Family Practice Nursing Commons^™

A System Intervention Of Tetanus, Diphtheria, And Pertussis Vaccination For Pregnant Women In Primary Care, Tarshera Reyna

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The health care system in the United States has been described as having a deficit in care for women during pregnancy (IOM, 2019), and as a result there has been a resurgence over the last decade in diseases like pertussis, which is a severe respiratory infection that is particularly dangerous for infants less than 3 months of age (Tan & Gerbie, 2013). The primary objective of this project was to implement a Tdap vaccination program and increase the rates of Tdap vaccinations of obstetrical patients at a San Antonio clinic. The intervention included: 1) establishing standing orders for the Tdap …

Hpv Vaccination In Adults 18 Through 45: Reducing Missed Vaccination Opportunities In The Primary Care Setting, Ashley Hernandez

Doctor of Nursing Practice

HPV is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection in the United States and is linked to six different types of cancer cell development. Prevention of infection from this virus could save hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide. An evidence-based quality improvement project was designed to increase the identification of HPV vaccination opportunities in the adult primary care setting to improve HPV vaccination rates. A protocol and patient eligibility algorithm were developed to align primary care practice with recently updated CDC guidelines. Interventions included clinic staff and provider education, designation of a vaccination champion, a flag within the patient chart to …

Is Anybody Listening?: Factors Affecting Pain Management In Veterans Within An Acute Care Rehab Setting, Laura Oseghae

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background: In the United States, pain is a widely discussed issue due to the opioid epidemic stemming from a history of pain mismanagement. Clinical guidelines for successful pain management techniques are readily available for providers to incorporate into the individualized patient care plan.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to improve pain management through implementation of the VA pain management guidelines and improved interdisciplinary team communication.

Objectives: This project aims to decrease the number of patients reporting moderate to severe pain, enhance staff/provider communication, and improve the provider’s overall process for managing pain with an individualized treatment plan.

Interventions: …

Establishing A Structured Mentorship Program For Novice Advanced Practice Registered Nurses In The Veterans Health Care System, Rodney Duckett

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background. Mentorship is an age-old strategy still widely sought after to increase integration into the workforce. Employers of new APRNs must be aware that newly graduated APRNs are inexperienced. To maximize the employers’ investment, training on proper integration should be a high priority. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project addressed this quality improvement issue through the implementation of a structured mentorship program to improve the overall transitioning of newly hired APRNs in the Veterans Health Care System (VHCS). Problem. The VHCS lacks a formalized, structured mentorship program for newly graduated APRNs entering the VA System. Intervention. Seven APRN mentors …

Optimizing Peripheral Neuropathy Management Through Vitamin B12 Screening In Adults With Type Two Diabetes Mellitus Taking Metformin, Jonathan Sidle

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Peripheral neuropathy is a significant co-morbidity for patients with diabetes and as early as 1969, metformin was linked to reductions in vitamin B12, leading to deficiency. Vitamin B12 deficiency causes increased levels of homocysteine and methylmalonyl-CoA which are toxic to the nervous system and therefore can contribute to demyelination. This quality improvement study aimed to optimize the management of peripheral neuropathy symptoms by implementing a process to identify patients with clinical or subclinical vitamin B12 deficiency and initiating replacement therapy. Adult patients presenting for a scheduled office visit with a diagnosis of type two diabetes and are taking metformin or …

Implementation Of Comprehensive Foot Exams In Primary Care: A Quality Improvement Project, Dora Elia Trevino

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase performance and documentation of provider comprehensive foot exams (CFEs) by 50% among patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in a small clinic in the southwestern United States.

The project leader assessed clinic systems including the electronic health record (EHR) to identify means to increase CFE completion and documentation rate for patients with T2DM being seen for a chronic disease management (CDM) appointment. A process was created to incorporate a hardcopy CFE documentation form into the EHR and create a pop-up care reminder notification system. Staff and the provider were educated …

Patient-Centered Implementation Of Statin Therapy In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Giovanna P. Favarato

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Heart disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The American Diabetes Association recommends statins and lifestyle modifications for all patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus for the prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events. A patient-centered approach to primary prevention is encouraged, yet there are no specific instructions regarding implementation. The Statin Choice Decision Aid is a tool designed to facilitate shared decision-making between the patient and the provider in the clinical setting. The 2018 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for the primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease for patients with …

Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening And Testing In A Primary Care Clinic, Leslie Michelle Dubois

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide (World Health Organization, 2019a). In the United States, CRC was the fourth most common cancer in 2016 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019a). The American Cancer Society (2020a) estimated that there will be 147,950 estimated new cases and 53,200 estimated deaths of CRC in the U.S. in 2020. The purpose of the project was to improve CRC screening completion rates and follow up referrals from 27.5% to 35% for adult patients, 50-75 years of age, within a family medicine clinic …

Increasing Adherence To Measurement-Based Depression Management In Primary Care, Renad Saadat

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background and Review of Literature. Approximately 11 million Americans 18 years or older experienced a severe symptom of depression leading to impairment in 2017. The severity of depressive symptoms is often miscalculated in primary care as measurement-based tools for the diagnosis and ongoing reassessment varies. Purpose. The purpose of the project was to increase provider adherence in using the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for ongoing evaluation of the severity of depressive symptoms in patients with depression at a primary care clinic in San Antonio, Texas. Objectives. The main objective of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project is …