Nursing Commons^™

Program Evaluation: Family Centered Rounding To Support Communication In Pediatric Care, Kristy M. Schmidt

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Family centered rounding (FCR) is a pediatric evidence-based practice intended to bring healthcare teams, patients, and families together at the bedside in a collaborative approach to care planning. FCR emphasizes communication and shared decision-making between healthcare teams and families, leading to improved patient outcomes. Despite well-documented benefits of FCR, challenges such as inconsistent nursing participation, variability in practices, and workflow disruptions hinder implementation and sustainability of FCR.

Aim: This program evaluation was designed and conducted at an urban pediatric hospital to assess the processes, perceptions, and impact of FCR. The overall quality of FCR and the strengths and barriers …

Patients' Perception Of Missed Nursing Care In A Tertiary Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study, Afia Achiaa Sarpong, Amanda Towell-Barnard, Lucy Gent, Ebenezer Afrifa-Yamoah, Diana Arabiat

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

AIMS: To identify types of patient-reported missed nursing care and adverse events and identify the factor associated with missed care in a Western Australian tertiary hospital. BACKGROUND: Research in the domain of missed nursing care has established the association between missed nursing care and unsafe patient outcomes. However, there is a paucity of evidence on patient perception of missed nursing care and associated factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHOD: A study of inpatients in a tertiary teaching hospital in Western Australia was carried out. Ninety-eight patients admitted in 16 medical and surgical wards were sampled. The patient MISSCARE survey was used …

Nursing Workplace Rituals: Communication Before, During, And After Covid-19, Angel Infante

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT

NURSING WORKPLACE RITUALS: COMMUNICATION BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER COVID-19

Angel Infante, PhD

The University of Texas at Arlington, 2025

Professors: Dr. Deborah Behan (Committee Chair), Dr. Yungfei Kao (Committee Member), and Dr. Jessica Grace Smith (Committee Member)

Background: According to Griner et al. (2021) many disruptions caused confusion for healthcare workers during the pandemic. Communication is imperative when dealing with everyday disruptions in a hospital setting. However, it is even more important to learn about the different types of communication and what is communicated during a past pandemic to know how and what to communicate in a future pandemic. …

Communication Interventions For Families With Parental Cancer With Dependents: Findings From A Scoping Review, Cinzia Caparso, Zoe Bowen, Sung Won Choi

Nursing Faculty Research Publications

Background: Since 2019, invasive cancer diagnoses in people younger than 50-years-old have increased by 12.8%, which impacts people of child-bearing age. Currently, interventions in families of parents with cancer are focused primarily on the parent with cancer communicating with their dependents about the initial cancer diagnosis or at end-of-life through in-person interventions. Limited web-based interventions have been developed to increase communication across all family members (e.g., parents with cancer with coparents; children with their parents) about communicating the impact of cancer on the individual’s and family’s well-being cross the cancer trajectory, a key gap to improved outcomes in this population. …

Critical Incident Debriefing: Impact On Oncology Nurses And The Infusion-Related Reaction Care Bundle, Megan A. Corbett

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: A critical incident is a sudden, unexpected, emotionally distressing event commonly experienced by oncology nurses. Debriefing is an evidence-based best practice that facilitates communication, reflection, and learning to identify quality improvement opportunities to enhance clinical practice, patient safety, and quality of care. However, debriefing within oncology care settings is inconsistent despite the demonstrated benefit and availability of frameworks. Infusion-related reaction management follows an algorithm that directs care delivery, aligning with a care bundle approach. Care bundles, when consistently and reliably applied, help identify connections between the critical incident (i.e., infusion-related reaction) and opportunities for improvement to ensure clinicians follow …

Introducing A Paper Communication Alternative For Emergency Department Nurse-Technician Delegation To Promote Workflow Efficiency: A Quality Improvement Project, Grant Quinn

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Efficient and high quality communication is paramount in the emergency department setting, especially between registered nurses (RNs) and emergency department technicians. In a fluid and high-octane microsystem, poor communication can lead to missed or delayed delegated tasks, which harm teamwork and patient safety and outcomes.

Purpose: By introducing a low-cost, paper-based communication alternative to this microsystem into the workflow it is expected that perceived ease of use and communication quality will both increase when surveying department staff. This intervention offers an alternative means of communicating with the goal of improving communication overall in the microsystem.

Methods: Through use of …

Senior Registered Nurses' Organisational Communication Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, Burnout, And Intention To Stay: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Two Healthcare Groups, Gemma Doleman, Kaoru Nosaka, Annemarie De Leo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: To explore organisational communication satisfaction and its impact on senior registered nurses' job satisfaction, burnout, and intention to stay. Design: A cross-sectional design using surveys. The study was conducted with senior registered nurses across two healthcare groups in Western Australia. Results: One hundred seventy-four usable surveys were returned. The results of this study indicated that those with higher communication satisfaction levels were more likely to have higher levels of job satisfaction. Senior registered nurses who intended to leave their jobs had a higher risk of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, which may result in higher rates of burnout compared to …

Nursing Simulation For Pediatric Communication: An Integrative Literature Review, Jayla R. Call

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The aim of this thesis is to explore literature focused on enhancing nursing students' communication skills with pediatric patients through simulation. Effective communication is key to building rapport and trust, which are essential for improving patient outcomes. However, nursing students may experience anxiety when interacting with pediatric patients due to limited training in communication techniques. Simulation offers a valuable opportunity for students to practice and refine their skills in a risk-free environment, allowing them to build confidence and competence. An integrative literature review was conducted, utilizing three databases and PRISMA guidelines (Page et al., 2021) to gather relevant studies for …

Improving Compliance In Missed Visits Documentation, Ma Rosalie Felix

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: Within the South Bay Hospice Agency, documentation compliance for missed visits was 68% in the first quarter of 2024, when the national standard should be 100% according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Context: Inadequate nurse documentation and communication between health professionals can lead to medical errors, poor team communication and suboptimal patient outcomes (Tasew et al., 2019). Therefore, the importance of documentation compliance is imperative. Hospice staff perform scheduled visits for terminally ill patients 1-2 times a week; however, a missed visit can occur when a patient declines it for a variety of reasons.

Interventions: The …

Post Anesthesia Care Unit Comprehension Safety Program Quality Improvement Project On De-Escalation Of Patients, Mary M. Gaukler Giannavola, Basil George Verghese, Deborah Maier

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Background:

Violence within the healthcare setting has risen significantly, and has crossed into areas where staff are less prepared to manage and deescalate challenging patient encounters. This lack of preparedness and confidence has led to increased staff stress, burn out, and can potentiate poor patient outcomes.

Methods:

A pre/post-simulation quality improvement project was performed within a tertiary hospital Post-Anesthesia Care Unit in Upstate New York to evaluate the effect of simulation on feelings of confidence and preparedness in patient de-escalation with PACU nurses and patient care technicians. The project evaluation included the Thackrey’s Clinician Confidence in Coping with Patient Aggression …

Nursing Students’ Perceptions Of The Impact Of Teamwork And Collaboration On Patient Care, Riana Square

Honors College Theses

Teamwork and communication are two topics that a vast majority of nursing students are introduced to in their first semester of nursing school. Many nursing students have a desire to improve their communication skills and have a better understanding of the inner workings of interdisciplinary collaboration. A study across multiple cohorts of Georgia Southern Nursing students was conducted to explore their perceptions of the correlation between teamwork and patient care outcomes. This study also explores nursing students’ readiness to communicate with other healthcare professionals and the effectiveness of the means to practice these communication skills while in nursing school. It …

Parents And Health Care Teams Perceptions Of Communication In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Marjan Mardani, Haydeh Heidari

The Qualitative Report

Parents experience a lot of stress in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Then effective communication between parents and members of the care team is an essential component of improving the quality of care. The present study was conducted by qualitative exploratory research method for explaining parents and health care teams' perceptions of communication in NICU. We selected 39 participants by purposive sampling. We collected data through in-depth semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The transcripts were analysed using the conventional content analysis approach. Three themes were obtained by analyzing the data included, the nature of communication, the theme of factors affecting successful …

Improving Emergency Department Nurses Communication Self-Efficacy With Underrepresented Populations Through Cultural Humility Training, Nikki L. Graham

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Problem Description: The chasm of health inequality for underrepresented populations in the United States is growing, despite advances in healthcare and increased life expectancy. Disparities span the age and healthcare continuum for underrepresented populations, with increased mortality and morbidity rates in nearly every category. Non-white residents in Cook County face the same challenges. Historical lack of trust creates a reluctance to seek healthcare among Black populations, but when they do, they are disproportionately dissatisfied with their care, receive less aggressive treatment, and report higher levels of uncontrolled pain. Nurses, as the largest body of healthcare professionals, are uniquely positioned …

Improving The Culture Of Patient And Family-Centered Partnerships: A Quality Improvement Project, Nicole S. Ardres

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Problem Description: In 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted the world, changing the landscape of the nursing profession. The pandemic changed societal norms to reduce transmission and death rates by instituting social distancing requirements, stay-at-home policies, and mask mandates. Hospitals enacted crisis standards of care, changed orientation and training practices, and restricted family visitation policies. In addition, nursing programs temporarily halted in-person clinical training experiences and transitioned to online learning. These were challenging times to enter the nursing profession. The pandemic worsened the nursing shortage, contributing to burnout, turnover, and increased use of agency or travel nurses, resulting in a loss …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The “Providing Validation” Measure In Vascular Anomalies, Bryan A. Sisk, Anna M. Kerr, Amy R. Newman, Dandan Chen, Jennifer W. Mack, Bryce B. Reeve

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

We assessed the psychometric properties of the “providing validation” subscale of PedCOM measures for parents of children with vascular anomalies and adult patients. A total of 139 adult patients and 78 parents completed surveys. The mean score for patients was 3.7 (standard deviation 1.0), and for parents was 4.0 (standard deviation 0.9). “Providing validation” measures demonstrated high internal consistency and good model fit to a unidimensional model for both patients and parents using confirmatory factor analysis. The measures also demonstrated convergent validity with co-administered measures. This study demonstrated the validity of “providing validation” measures for parents and adult patients with …

Undergraduate Nursing Education Simulation Training Using Virtual Reality Goggles And Teamstepps Methodology, Jennifer Koalenz

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Abstract

Due to changes in educational processes during global pandemic restrictions and the rapid pace of innovation and developments in virtual reality technology, this modality of education is expected to become a common presence in healthcare education. Immersive simulation activities can be an effective way to facilitate collaboration and communication skills in a constructivist-based classroom. Evidence shows that virtual simulation improves critical thinking skills, psychomotor skills, and decision making (Padilha et al., 2019). In addition, the availability of an on-demand, customizable scenario is highly useful to supplement clinical learning when necessary. But many caution that virtual simulation, just like any …

Actions To Improve In-Patient Communication On Medication Teaching, Tracy Wei

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Medication education is a national and global patient safety challenge. Healthcare organizations often lack consistent and effective medication teaching policies. Studies have found that the teach-back method is an effective interactive communication practice of medication teaching to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

PICOT: In direct care nursing staff (P), How does an evidence-based medication teaching bundle (I) compared to the current medication teaching practice(C) affect staff adherence to the dissemination of medication teaching to hospitalized patients (O) in 12 weeks (T)?

Evidence: A review and appraisal of 12 research studies demonstrated that the teach-back method was …

Ensuring Intervention Fidelity Of An Attention Control Arm In A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial, Amy R. Newman, Karen M. Moody, Kerri Becktell, Erin Connelly, Cynthia Holladay, Katie Parisio, Jonathan L. Powell, Verna L. Hendricks-Ferguson

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Intervention fidelity is a critical element of randomized controlled trials, yet reporting of intervention fidelity among attention control arms is limited. Lack of fidelity to attention control procedures can affect study outcomes by either overestimating or underestimating the efficacy of the intervention under examination.

Objectives

This brief report describes the approach researchers took to promote fidelity to the attention control arm of a pediatric palliative care randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Methods

The Informational Meetings for Planning and Coordinating Treatment trial aims to determine the efficacy of a communication intervention that uses care team …

Implementing A Strategic Reporting Model Among Public Health Nurse Consultants To Increase Communication, Heather Willis

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Public health has seen a drastic amount of turnover post-pandemic. There was an estimated 44% turnover rate for public health registered nurses, with a vacancy rate that doubled from 12.7% in March 2020 to 23.2% in July 2022 (Skinner, 2022). With this high turnover rate, many nurses are new to North Carolina (NC) public health departments and health districts. Public Health Nurse Consultants (PHNCs) are expected to train and guide these new nursing staff members. With the turnovers continuing at the local health departments (LHDs), new nurses are not given the recommended training because of communication breakdowns. This project helped …

Essential Collaborations Among Case Managers And Providers Regarding Discharge Processes, Lashawnda Richardson

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Communication is vital between case managers and providers when patients need care coordination post-discharge. This includes but is not limited to facilitating home health services, ordering durable medical equipment, sending referrals to rehabilitation facilities, and sponsorship for uninsured or underinsured patients. This gives case managers the opportunity to educate providers on the discharge needs they ordered for their patients. The collaboration between case managers and providers allows for timely discharge planning and providing patients and their families with accurate information regarding their discharge needs.

“Share The Fear”: Communication Concerns Of Parents With Cancer With Dependents And Coparents: A Qualitative Needs Assessment Study, Cinzia Caparso, Zoe Bowen, Sung Won Choi

Nursing Faculty Research Publications

Background: The estimated 1.6 million adults in the United States with cancer who also have dependents face unique challenges given the profound impact of cancer on their families, such as increased psychological distress, decreased quality of life, and altered family functioning. Unfortunately, little is known about the mutual cancer-related communication concerns for the perspectives of the parents with cancer or the coparents. Coparents care for the patient and dependents until they reach adulthood (e.g., unmarried, divorced, stepparent, and/or same-sex partnerships).

Objective: To understand the mutual cancer-related communication concerns from the perspectives of parents with cancer and the coparents and intervention …

Developing Toolkit For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder In An Oncology Outpatient Clinic, Brittany J. Johnson Dnp, Fnp-C

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Autistic adults are at higher risk of being diagnosed with co-occurring health conditions, and yet they are a vulnerable group for disparities in access and outcomes. One of the key barriers to better outcomes is poor patient-provider communication. This study the use of AASPIRE’s AHAT communication toolkit as a channel between healthcare workers and autistic adults to facilitate their appointments within the outpatient oncology department, as well as assessing healthcare providers’ knowledge and self-efficacy in caring for the patients. Sixteen healthcare providers (12 registered nurses and four patient care assistants) completed pre and post intervention surveys and utilized the AHAT …

Improving Patient Safety And Continuity Of Care By Educating Nurses About Standardized Handoffs In The Post-Anesthesia Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Project, Remi Dos Santos

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Effective communication during patient handoffs is crucial for ensuring patient safety and continuity of care. The I-PASS handoff tool has been identified as an effective method to standardize communication and reduce errors during these critical transitions.

Local Problem: In the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) of a hospital in New England, the lack of standardized procedures for nurse handoffs posed a risk to patient safety and care quality.

Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle to implement and evaluate an educational intervention aimed at improving PACU nurses' proficiency with the I-PASS handoff tool. Pre- and …

Improving Patient Handoff In The Emergency Department Microsystem, Alahna V. Kinney-Sandefur

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abstract

Background: Gaps in communication in the patient handoff process have been directly linked to patient safety errors and unwanted patient outcomes. The reviewed literature highlights multiple factors impacting the handoff process and unanimously conclude that a standardized handoff process is necessary in maintaining a high standard of patient safety and a minimization of safety errors.

Methods: This intervention took place in an 86-bed, acute care facility, a level III trauma center macrosystem with implementation of this project taking place in the emergency department and medical/surgical microsystems. Utilizing the Plan, Do, Study, Act framework over a total of eight weeks, …

Designing And Validating Novel Communication Measures For Pediatric, Adolescent, And Young Adult Oncology Care And Research: The Pedcom Measures, Bryan A. Sisk, Amy R. Newman, Dandan Chen, Jennifer W. Mack, Bryce B. Reeve

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Background

High-quality communication in pediatric and adolescent cancer is the standard of care. Yet, we lack pediatric-specific communication measures. We designed self-report and caregiver-report communication measures for use in pediatric oncology settings.

Methods

We recruited adolescent and young adults (AYAs; 12–24 years) with cancer and parents of children and AYAs between 1 month post-diagnosis and 2 months after completing treatment. Participants completed measures including 58 questions addressing eight previously characterized communication functions. For each function, we conducted factor analysis, and assessed reliability and construct validity. Based on psychometric properties, we created final long-form (31 items) and short-form (eight items) communication …

Lost In Interpretation: The Lived Experience Of Nurse Interpreters In The Clinical Setting, Byron Batz

Dissertations

The use of language interpreters in the health care setting constitutes a vital part of provider-patient communication but remains a relatively unexplored phenomenon. Registered nurses (RNs) are often called upon to serve as interpreters when linguistically diverse patients constitute a large segment of the patient population. That RNs serve simultaneously in an interpreter role – in addition to clinical and advocacy roles – is a complex facet of contemporary nursing practice in a diverse U.S. culture. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine the lived experience of RNs serving as interpreters in health care institutions in Southern …

Nurse Engagement In Antibiotic Time-Outs: The Collaborative Process Of Leveraging Design To Disseminate Research Findings, Mary Lou Manning, Maribeth Kradel-Weitzel

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

INTRODUCTION: Research findings and knowledge translation are typically disseminated via presentations at professional meetings and publication in peer-review journals. However, other opportunities to translate research evidence into practice exist, including the use of visual cues.

AIM: The aim of this paper is to describe the collaborative process of translating key research findings into a clear and compelling visual communication tool.

DESIGN: As part of a multimodal research dissemination strategy, the researchers partnered with the University Health Communication Design Program faculty to develop a visual communication strategy to promote the use of antibiotic time-outs by nurses in a health system. An …

Unit-Based Onboarding Program For New Graduates On A Medical-Surgical Unit, Racquel A. Brewster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nurse turnover is prevalent among new graduate nurses. Many new graduate nurses feel unsupported by their peers, lack self-confidence, or feel overburdened due to the workload assigned to them. New graduate nurses with support systems are more likely to stay with an organization. Research suggests the creation of a supportive environment for new graduate nurses to help increase nurse retention in this demographic. A unit-based transition onboarding program was launched to create a supportive environment to help retain new graduate nurses on a medical-surgical unit. New graduate nurses with at least 1 to 3 years of experience completed a Likert-type …

Exploring The Novice Nurses’ Perceptions Of Communication Dynamics In The Operating Room, Lasandra Brown

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: Communication among the multidisciplinary team members in an operating room setting is essential for effective and safe patient care. Studies have previously addressed communication breakdowns among team members, and miscommunications have been demonstrated to significantly challenge efficiency in the operating room. Novice nurses play an integral role in the success of operating room procedures and must possess strong communication skills that facilitate optimal patient outcomes.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore novice nurses’ perceptions of factors that influence the dynamics of team communication in the operating room setting.

Methods: An inductive thematic, qualitative analysis of 11 …

Improving Communication And Workflow Among Advanced Practice Providers And Nurses On Nightshift In An Intensive Care Unit, Chelsey Alise Durr Massey

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Problem Statement: There is often a lack of streamlined communication on nightshift among the reduced care team in acute care settings. The absence of organized collaboration and shared decision-making contributes to strained professional relationships between the advanced practice provider (APP) and the nurse. Purpose: Nightly provider-nurse bedside rounds were implemented in a 21-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) using a goal sheet to improve communication among the APPs and nurses. Methods: A pretest-posttest design in which surveys were used in this quality improvement (QI) project to determine perceptions of communication between APPs and nurses. Inclusion Criteria: All APPs and rotating …