Nursing Commons^™

A Quality Improvement Project To Promote Awareness And Knowledge Of Nutrition As An Adjunctive Treatment Option For Chronic Insomnia, Sara J. Weelborg

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background

Insomnia is difficult to treat resulting in adverse outcomes. Traditional treatments are not always safe or accessible. Evidence, not readily available to providers, supports the adjunctive use of nutrition to ease symptoms.

Problem

Literature recommends the Mediterranean Diet for insomnia. A nutrition education module for psychiatric nurse practitioners (n=4) was created by a multidisciplinary committee to increase knowledge and comfort. Pre-post Likert-scale tool, multiple choice test, and interview questions were used to measure educational benefits.

Outcomes

All participants demonstrated knowledge acquisition (range 11% to 100%), increased intention to use information (range 9% to 43%), and positive feedback about nutrition …

A Pilot Project To Improve The Well-Being Of Inpatient Nurse Managers At An Academic Medical Center Through A Mindfulness-Based Intervention, Nancy Wiederhold

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose: To decrease inpatient nurse managers' burnout, stress, and compassion fatigue through attendance at a mindful, self-compassion intensive program.

Background/Significance: Nurse leaders and managers are indispensable pillars of the healthcare team, carrying the responsibility of shaping organizational success and ensuring quality patient care. Unfortunately, the current landscape of nursing leadership is clouded by sentiments of powerlessness, hopelessness, and guilt.

Description: Recognizing the practical challenges faced by nurse managers, a targeted intervention was implemented – a four-week, in-person mindfulness-based, self-compassion program. This initiative aimed to equip them with the tools to mitigate stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Led by a trained …

Implementation Of An Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship To Improve Transition To Practice, Breanne Hosford

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Problem

Retention of advanced practice providers (APPs) is needed for ongoing high quality comprehensive care. Administrators at a large urban pediatric institute in the Midwest identified turnover and retention as an issue for APPs in the first one to two years of service. Even in years when turnover rates were not as high, the greatest number of APPs leaving the institution where those in their first five years of tenure. Without strategies aimed at improving transition to practice, new hire APPs will continue to be unprepared for their new role, therefore endangering job satisfaction, leading to continued turnover, and threatening …

A Patient Centered Quality Improvement Education Program Designed To Improve The Health Of Patients Living With Uncontrolled Hypertension In A Primary Care Setting, Alia Jamison-Dinowitz

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and it negatively contributes to poor health outcomes (Martinez-Garcia et al., 2018). Within the Antelope Valley in Lancaster California, 30.3 % of city residents have a hypertension diagnosis (Los Angeles County of Public Health, 2017). Much like the city at large, hypertension is a critical issue at AV Pediatrics and Family Medicine (AV Peds). This issue is driven by a variety of factors including a lack of understanding about hypertension and medication compliance, and a lack of understanding about healthy lifestyle choices. Providers at AV Peds have seen …

Improving Emergency Department Belongings Inventory Electronic Medical Record Documentation, Shanekia Garrett, Stefanie Lai, Jairo Pagan, Wendy Lu, Katie Whitehead

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

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 …

Implementing In-Room Recycling On A Family Medical Center, Ariann Schultz, Sarah Johnson

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Improving Provider Ordered Annual Breast Cancer Screening In Primary Care, Alexis Manzella

DNP Projects

Significance and Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women throughout the United States. Specifically, the state of Connecticut has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the country. Multiple evidence-based organizations have developed specific guidelines for screening in clinical practice. These guidelines specify when a woman should be screened and how frequently. A project was put in place at a FQHC in Connecticut to increase the number of breast cancer screenings ordered, based on clinical guidelines. Evidence supported the use of provider education to increase the number of mammograms ordered (Marks,2022).

Purpose: Increase the number …

The Correlational Effects Of Academic And Demographic Factors On Nursing Students’ Attrition, Progression, And Completion At A University College Of Nursing, Adebusola A. Obafemi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High United States nursing student attrition rates have attracted political, organizational, and social interest for numerous reasons. This attrition places financial burdens on the students, results in revenue loss for the college, and exacerbates the existing nursing shortage. Students' success in a nursing program is crucial for nurses to practice nursing. The purpose of this retrospective study was to explore the effects of academic performance and demographic/categorical factors on nursing students' progression and completion at a University College of Nursing in the Southern United States. The target population consisted of students enrolled at the University College of Nursing from January …

Diabetic Coaching Program To Improve African American Patients Glycemic Control, Shonda Moore

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: The purpose of the practice problem was to find out if, among African Americans with type II diabetes who are over 18, adopting a diabetic coaching program that emphasizes diet management can result in better glycemic control over 10 weeks than for those who do not receive coaching.

PICOT: In African Americans with type II diabetes over 18 years of age (P), does a diabetic coaching program on diet management (I), compared to no coaching program (C), improve glycemic control (O) over 10 weeks (T)?

Evidence: The evidence used to guide this project came from databases, including PubMed, …

The Impact Of Kangaroo Care On The Weight Gain Of Premature Infants, Heather Vincequere

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Premature birth remains a global health concern, affecting approximately 15 million infants annually (WHO, 2023). Kangaroo Care (KC), involving skin-to-skin contact between caregivers and infants, was developed as a promising intervention to mitigate the adverse effects of prematurity. This study aimed to investigate the impact of KC on weight gain among preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Doctors Hospital of Augusta (DHOA). A quasi-experimental quantitative posttest-only design was employed, with eight preterm infants (< 37 weeks gestation) participating in KC for at least 30 minutes daily. Daily weight measurements were collected over a four-week period and compared to the expected weight gain for infants receiving traditional incubator care. Results revealed a statistically significant increase in weight gain among infants receiving KC compared to the historical average for infants in traditional incubator care (t (7) = 2.443, p = 0.022). A large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.864) further supported the significance of these findings. Despite limitations such as a small sample size and convenience sampling, this study emphasizes that KC enhances weight gain in preterm infants, thus improving overall health outcomes. Implementation of KC requires ongoing support from nurse leaders to ensure proper education and successful integration into routine care practices. Nonetheless, continued research with larger samples and improved randomization is warranted to fully understand the long-term benefits of KC in neonatal care settings.

Nurses’ Attitudes And Knowledge Differences Toward Pain In Patients With Sickle Cell Disease, Peggy Boyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Nursing Implications For Transgender And Gender Diverse Perioperative Patients: A Discussion Paper, Oona O'Shea, Paula Foran

Journal of Perioperative Nursing

Perioperative nurses must provide culturally competent care to all surgical patients, and understanding gender identity and gender diversity may be the first step to creating an inclusive perioperative practice for transgender and gender diverse patients. In the nurse–patient relationship, limited exposure to and knowledge of diverse populations may negatively affect the health of this important demographic.

When nurses are unaware of how care can be affected by explicit (conscious) or implicit (unconscious) bias, they may use transphobic stereotyping behaviours or act with microaggressions, like using excessive protective attire. Such care may invalidate gender identity and impede trust. In contrast, nurses …

Effects Of Postpartum Depression On Mothers And Children, Natalie Taylor, Kennedy Harrington, Jeffrey Wick

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Postpartum depression plagues many women in today’s society. To look deeper into postpartum depression, we questioned who could be affected other than the mother in this issue? The objective of this study is to analyze how postpartum affects children’s cognitive and behavioral development. We investigated cognitive and behavioral development of children 1-3 years old. Our research design of this study was a non-experimental observation approach. The setting used for our research was the Women’s Health Center at HaysMed. This research focuses on patients in the obstetrics department who recently gave birth. Participants of this study were the children of 75 …

Emotional Support Animals And Mental Health, Kyla E. Barnett, Kaia Miller

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Depression and anxiety disorders are a significant problem in adults and teenagers. These disorders continue to increase in prevalence year by year. One way to combat this is the use of emotional support animals (ESA’s), which have become increasingly popular. This study investigates the relationship between the use of emotional support animals and mental well-being of students with mental health disorders. This study is designed to illustrate the increase in sense of well-being in patients with mental health disorders who utilize ESA’s. This study applies both a qualitative and quantitative study design, the qualitative design of this study is phenomenological. …

Pharmacological Interventions Versus Non-Pharmacological Interventions On Pain In Chronic Pain Patients, Harley Page, Olivia Mcswain

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

The study is a comparison experiment that looks at the different types of interventions to treat chronic pain. This study is set at Haysmed Rehabilitation to gather data on adult patients with chronic pain. When studying the interventions used for chronic pain, we found numerous ways of treatment. They are categorized as pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. During the study we found, that an understanding of what is causing the pain and the use of both interventions is the best way to go about treating/managing chronic pain.

Use Of An Electronic Health Record System In The Nursing Education Lab & Simulation Setting, Easlyn Koch

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Simulation has become a significant component of nursing education in recent years, especially with the increasing demand for high-fidelity simulations. However, nursing education struggles to keep up with the ever-changing healthcare technology, specifically electronic health records (EHR). Integrating EHRs into nursing education in areas such as the lab or simulation settings has the potential to impact overall patient safety, familiarity with similar technology, critical thinking skills, and practice readiness of student nurses. A review of the literature was performed, and it was found that the implementation and integration of an EHR in nursing education has overwhelming effects on overall student …

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

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

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 …

Nursing Education And The Emerging Artificial Intelligence, Somi Nagaraj, Nancy J. Macmullen

Faculty Research Events

The emerging artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming patient care across all domains of nursing practice, including administration, clinical care, education, policy, and research. Nursing researchers are exploring the potential influences of AI health technologies (AIHTs) on nursing in general and on nursing education more specifically. ChatGPT, a trending Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool developed by Open AI. The impact of ChatGPT on the nursing education is profound. The technological evolution in healthcare is advancing. The complexity of curricular revision can create challenges in the face of rapid practice change.

This PowerPoint presentation explains the meaning of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the history …

Implementation Of An Evidence-Based Toolkit To Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening In A Federally Qualified Health Center, Stephanie Mckithan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The change in payor fee-for-service to value-based care is creating an opportunity for primary care clinics nationally to adjust their focus to meeting key clinical quality measures during patient encounters. Colorectal screening is one of such quality measures. Previous research has shown that early detection saves lives. The guidelines have lowered the recommended age of initial screening to 45 due to the incidence of colorectal cancer in younger patients. But with all the objectives that need to be met in the limited time of the visit, how can nurse practitioners improve their efficiency? This evidence-based project assessed the implementation of …

Utilizing Social Media To Increase Skill Confidence In Parenteral Medication Administration In Undergraduate Practical Nursing Students, Natalie K. Hernandez

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

A major shift in education developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students and educators were forced to stay home, and new ways of learning emerged. Nursing is a hands on field and many skills must be learned hands on such as the technique for administering parenteral medications. To master a skill such as this you need to be able to hold the supplies and understand how to properly dose a medication.This was definitely a challenge to teach students hands-on skills when being in a hands on skill lab environment was not allowed. Nurse educators started to create innovative ways to teach …

The Missing Link: The Significance Of Mental Health Screenings Post Natural Disasters: An Integrative Review, Chalita Mccormick Ellis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Following a natural disaster, the emotional and psychological demands on survivors are great. In addition to generating suffering, such as bodily injuries, natural disasters impact disaster victims’ lives in catastrophic ways, causing loss of homes, property, and jobs; food insecurities; transportation disruption; and communication difficulties. These events disrupt communities, exacerbating adversities to physical and psychological well-being. This presents a critical need for effective mental health response. Screening specific to post-disaster trauma may assist in identifying clients who require prioritized mental health care. Depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder are three common mental health issues that are often triggered by disasters. …

A Structured Handoff Report And Its Impact On Patient Experience, Gary N. Hicks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Over the past decade, a fast-moving industry has challenged hospital health systems. Today, hospitals are measured on the effectiveness of healthcare delivery ensuring efficiency, quality, and safety. In addition to the delivery of effective healthcare, hospitals are now accountable for the overall patient experience, a system known as value-based purchasing. Value-based purchasing directly impacts the overall financial status of any healthcare organization and is based on data collected from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). Nursing practice can significantly influence the overall impact and outcomes of value-based purchasing by helping with an improvement of HCAHPS. One …

What Resilience (Strength) Means For Australian Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health Professionals And Practitioners: An Exploratory Study, Eileen Willis, Amy-Louise J. Byrne, Sandy Mclellan, Venessa Curnow, Harvey Clare, Janie Brown, Amelia Britton

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

This article explores the concept of resilience from the perspective of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals and practitioners, with the aim of describing what it is and how it is practiced in the workplace. Interviews in the form of Yarns were conducted with ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals in regional North Queensland. We found that for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals and practitioners, resilience encompasses cultural identity and an ability to manage both Indigenous and western cultures and structures. Resilience, understood as ‘Strength’, draws on strong relationships to family and Country, often …

Flipping The Classroom To Improve Knowledge Retention Among Practical Nursing Students, Paige Cooper

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Typical nursing lectures consist of a power point, and a lecturer discussion of a particular subject, such as a disorders, treatments, or pharmacology (HEW & LO, 2018). Flipping the classroom is a lecture style tailored to a variety of student learning styles, and utilizes prerecorded lectures, and participation in projects or discussions during class time. There are four main learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing. Each style comes with their own strategies, but all have similar advantages, including the opportunity to learn in the best way for individual students. Flipping the classroom avoids the typical lecture, and implements activities …

Hormonal Birth Control Effects On The Neurological And Cardiovascular Systems, Alondra Perez, Paige Fink, Adell Riedel

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Abstract

The present study theoretically investigated the effects of long-term use of hormonal birth control on the female cardiovascular and neurologic systems. The setting will take place at Fort Hays State University campus. Our participants of the survey will include 200 random females ages 16 to 25. This data will be taken from those women who take hormonal birth control versus those females who do not take it on a daily basis. The long-term use of hormonal birth control is creating changes in the neurological and cardiovascular system. Evidence from previous research shows alterations to both the structure and function …

Preoperative Warming To Improve Patient Outcomes: Implementation Of A Warming Protocol, Tiara Switzer-Houston

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia (IPH) is noted to be the most common surgical complication. IPH is associated with a variety of complications which are known to impact the well-being of the patient, family, and healthcare system.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this scholarly project was scheduled for total hip and knee arthroplasty surgical procedures under general or neuraxial anesthesia greater than 60 minutes (P), how effective is the implementation of an evidence-based pre-surgical warming protocol including forced-air warming (FAW) (I) compared to current practices (C) in improving normothermia readings within 15 minutes of arriving to the PACU, …

Effects Of Maternal-Infant Golden Hour On Breastfeeding, Julina A. Wall-Penner, Katilyn Rasmussen, Madeline Suderman

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Abstract

This study examines the effects of immediate maternal-infant skin-to-skin contact, and how those effects compare to mothers and babies who have delayed or skin-to-skin. Skin-to-skin contact, also known as “the golden hour”, is a remarkable practice that occurs immediately after birth. During this intimate bonding experience, the newborn is placed directly on the mother's chest, their tiny body nestled against her warm skin. Studies have shown numerous benefits from this practice. Breastfeeding success through early initiation is one the benefits this study focuses on. This cohort observational study is recommended to take place at Hays Medical Center with mothers …

Breastfeeding Vs. Formula-Feeding: Effects On Early Childhood Immune Health, Nicole L. Taylor, Gavin C. Tuttle, Grace A. Theurer

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Objective: Collect and analyze data to compare benefits/risks of breastfeeding/formula-feeding on immune systems through early childhood.

Design: Pragmatic Experimental Comparative Effectiveness Research

Setting: Hays Medical Center Pediatrics

Participants: 300 newborn babies – through first 8 years

Results/Conclusions: Data collection and results pending

Health Care Use Experiences Of Ethnoculturally Diverse Immigrant Older Adults: A Meta-Ethnography, Lorna De Witt, Kathryn A. Pfaff, Roger Reka, Noeman Ahmad Mirza

Nursing Publications

Purpose

Current and predicted continued dramatic increases in international migration and ethnocultural diversity of older adult cohorts pose challenges for health care services. Review studies on ethnoculturally diverse older adults and health care show a lack of focus on their service use experiences. This study aims to report a meta-ethnography that addresses this knowledge gap through answering the review question: How do ethnoculturally diverse older adults who are immigrants experience health care services?

Design/methodology/approach

The authors applied a seven-phase method of meta-ethnography to guide the review. The authors conducted two literature searches (April 2018 and June 2020) in MEDLINE, CINAHL, …