Nursing Commons^™

Quality Improvement Project Strengthening Faculty Competence: The Impact Of Structured Debriefing Education On Nursing Faculty Confidence And Competency Compared To Current Practice, Sudaneyse Emmanuel

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nursing education sometimes struggles to prepare faculty to lead effective simulation-based learning and debriefing. Inconsistent debriefing practices can reduce faculty confidence and competency, limiting student reflection and the development of clinical judgment. This quality improvement project examined whether a structured debriefing education program could enhance nursing faculty confidence and competency in simulation debriefing compared with current practice at a technical college. The project used the Jeffries Simulation Theory and Lewin’s Change Theory as guides. The project used a one-group pretest-posttest design by using the C-Scale to measure confidence and the Facilitator Competency Rubric to measure competency among nursing faculty who …

Proclamation By The Governor Of Alabama: Year Of The Nurse, Robert Bentley

Documents

In 2015, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley declared the "year of the nurse" in honor of the "100 years of regulatory excellence" since the establishment of the Alabama Board of Nursing in 1915.

Invitation To The Open House At The New Education-Nursing Building, University Of North Alabama

Documents

Invitation to the open house at the Education and Nursing Building on Circular Road, now known as Stevens Hall

Whitlock Retiring As Nursing Professor, Melissa Gray

Documents

Article depicting the career and retirement of University of North Alabama nursing professor, Annette Whitlock, in 1985.

Building Connections For Care: A Practical Guide For Novice Nursing Professional Development Practitioners, Debra Hunt

Student Dissertations

Building Connections for Care is a practical textbook designed to support novice Nursing Professional Development Practitioners (NPDPs) as they transition from expert bedside clinicians to educational leaders within complex healthcare systems. Grounded in the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) practice model, the book integrates ethical foundations, communication strategies, leadership frameworks, and inquiry methods to build confidence and competence in the NPDP role. Chapters trace a developmental pathway from role transition and Benner’s novice-to-expert model through ethics and just culture, incivility and workplace culture, and communication skills including feedback, SMART goals, SBAR, and professional digital conduct. Subsequent chapters expand NPDP …

Improving Patient Health Portal Enrollment In The Primary Care Setting, Erika L. Bell

Doctoral Dissertations & Projects

In today’s increasingly digital healthcare environment, patient health portals have become critical tools for enhancing communication, improving care coordination, and empowering patients to actively participate in their health management. These secure, web-based platforms allow patients to access medical records, request prescription refills, view lab results, and message providers. Although patient health portals are offered by a vast majority of U.S. health systems, they remain underutilized, with only 15-30% of patients engaging with these platforms despite their potential to improve patient engagement, health status awareness, and care quality. Enhancing patient health portal use not only empowers patients but also supports broader …

Una To Award 1st Doctorate Of Nursing Practice, Bernie Delinski

Documents

A cohort of four graduates become the first students awarded a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of North Alabama.

Six Departments Move Into New Building, Una Alumni Association

Documents

Alumni News article discussing the early stages of Stevens Hall, then known as the Education and Nursing Building, and its impact on the School of Nursing, School of Education, and Departments of Social Work, Sociology, Foreign Languages, and Political Science.

Program's Namesake 'Born' To Be A Nurse, Bernie Delinski

Documents

Article celebrating the naming of the Florence Helen Nethery Duncan Bachelor of Science in Nursing in honor of its namesake's gift and the 50th year anniversary of the degree.

New Building Houses Education And Nursing, University Of North Alabama

Documents

Article from the 1979 Resume of UNA discussing the Education and Nursing Building, now known as Stephens Hall, as well as the accreditation of the Schools of Nursing and Education.

Student Nurse Receives Honors At North Alabama, The Timesdaily

Documents

Pamela Thompson Suggs graduating senior at the University of North Alabama was chosen for the honor of leading the Nightingale pledge and was the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Nursing Student Award.

State Nursing: Una Earns #3 Ranking, Courier Journal

Documents

In 2024, the nursing program at the University of North Alabama was ranked third in the state after Auburn and the University of Alabama by the research of RegisteredNursing.org..

Student Loan Fund Boosted, Florence State University

Documents

Retired nurse, Mrs. Anne Callahan donates funds to the Florence State University (FSU) nursing program that will be matched by the federal government making educational funding available to nursing students.

Career Day Planning: Alumni Agree To 'Come Home', Teresa Leonard

Documents

The article describes the return of various alumni to discuss their careers with students at the University of North Alabama, among them is Charlotte Tomlinson Homan, an alumna of School of Nursing and employee of the critical care unit at the Colonial Manor Hospital.

New To Una Faculty, The Flor-Ala

Documents

The image is derived from The Flor-Ala and depicts new faculty members for the 1977 academic year. Several new instructors in the nursing department are featured, including Mrs. Charlotte Jamieson, Ms. Patricia Auxier, Mrs. Debra Pratt, Ms. Lavin Reed, and Mrs. Jayne Gillespie.

Kelley's Korner: Fsu Nursing Program Will Get Thorough Study, Pete Kelley

Documents

The article analyzes the plausibility of the development of the Florence State University nursing program.

Baldwin Advocates Ladder Program Here, Donna Bryant

Documents

Dr. Sue Baldwin, University of North Alabama Nursing Instructor, advocates for the development of a "career ladder" program at UNA for registered nurses that graduated from hospital programs rather than simply retaining the baccalaureate degree as the only avenue for career advancement.

Nursing Enrollment Has Nearly Doubled, Bernie Delinski, Dan Busey

Documents

The article discusses the increase in enrollment in the College of Nursing after the construction of Laura M. Harrison Hall, as well as the program's expansion to include respiratory therapy and nurse practitioner programs.

Rausch Attends Health Congress, Lorene Frederick

Documents

Dr. Judith Rausch, UNA community nursing instructor, delivered her research on the prevalence of cigarette use among nurses at the International Congress on Health Education in London.

New Graduate Nurse Retention Strategies Toolkit For Managers And Leadership, Taryn Ryan

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem:

Nurse retention has been a persistent issue for over a decade, with increasing turnover among new graduate nurses. Many new nurses leave the profession due to inadequate preparation for clinical roles and responsibilities.

PICOT:

The PICOT question that guided this project was: For nurse managers and leaders supporting new graduate nurses (P), how does the development of a best-practice retention toolkit (I), compared to existing retention practices (C), guide evidence-based strategies to improve nurse retention (O)?

Evidence:

Evidence indicates that new graduate nurses often feel insufficiently prepared for patient care responsibilities, compromising patient safety (Haddad et al., 2023; …

Ai’S Role In Searching For Evidence: Friend And Foe, Barbara (Basia) Delawska-Elliott, Brandon Wilkinson

Publications 2026-present

No abstract provided.

Provider Admission Visit To Implement Medication Deprescribing In Hospice, Shaunda A. Bueno

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

A large portion of healthcare spending is focused on patients with multiple chronic illnesses, and most of these patients are on numerous medications, commonly referred to as polypharmacy or hyper-polypharmacy. Furthermore, hospice-eligible patients have at least one disease process that is considered life-limiting with a life expectancy of less than six months, and often have multiple medical conditions with complicated treatment regimens known as multimorbidity. The high incidence of multiple comorbidities for hospice patients, combined with advanced age and the incidence of polypharmacy and hyperpolypharmacy, has also caused an increased treatment burden for patients and caregivers. To address this issue, …

Health Insurance Literacy Among College Students At The University Of South Carolina, Emma J. Smith, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, Robin Dawson

Caroliniana Undergraduate Research Journal

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the health insurance literacy skills of graduate college students and undergraduate college students.

Methods: A cross-sectional research design incorporated a 20-item questionnaire to examine college students’ knowledge of common health insurance terms and definitions, as well as their perceived understanding of health insurance. Descriptive analyses were conducted of participant demographics, health insurance literacy scores were summarized, and common health insurance policies were tested through a readability checker.

Results: The majority of students were between the ages of 18-25 and undergraduate students. More than half of the participants were female, and more …

Standardizing Cardiac Rehabilitation Referrals In A Rural Primary Care Clinic, Carlie H. Sanders

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Abstract

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a cost-effective, evidence-based approach for patients with cardiac conditions to improve quality of life and health outcomes. Despite the benefits, it remains a nationally underutilized service, and extensive research has been conducted to identify interventions that most effectively increase referrals and participation in CR programs. Two of the more successful interventions include strengthening provider recommendations and using a standardized referral system (Ades et al., 2022). This quality improvement project aimed to strengthen provider recommendations and increase the frequency of referrals to the existing CR program at a rural primary care clinic by 50%. To do …

Proclamation For Student Nurses' Week, William E. Batson

Documents

The proclamation for Student Nurses' Week by Mayor William E. Baston, Florence, Alabama. Baston declared the week of April 8-12, 1974, to be Student Nurses' Week in honor and recognition of the efforts of the student nurses at Florence State University.

How To Guess Your Age, Corey Ford

Documents

Short creative writing work, presumably student written, concerned with the process of aging and the progression of time.

News Release: Open House At Keller Hall For Fsu’S New School Of Nursing And Business, Florence State University

Correspondence

The news release offers a brief history of Keller Hall, which was first erected as a men's dormitory in 1947, through its transition to the School of Nursing and School of Business in 1973.

Correspondence & Memorandums: Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital Expansion And Affiliation With Florence State Univeristy, James Cox

Correspondence

Correspondence from James Cox, Executive Vice President of Medical Architectonic, Inc. to Dean Jimmye Stephen of Florence State University's College of Nursing. The correspondence and related memorandums detail the communication between the architecture company, Florence State University, and Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital regarding plans for an expansion of the hospital and collaboration with the nursing program at FSU.

West Alabama General Hospital Scholarship Letter, Kathryn Hicks

Correspondence

Scholarship letter issued by the Virginia Planz Memorial Nursing Scholarship Committee of West Alabama General Hospital to University of North Alabama nursing student Barbara Montgomery.

St. Thomas Hospital Scholarship Letter, Peter J. Giammalvo

Correspondence

Letter from the St. Thomas Foundation Scholarship Committee to University of North Alabama nursing student Barabara Jean Montgomery detailing a grant in the amount of $1,200 contingent upon her employment at St. Thomas Hospital for one year following graduation.