Nursing Commons^™

Enhancement Of A Peer Mentorship Program For Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Cassie Starrett, Katrina Harlan

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nurse anesthesia programs are associated with rigorous didactic work, doctoral projects, long clinical days, and high levels of financial debt (Mesisca & Mainwaring, 2021). Doctoral students experience significantly higher levels of stress than other graduate students, necessitating resources that support emotional wellness (Griffin et al., 2017). A mentorship program for student registered nurse anesthesiologists (SRNA) may help minimize perceived stress and lessen the adverse physical and psychological effects. While mentorships foster both personal and professional success for mentees, mentors also report increased interest in professional development, productivity, and satisfaction (Flexman & Gelb, 2011). This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness …

Dnp Final Report: Decreasing Stress & Anxiety In Nursing Students: A Mindfulness-Based Program Intervention, Jennifer L. Cole

DNP Final Reports

Nursing students experience increased stress and anxiety due to the rigorous requirements of nursing school. Students often feel pressure to perform in a competitive environment that stretches them mentally and physically to learn extensive didactic material while simultaneously performing competently in clinical settings. Without effective methods to address self-care, students may experience the ramifications of unresolved stress. The practice question guiding the project was: In undergraduate Level II nursing students (P), does implementing a Mindfulness Based Program (MBP) (I), compared to not implementing a MBP (C), affect stress, anxiety, and mindfulness (O) during a semester (T)? Based on systematic review …

Acupressure Modality Effectiveness: Research Results For Pain And Anxiety, Deanna Waggy Otr, Carroll Noel Mozer Otr/L, Marilyn Zurwaski Otr/L

Journal of Transformative Touch

According to recent studies, including Monson et all, JACM, 2019, there is growing evidence for the effective and safe use of acupressure as a non-pharmacological approach to reducing pain and anxiety. Acupressure can quiet the mind, promoting a sense of well-being by decreasing anxiety.

A collaborative retrospective analysis of self-rated pain and anxiety scores before and immediately after administration of a stress release protocol indicate that acupressure is a highly satisfactory complementary therapy. Results were clinically significant for a decrease in self-rated pain and anxiety scores.

Occupational therapy practitioners as well as those who use the Kawa model of reference …

What I Need: Self Care At The Unit Level, Jessica A. Tindal

Nursing Posters

Purpose:

Self-care is individualized and best done when awarded on a small scale.

Goals:

For all employees of the ICU to:

• Feel valued outside of work
• Be recognized for taking care of themselves
• Participate in positive discussions
• Be rewarded for work life balance
• Be reminded of self-care
• Not feel alone with their thoughts
• Pause and reflect
• Help others, spouses, kids, etc.

Future plans include:

• Seasonal questions of things to see, places to explore
• Recipe sharing
• Hobby experts
• Focusing on staffs' interests

Academic Stress And Anxiety In Nursing Students: An Aerobic Exercise Intervention, Mariko Danielle Aka

DNP Research Projects

Abstract

Background: The demands of rigorous nursing education programs often cause students to experience high levels of stress and anxiety during their schooling. Moderate to high academic stress and anxiety levels impact nursing students around the world. This is significant as academic stress and anxiety contribute to decreased academic success, program completion, and student health.

Local Problem: Students at Kettering College and Southern Adventist University were found to have moderate academic stress and anxiety using the SNSI and GAD-7.

Intervention: Participants (N = 24) engaged in a 4-week aerobic-exercise intervention. They were required to complete a minimum of 80 …

A Lifestyle Management Coaching Intervention For Fear Of Cancer Recurrence In Young Breast Cancer Survivors, Lisa R. Murphy

DNP Research Projects

Abstract

Objective: A significant challenge facing young breast cancer (BC) survivors is learning how to manage fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) during survivorship. Limited tailored FCR interventions and age-appropriate support exist. This Doctor of Nursing (DNP) project, based upon best practice guidelines, aimed to evaluate how a Lifestyle Management Coaching Intervention (LMCI) could help young female BC survivors learn how to decrease and manage their FCR more effectively and experience improved health outcomes.

Method: Eligible participants were female BC survivors aged 18-59 with Stage I-III BC demonstrating elevated baseline FCR screening scores during the extended survival period recruited from the …

How Essential Oils Help Prevent Against Healthcare Workers’ Burnout, Lauren Casey

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This project set out to see if stress and anxiety (leading to burnout) could be combatted with the use of essential oils (EOs). Burnout is a common concern amongst the medical community and healthcare providers are leaving their jobs and field at unprecedented rates. While EOs have been used for patients, they are rarely used for the healthcare providers’ benefit. Because of that, this project wanted to focus on the employee for a change, which in turn would benefit the patient by having a mentally-present provider and the company by having less turnover. The project consisted of a pre-survey prior …

Decreasing Nursing Burnout Post Covid-19 Pandemic Through Complementary Therapies, Linda Martiin

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This quality improvement project aimed to address the problem of nursing burnout post COVID-19 pandemic through complementary therapies. Nursing burnout can be mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion which an excessive amount of prolonged stress can cause. Nursing burnout has affected nursing staff worldwide, directly impacting the care provided to patients and the patient's satisfaction. The Nursing Worklife Model was utilized as the theoretical framework for this project (Appendix A). The literature review exhibits the prevalence of nursing burnout in nursing staff. A quantitative study was utilized for this project. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory was utilized to establish the participant's level …

Using Family Focused-Care Solutions To Improve Child’S Quality Of Life, Joshua M. Del Sol

Nursing | Senior Theses

Chronic illness in children impacts not only themselves but their families too. Everyone in the family supports each other and provides each other with pretty much all our physiological needs including our emotional needs. Parents/caregivers are the role models for their young children and really shape the person they become because basic values and their early relationships are formed. A family provides that consistent balance in our life that is the center of our life at a young age. When children are diagnosed with a chronic illness, parents may feel responsible, ashamed, guilty, or angry. Families may turn on each …

Thirty-Second Mindful Body Scan Meditation For Bedside Nurses, Shruti Balwalli-Udyawer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress, is a state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by an inability to cope with the everyday environment that reduces the ability of the nurse to provide high-quality health care to a patient. The purpose of this staff education project, guided by Selye’s general adaption syndrome , was a 6-week, 30-second mindfulness exercise program to promote stress reduction for cardiac step-down and medical-surgical nurses. In this quantitative, pre- and posttest study, the Perceived Stress Scale was completed by a sample of 24 nurses who met the inclusion criteria. The practice focused whether educating nurses …

The Effects Of Kangaroo Care On The Stress Levels Of Parents In The Nicu, Niyati Sishodia

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Parents of NICU patients have high stress levels compared to other populations, which negatively impact their mental health. The kangaroo care (KC) method has been used for its numerous benefits for infants, but not as widely studied for its impacts on parental stress. The purpose of this integrative literature review is to examine and synthesize the existing evidence regarding kangaroo care and its impact on the stress levels of NICU parents.

Methods: A literature search was conducted utilizing CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE, and APA PsychInfo databases to identify relevant articles. Articles were included if they were published …

Learning A Healthy Rhythm: An Intervention To Increase Children’S Resources For Stress Management, Kristin Haglund, Amanda L. King, Abir K. Bekhet, Mauricio Garnier-Villarreal, Karen Olson, Rashs Atshan, Angela Ortiz, Johanna De Los Santos, Ruth Ann Belknap

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

This article describes a pilot test of a community engaged, culturally relevant, arts-based intervention. The purpose was to increase children’s personal protective buffering resources. Protective buffering resources help children cope with stressful stimuli, reduce activation of their systemic stress response, mitigate allostatic load, and promote optimal health. The “Learning a Healthy Rhythm” intervention included a stress management component and an ongoing Afro-Latino percussion program for 18 children ages 9–11. The stress management component included educational content about stress, self-assessment of stress symptoms, and stress management techniques. A mixed-method intervention evaluation design was used. Qualitative data, quantitative data, and biometrics including …

Stress And Coping Among Sud Certified Peer Recovery Specialists, Cynthia June Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRSs) are individuals with lived experience in the successful recovery of substance use or mental health disorders. CPRSs provide services for individuals seeking or enrolled in substance use disorder (SUD) recovery, provide mentoring and coaching, service and resource connections and lead recovery groups but, the job of a CPRS can have beneficial and detrimental impacts on the CPRS’s personal recovery. The purpose of this quantitative study, guided by Lazarus’s theory of coping and stress, was to determine whether there is (a) a relationship in stress and coping effectiveness among CPRSs, (b) a difference in the level …

Managing Nurse Leader Stress To Promote Leader Retention, Rebecca Sue Hawkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse leaders are a health care group that has been provided limited support to managestress and burnout symptoms, yet the impact of leader stress burden on staff satisfaction, patient outcomes, and their own health is vital to the provision of safe, high-quality health care. The problem of leader fatigue and burnout is the ability to retain current leaders and recruit the next generation. The purpose of this staff education project was to address leadership burnout due to stress and the lack of knowledge of how to manage stress in the moment. A combination of Watson’s theory of caring and Ray’s …

Thirty-Second Mindful Body Scan Meditation For Bedside Nurses, Shruti Balwalli-Udyawer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress, is a state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by an inability to cope with the everyday environment that reduces the ability of the nurse to provide high-quality health care to a patient. The purpose of this staff education project, guided by Selye’s general adaption syndrome , was a 6-week, 30-second mindfulness exercise program to promote stress reduction for cardiac step-down and medical-surgical nurses. In this quantitative, pre- and posttest study, the Perceived Stress Scale was completed by a sample of 24 nurses who met the inclusion criteria. The practice focused whether educating nurses …

Managing Nurse Leader Stress To Promote Leader Retention, Rebecca Sue Hawkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse leaders are a health care group that has been provided limited support to managestress and burnout symptoms, yet the impact of leader stress burden on staff satisfaction, patient outcomes, and their own health is vital to the provision of safe, high-quality health care. The problem of leader fatigue and burnout is the ability to retain current leaders and recruit the next generation. The purpose of this staff education project was to address leadership burnout due to stress and the lack of knowledge of how to manage stress in the moment. A combination of Watson’s theory of caring and Ray’s …

Thirty-Second Mindful Body Scan Meditation For Bedside Nurses, Shruti Balwalli-Udyawer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress, is a state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by an inability to cope with the everyday environment that reduces the ability of the nurse to provide high-quality health care to a patient. The purpose of this staff education project, guided by Selye’s general adaption syndrome , was a 6-week, 30-second mindfulness exercise program to promote stress reduction for cardiac step-down and medical-surgical nurses. In this quantitative, pre- and posttest study, the Perceived Stress Scale was completed by a sample of 24 nurses who met the inclusion criteria. The practice focused whether educating nurses …

My Baby, My Move+: Feasibility Of A Community Prenatal Wellbeing Intervention, Jenn A. Leiferman, Rachael Lacy, Jessica Walls, Charlotte V. Farewell, Mary K. Dinger, Danielle Symons Downs, Sarah S. Farrabi, Jennifer L. Huberty, James F. Paulson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background

Excessive gestational weight gain (EGWG), insufficient prenatal physical activity and sleep, and poor psychological wellbeing independently increase risks for adverse maternal and infant outcomes. A novel approach to mitigate these risks is utilizing peer support in a community-based prenatal intervention. This study assessed the feasibility (acceptability, demand, implementation, and practicality) of a remotely delivered prenatal physical activity intervention called My Baby, My Move + (MBMM +) that aims to increase prenatal physical activity, enhance mood and sleep hygiene, and reduce EGWG.

Methods

Participants were recruited through community organizations, local clinics, and social media platforms in the Fall of 2020 …

An Integrative Review: The Experiences Of Stress, Burnout, And Compassion Fatigue By Ambulatory Care Nurses, Rajean Adams

Master of Science in Nursing Final Projects

Abstract

Aim: One aim of this integrative review is to highlight workplace issues outpatient (ambulatory care) nurses experience, related to stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Another aim is to bring awareness to and discuss recently implemented tools and strategies to help alleviate these manifestations.

Background: Stressors in the outpatient setting date back to the 1970s when psychologist Herbert Freudenberger mentioned the burnout he experienced while in a Free Clinic. In modern-day, half of nurses experiencing workplace burnout, confess to feeling emotional exhaustion. Various studies discuss the challenges nurses endure in the inpatient setting, but only a few focus on ambulatory …

Factors Impacting Organ Transplant Outcomes, Katelyn Grubich

Nursing | Senior Theses

Organ transplants are crucial to the survival of those on the receiving end. With medicine advancing, so has transplantation. Health care providers are becoming more aware of the strategies necessary to prolong the transplanted organ and how to obtain better outcomes. Heart, lungs, kidney, liver, pancreas, and some where more than one organ are involved, are the types of organ transplants performed.

Providing patients information will allow them to be a part of their treatment and can help to ease their anxiety knowing what is being performed and what can be expected. Health care providers must ensure that patients and …

How Has The Pandemic Exacerbated Nurse Burnout, And What Can Be Done To Improve Their Psychological And Emotional Well-Being?, Lisette Diaz

Nursing | Senior Theses

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions of people, both emotionally and physically. Nurses are among the people who are most affected. The nurses' quality of life and the way they provide care has been changed by the pandemic. Nurses are so focused on providing the best possible care for their patients that they neglect to look after themselves.

Objective: The purpose of this literature review is to identify and evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected nurses and their well-being. The significance of this research was to establish how the ongoing pandemic has impacted nurses’ performance and …

The Impact Of Mindfulness Meditation Exercises On Managing Stress Among New Graduate Nurses, Sharonda Marshay Jamerson

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Problem Statement: Studies reveal, approximately 33.5 % of new graduate nurses suffer from stress and burnout, forcing the nurse to leave the workforce within the first two years of transitioning into the role of a professional nurse (Heins, 2019). The Chief Nursing Officer of a large healthcare system in South Carolina confirms new graduate nurses are suffering from stress and burnout while transitioning into the role of the professional nurse (Personal communication, March 5, 2021). Purpose: The purpose of this project is to provide new graduate nurses' mindfulness meditation exercises to help manage stress as mindfulness meditation has been proven …

Addressing Stress In Graduate Nurse Practitioner Nursing Students, Shandria K. Sawyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project was developed to address the issue of high stress levels among graduate nursing students, which is a common phenomenon that increases the risks of mental health disorders, professional burnout, and poor-quality patient care among students and professional nurses after earning their degrees. This project sought to utilize a simple educational intervention delivered online to impart coping skills to graduate nursing students to assist them in reducing their stress levels. The intervention was a brief, single-session, self-guided educational module featuring informational and participative elements related to stress causes, the impacts of stress, and stress reduction techniques. In total, 11 …

Implementation Of A Flash Therapy Technique Pilot Program To Evaluate Well-Being In Bedside Nurses Caring For Patients With Covid-19, Rachel Faye Lakes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The nursing shortage is no longer a crisis but an epidemic and it is being exacerbated by burnout and compassion fatigue. This burnout and compassion fatigue are stemming from a loss of resilience and inability to cope. The COVID-19 pandemic has further intensified these issues. A safe, efficient, and effective intervention is needed to help improve well-being and resiliency among healthcare workers. The purpose of this project was to implement a flash therapy technique pilot program to evaluate resiliency and well-being of healthcare professionals caring for patients with COVID-19. A pilot program consisting of two flash therapy sessions was implemented …

An Evaluation Of Mindstrong™ Implementation With Graduate Nursing Students, Angela B. Sabblut

Dissertations

Problem: Nursing graduate students are at increased risk of greater stress, anxiety, and depression (Hoying, 2020; Melnyk et al., 2020). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the gold standard in the treatment of anxiety and depression (Hoying et al., 2020; Melnyk et al., 2015; Melnyk et al., 2020). MINDSTRONG™, a CBT-based training program, has been proven in many studies to be effective in helping individuals prevent or cope with these issues (The Ohio State University College of Nursing, 2020).

Methods: This Quality Improvement (QI) project was a descriptive-observational, pre-post design. Sample and setting were nursing graduate students from a Midwestern, middle-sized urban, …

Nursing Anxiety Self-Evaluation And Resiliency Methods, Dianne Deck

Dissertations

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses are stressed due to the demands of their job. This study aims to determine whether MICU nurses at a large Midwestern hospital would have reduced stress and anxiety after a 30-day meditation and exercise intervention.

Design and Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-post pilot study design was adopted. The convenience sample consisted of eight Medicine Intensive Care Unit (MICU) nurses in a large Midwestern urban tertiary medical center. Data collected included demographics, pre- post-Beck Anxiety Inventory Scale (BAIS), pre- and post-Single Item Stress Scale (SISS), and weekly diaries on exercise and meditation.

Results: The pre- post-SISS showed statistical significance …

Establishing A New Graduate Nurse Peer Mentoring Program, Teresa Biediger Bowers

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Problem Statement: New Graduate Nurses (NGN) report increased stress, likely due to decreased confidence and social support (Frogeli et al., 2019). The most current NGNs are disadvantaged as much of their undergraduate clinical experience has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (Smith et al., 2021). At the end of their residency, information gathered from former NGNs suggested they feel they need "more support" during the residency. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if the addition of a peer mentor to the already existing nurse residency program would improve nurse confidence, job satisfaction, and intent to …

Examining Perceived Stress And Diet Quality Among Low-Income Families Engaged With A Nutrition-Based Food Assistance Program, Kelsey R. Wolfe, Kathryn L. Dambrino, David Phillippi, Laura Gray

DNP Projects

Abstract

Introduction: Evidence suggests poor-quality diets and high levels of stress have negative impacts on health, especially in low-income families in the southern United States. Nutrition-based food assistance programs were developed to meet nutritional needs of food insecure clients. The purpose of this scholarly project was to explore the relationship between perceived stress and diet quality among low-income families engaged with a nutrition-based food assistance program.

Methods: A retrospective and observational design was used to analyze previously collected survey responses from clients participating in a nutrition-based food assistance program in Nashville, TN (N = 425). Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s …

The Maternal Oral Microbiome Throughout Pregnancy, Rebecca Koerner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to longitudinally examine the salivary microbiome during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and explore its associations amongst adverse pregnancy outcomes (preterm birth, gestational diabetes mellitus, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy), perceived stress and depression, and hair/salivary cortisol levels. The specific aims were to (1) explore the literature for studies longitudinally examining the oral microbiome during pregnancy using a scoping review guided by the Arskey and O’Malley framework; (2) to examine the salivary microbiome for changes in diversity and abundance during the second and third trimesters during pregnancy and its association with adverse …

Psychobiology Of Resilience, Rosarina A. J. Pelikan

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Nurse managers experience high levels of stress due to the complex bureaucratic and chaotic nature of the job, which can lead to burnout. In nurse managers, burnout negatively impacts the ability to meet the strategic goals of the quadruple aim: patient quality, patient satisfaction, cost savings, and employee well-being. Strategies to address burnout include minimizing or removing unnecessary causes of stress and provide the skills to protect against burnout. Resilience is a competency nurse leaders must have to withstand overwhelming job-related stress. Resilience-enhancing strategies have psychobiologic underpinnings and can be easily incorporated into nurse managers’ work schedules.