Geriatric Nursing Commons^™

A Provider-Driven Approach To Preventative Oral Care In Nursing Home Facilities, Molly Anderson, Brandon Mccrossin, Kary Franchetti, Ruth Hanselman, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

Oral care is an essential part of preventative medicine as it minimizes risk for pneumonias and other infections. In nursing home settings, often oral health care is not routinely provided due to a number of issues. A health care system that either owns or contracts nursing home facilities initiated a performance improvement plan to address this patient care concern.

The first goal of this project was to reduce the variation in oral care between nursing home facilities within the system. The second goal was 100% of their patients will have one oral health care exam documented in EPIC once a …

Homecare Nurses' Experiences With Home Telemonitoring Systems, Justin Palmer

Honors Projects

To reduce healthcare costs and to better serve an aging population suffering from chronic disease, advancements in telemedicine like home telemonitoring are being used to improve the effectiveness of outpatient and homecare services. The purpose of this study was to expand upon the telemonitoring qualitative literature to describe home care nurses’ lived experiences with a home telemonitoring program. Separate interviews with four homecare nurses currently employed by a visiting nurse service and working directly with home telemonitoring were conducted. The interviews were analyzed using a phenomenological framework to identify common themes. For these nurses the benefits of home telemonitoring were …

Predictive Behavioral Cues Of Patient Violence In The Emergency Department, Jessica A. Roy

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Nurses are often subject to violence at the hands of their patients. The Emergency Department (ED) has become the area most vulnerable in the hospital setting, with contributing factors including the rise of polysubstance drug abuse, the increasing psychiatric population, and overall stressors related to the economy. The ED is the “gateway” to the availability of shelter, medications, and resources for many people that pass through every year. Accurate and timely identification of the most common and easily identifiable precursors of violence is essential in order to develop and implement effective de-escalation techniques that have the potential to reduce actual …

Effects Of A Simulation Educational Experience On Critical Care Staff's Recognition Of Stressors Affecting Performance And Use Of Teamwork Skills, Heidi K. Paradis

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Human limitations are sources of medical error that result in injuries, deaths and cost reaching millions. Preventing human errors from reaching patients is an imperative goal of a healthcare system that desires to reduce costs and produce quality outcomes. There is a mounting body of evidence that safety culture measurement and intervention can impact the safety and quality of healthcare.

The Impact Of Timing, Selection, And Dosage Of Preoperative Prophylactic Antibiotics On Preventable Surgical Site Infections, Cathy S. Insana

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a subset of a larger group of infections that are known as hospital acquired infections (HAis). SSIs are a huge financial burden, costing billions of dollars in excess hospital charges every year. There is a considerable amount of evidence-based practice recommendations that can help reduce the incidence of SSIs. Research has supported the efficacy of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis when appropriately selected and timed according to published guidelines. In addition to these measures, re-dosing of antibiotics must occur for those procedures that last more than four hours in order to continue to maintain tissue perfusion throughout …

Quality Management Of Chemotherapy: Induced Nausea And Vomiting With Minimal Constipation, Mary Ellen Danzer

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Although clients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) are receiving more advanced and successful chemotherapy treatments, the side effects of these treatments continue to cause anxiety, discomfort, pain, and a diminished quality of life. Treatments must be developed to avoid some of the most unpleasant symptoms a client experiences as a result of these treatments. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of constipation related to the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and to identify treatments that are successful in managing constipation while maintaining effective control of CINV. Constipation can be a significant problem with a …

Planned Cesarean Delivery And Urinary Retention Associated With Spinal Morphine, Susan M. Diblasi

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Cesarean delivery (CD) is the second most commonly performed surgery in the United States. As such, prevention of complications associated with this procedure is a top priority in nursing care. Nurses at the study insti- tution perceived that postcesarean patients experienced increased uri- nary retention after use of spinal morphine for postoperative pain relief. This observation prompted a review of the literature indicating that limited research had been conducted in this area. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of postelective CD urinary reten- tion and dose of spinal morphine. A retrospective, quasi-experimental, three-group design was used. …

Does An Online Computer Based Critical Care Orientation Program Support The Learning Needs Of A Multigenerational Workforce?, Patricia Brady

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The complexities of today's health care system challenge acute care hospitals to provide comprehensive nursing orientation programs while meeting the needs of a multigenerational workforce. To prepare nurses to provide the highest quality of care for patients, nursing orientation must provide updated content, be cost effective, time sensitive and comprehensive, stimulate critical thinking skills, and include relevant evidence-based knowledge. Although a comprehensive nursing orientation is essential to every area of practice, specialties, such as critical care nursing, require specialized knowledge and additional skill sets that necessitate a more comprehensive training program while being sensitive to the needs of a multigenerational …

Inside The Mind Of A Rapid Response Activator, Gail Maureen Mosher

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The health care delivery system in this nation continues to spiral out of control. Statistics report on the shocking number of people who are harmed or die due to medical errors. This project will focus on one process in the armamentarium, the Rapid Response Team (RRT). The purpose of the study was to explore staff nurse perceived barriers and enhancers to an effective RRT. Qualitative design was employed and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted at a 359 bed community hospital. The sample consisted of 15 medical-surgical nurses who had experienced a rapid response (RR) event at this site. Potential subjects …

Development And Implementation Of A Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse Exam Review Program, Joan M. Walsh

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) is currently striving to attain Magnet® status; specialty certification of registered nurse (RN) staff plays an important role in achieving that goal. Unit based nursing leadership and RN staff identified neuroscience certification as both important and desirable. One of the barriers identified by the staff RNs was the lack of a study support program to assist in preparation for the certification exam. A certified neuroscience registered nurse (CNRN) exam review program motivates and supports the RN staff to seek certification and successfully sit for the exam. The primary purpose of this program was to increase the …

Program Development To Educate Nurses Regarding Pressure Ulcer Detection And Documentation, Margaret A. D'Orazio

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Pressure ulcers continue to be a major health care problem in terms of pain, quality of life, and loss of function for patients entering the acute care system. The ability of nursing professionals to identify, treat, and clearly document pressure ulcers present on admission (PO A) is a safety indicator distinguishing good_ hospitals from Centers of Excellence. Competence of the nurses at the point of entry is critical to perform an accurate skin assessment. Timely identification, objective measurement, treatment, and documentation of pressure ulcers require that nurses have adequate knowledge of this complex, multi-factorial condition. The purpose of this project …

Nurses’ Experience Of Leadership In Assisted Living: A Situational Analysis, Carole H. Bergeron

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study concentrates on the voice of registered nurses as they describe their experiences of leadership within the nontraditional, non-institutional, non-hospital environment of assisted living. It further expounds upon regulatory and corporate information as context for the nurses’ leadership experiences. The desire to hear nurses describe their personal experiences of leadership influenced the decision to use grounded theory as a methodological process. The belief that voice requires context to be most effectively understood influenced, in turn, the addition of a situational analysis approach to the grounded theory methodology. As a result, interviews and scrutiny of contextual elements form the core …