperative Pressure Injury Tool Kit is a comprehensive set of evidence-based practices that can reduce the development of pressure injuries (PI) (AORN, 2022). A bundled set of prevention strategies is positively associated with reducing the development of injury or ulceration and improved patient outcomes. To effectively implement this Prevention of Perioperative Pressure Injury Tool Kit, there are evidenced strategic practices to support change readiness, including engaging stakeholders around the reasons for the change, gaining leadership support, assembling an interprofessional implementation team, providing compelling information that highlights the need for the change, and …

Action Planning With Self-Monitoring Blood Pressure Improves Blood Pressure Control In Geriatric Patients, Thuy Ai Oh

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Uncontrolled hypertension is a global healthcare problem. Hypertension is controlled in fewer than 1 in 5 people and has been attributed to premature deaths (WHO, 2021).

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was “In patients 65 years of age and older with uncontrolled blood pressure, how does a nurse-led blood pressure control program compared to standard of care improve blood pressure control at an outpatient clinic over 8 weeks?”

Evidence: Five studies provided evidence that a nurse-led blood pressure decreased blood pressure results. The evidence supported the practice change of implementing a nurse-led …

Animal-Assisted Therapy In The Intensive Care Unit, Amanda M. Pugh

Student Scholar Showcase

This paper will explore animal-assisted therapy used in intensive care units. Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at risk for developing an array of complications called post-intensive care syndrome, which can negatively affect patients’ psychological, motor, and cognitive abilities. While the widespread use of animal-assisted therapy in the ICU is still in need of improvement, studies have shown animal-assisted therapy can improve depression and anxiety, increase motor function, and strengthen patient participation in treatment. This is significant because the benefits of animal-assisted therapy can counteract the symptoms related to post-intensive care syndrome. The studies will be analyzed, and …

Cardiac Telehealth Rehabilitation: Empowering The Patient, Alexander James Schmidt Hoff

Nursing Masters Papers

Coronary artery disease or coronary heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Center-based cardiac rehab has long been a sustainable answer for recovery from an acute coronary event. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person appointments for cardiac rehab patients. Therefore, patients and their healthcare team met virtually. The objective of this literature review is to discover the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of cardiac telerehabilitation, as it will likely have a more prominent role in patient recovery from acute myocardial infarctions. To determine this, a literature review was conducted based on recent studies involving coronary artery …

Minimizing Workplace Violence By Initiating An Evidence-Based Community Meeting, Olivia Gabrielle Foster

Dissertations

Problem: Workplace violence (WPV) in healthcare has become an epidemic demanding change. WPV is three to four times higher in the healthcare industry compared to other workplaces. For this project, WPV will be defined as any act of physical violence from a patient to a staff member. Community meetings are one evidence-based approach to decreasing WPV in psychiatric inpatient hospitals. Methods: This descriptive observational project compared data before and after implementing a targeted WPV community meeting, including unit rules, staff and patient expectations, a definition of WPV, and medication options available to reduce anxiety and irritability. This project …

A Vaccine Education Module For University Students: Vaccine Concerns And Knowledge Gained, Joslyn D. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purposes of this research are to evaluate the effectiveness of a vaccine education module (VEM) in 1) contributing to new vaccine knowledge of university freshmen; and 2) identifying common vaccine concerns of university freshmen before and after completing the VEM. Methods: A VEM, including information about vaccine-preventable diseases, benefits of vaccines, principles of community or herd immunity, and where to go to get vaccinated, was created for freshman students. Student vaccine concerns were identified using a pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design using an online questionnaire before and after completing the VEM. After the VEM, participants were also asked to identify …

Nursing Students’ Perspectives On The Covid-19 Vaccines: Moderna, Pfizer, And Johnson And Johnson, Savannah M. Workman

Honors College Theses

There are very few things that everyone in the world shares in common, but there is one thing that has recently plagued our entire world and has impacted each person’s life. The first case of COVID-19 occurred in the United States in January of 2020. In the United States during March of 2020, life as we knew it changed. Restrictions were put in place, schools closed, food and supply chain shortages occurred, travel was banned, and we were warned to stay away from others as they could be symptomatically or asymptomatically carrying the novel coronavirus. Since the time of quarantine …

Communication Is Key, Stephanie Munsch, Bailey Ellingsworth

Scholars Week

Abstract

This paper is an evidence based look at the efficacy of ventilation communication in the intensive care unit (ICU) and the resources that we found to be useful in expanding said communication. This topic has become more prevalent today due to COVID-19 and the rising numbers of ICU admissions and ventilator use. We looked at various studies that found that patients on ventilators who lacked good communication with their nurses had negative mental and physical effects. Examples of this include increased rates of anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder among ICU survivors. The evidence also found that effective …

Decreasing Alarm Fatigue Through Alarm Management Training, Leah Davis, Brittany Fleming

Scholars Week

Alarm fatigue is a notable problem in the hospital setting. Alarm fatigue can decrease nurse response time and desensitize nurses to alarms. When this occurs, patient outcomes begin to be negatively affected. To combat this, we researched multiple articles on alarm fatigue and alarm management programs. These programs would be implemented and nurses would learn how to troubleshoot alarm equipment, how to recognize alarm fatigue, how to prevent alarm fatigue, and many more. Based on research articles, alarm management programs decrease alarm fatigue in nurses and the amount of alarms.

Implementing Hourly Rounding, Kalyn Grice, Emma Durham

Scholars Week

It has been long known that nurses can be stretched thin during their 12 hour shifts. Whether they are running around passing medications, completing orders, or performing nursing interventions the world of nursing is always go, go, go. With this mindset and culture some patients who require less tasks and care may be overlooked and not seen for a few hours during a shift. This can lead to negative patient outcomes and safety problems. Throughout the day patient’s require assistance to meet many different needs, many of them being activities of daily living, like using the restroom, changing positions, brushing …

Improving Patient Medication Teaching With A “Meds-To-Beds” Program, Grace Phelps, Shanna Blocker

Scholars Week

Medication education is a vital part of a healthcare provider’s job. Nurses specifically often must take on the main role in medication education in collaboration with physicians and pharmacists. The current medication education at a certain hospital involves discharging patients with a list of medications, dosages, and instructions. The policy also includes the use of layman terms in discussion and handing the patient a sheet with the date/time of last administration by the nurse. Before discussing a change in policy, it is important to first clarify who must take on the responsibility of medication education . This is within the …

Too Loud: A Project For Sound Reduction In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Peyton Cadwell, Amy Krazl

Scholars Week

Sound levels in any intensive care unit environment are significantly higher than the recommended volume. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is included in this aggregate that frequently exceeds advised levels. There are consequences associated with increased sound, such as slower language development and behavior issues. Not only are babies subjected to physiological effects, but there is potential for psychological detriment as well, such as behavioral issues (Bremmer, 2003). Many solutions for this issue have been proposed, including lowering phone volumes, putting rubber shoes on furniture and switching audio alarms to visual alarms. One specific intervention that may reduce the …

Iv Infection Control, Coleman White, Hannah Oswalt

Scholars Week

Infection is one of the most discussed topics in the nursing world, and one topic that is commonly overlooked is IV tubing related to infection. The current rules on CCU/PCU include labeling the tubing, changing the tubing every 72 hours, and cleaning the site with an alcohol swab before injecting medications. While these rules in place are evidenced based, and work properly, there is more research that has been conducted stating better practice to control infection related to IV tubing. Through utilization of theoretical framework along with several quasi-experimental research, we have evaluated infection control effectiveness through “Scrub the Hub” …

How To Control Healthcare Associated Infection, Yeojin Son, Jungyoon Hur

Scholars Week

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) are infections patients acquire while receiving care in hospital. The main reasons of occurring the infections are insufficient knowledge about infection control and decreased compliance with rules by hospital protocol. The purpose of this evidence-based presentation is to exemplify how to control HAI via motivating healthcare workers to comply with infection control policy.

Prevention Of Medical Device Related Pressure Injuries (Mdpris), Mauritzio Ramirez, Audrey M. Fulkerson, Mason L. Chandler

Scholars Week

Throughout our clinical rotations, we noticed many patients who had developed pressure ulcers caused by medical devices, which are often referred to as MDRPIs. We acknowledged this as a problem and decided to look into it further. We reviewed various articles to find the best practice when it comes to preventing/minimizing these injuries. We analyzed a meta-synthesis, a qualitative study, and an experimental study and used that as our research on the topic. After reviewing these articles, we will present our findings to a local hospital to make recommendations on how they can better prevent/minimize MDRPIs. In conclusion, MDRPIs are …

The Benefits Of Bedside Shift Report, Sarah Frank, Jordan Reed, Jordan Higgins

Scholars Week

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of bedside shift report in the health care setting. This research will focus on an inpatient department, which is a 25-bed acute care unit with 4 special care beds. This department currently utilizes the SBAR method. However, this can improve when used in conjunction with bedside shift reports. The use of bedside shift report will improve communication and nurse-patient relationships, provide more patient privacy, and decrease time spent giving report. The use of bedside report may require a related intervention of patient teaching, so that the patient understands the purpose …

Benefits Of Increasing Patient Engagement In Plan Of Care, Madison Gillentine, Stephanie Phelps

Scholars Week

This presentation’s focus is implementing ways to engage patients in their own plan of care during hospitalization. Patient’s presenting their needs early on during a hospital stay has been shown to improve nurse-patient communication and overall engagement. When a patient has felt that his or her specific needs have been made aware to the nursing staff, one feels more like an individual rather than a bed number. The patient will become a more active member in his or her care which leads to better outcomes and satisfaction. The more comfortable and open a patient is with the nurse about his …

Effective Communication In Dementia Patients, Morgan Loveless, Callie Hardesty

Scholars Week

Effective Communication with Dementia Patients - Abstract

Throughout every nurse’s career, one will have the experience of working with those with dementia. Patients who suffer with dementia require different approaches to communication and may have difficult interactions with healthcare workers. A barrier many nurses continue to endure is poor communication and relationships with dementia patients. Many nurses work at a very quick and stressful pace, putting a strain on many nurses’ relationships with dementia patients. Ineffective communication may lower the quality of care dementia patients receive as nurses may lack the extra time needed to effectively communicate. This can lead …

Reducing Pediatric Procedural Pain Using Virtual Reality, Emily Davis, Carmen Bandy

Scholars Week

Above all else, children require stability in their lives in order to develop a healthy perspective of the world. Feelings of instability can come from something as small as a change in schools. In the practice of pediatric medicine it is especially important to avoid these feelings of instability, which can lead children to develop healthcare-anxiety. Healthcare settings can be exceptionally emotionally taxing to children, because the children have a complete lack of control over their environment. This lack of control combined with fear and potentially pain can be incredibly distressing. While it is easy to disregard a child’s anxiety …

Stress Management In Nursing To Prevent Burnout And Employee Retention, Megan Mayo, Lauren R. Barto, Megan B. Trout

Scholars Week

This project was based on the fact that there is a severe nursing shortage happening in the United States. On average, nurses can have four to eight patients at one time which makes a twelve hour shift almost unbearable due to the stress of keeping all of the patients alive and satisfied with the care they are receiving. During the pandemic, staffing shortages have become one of the main issues faced by healthcare workers across the nation. Due to the staffing shortages and COVID-19 precautions, nurses have not only been taking on more patients but also have increased their workload …

Prophylactic Administration Of Steroids And The Effect On Post-Extubation Stridor: A Scoping Review, Chelsey Benson Bsn, Rn, Karlene Ferraro Bsn, Rn, Donna Lynch-Smith Dnp, Acnp-Bc, Apn, Ne-Bc, Cnl

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background Stridor occurs due to laryngeal edema which arises when a patient has been intubated for an extended period of time. There are several factors that affect the degree of swelling. Post-extubation stridor signals that a patient requires reintubation because the airway is no longer patent. Corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone, can be used prior to extubation to minimize complications and overall length of stay if a patient is at high risk for stridor. This scoping review will evaluate the literature and the association between the use of prophylactic steroids on mechanically ventilated adult patients and the occurrence of post-extubation stridor. …

Belmont University Covid Surveillance And Containment: An Evaluation Of Program Effectiveness, Morgan A. Lambrecht

DNP Projects

In the early days of the Coronavirus (COVID) pandemic, members of university communities faced elevated risk of contracting COVID because they live and work in congregate settings, with shared living and dining arrangements. By the Fall 2020 semester, with limited information regarding the transmission of COVID, a quick, but comprehensive strategy was needed to allow students to return to university campuses, while maintaining a safe environment for students, faculty, and staff. The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of the COVID surveillance and containment measures implemented in the 2020/2021 academic year for the residential campus community at …

Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake Among College Students, Erin Hoening, Elizabeth Morse, David Phillippi, Krystal Huesmann

DNP Projects

Background: Public health strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake among college students living in residential communities varied, some universities opted to mandate COVID-19 vaccines while other universities opted to promote and influence the choice for vaccination.

Purpose: This descriptive, cross-sectional study examined the voluntary uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among residential students on a college campus in the southeastern U.S. that elected an evidence-driven health promotion strategy that included strong health promotion messaging coupled with coordinated efforts to make the vaccine accessible and appealing to students on campus.

Methods: Analysis of vaccine uptake was derived from campus electronic health records during …