The Impact Of Hyperglycemia On Post-Reperfusion Outcomes In Patients With Hyperacute Ischemic Stroke, Nicole Schumacher

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Stroke is a major contributor to disability in the United States, with ischemic stroke accounting for approximately 87% of all cases. The use of approved reperfusion therapies, including intravenous thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and mechanical thrombectomy, has significantly improved functional outcomes for ischemic stroke patients. However, hyperglycemia at the time of hospital arrival is associated with worse outcomes, including increased infarct growth, higher rates of disability, and elevated mortality. Despite this, current stroke guidelines neither exclude hyperglycemic patients from receiving reperfusion therapy nor recommend glucose management during the hyperacute phase of care. While recent studies suggest that mild …

Ebp Implementing Telehealth In Outpatient Settings, Kylee Scott, Ellianna Grammer

Scholars Week

This evidence based practice project is researching if the implementation in outpatient settings would be beneficial. Specifically in the emergency department for areas such as triage and collaboration with other physicians.

Nurse Retention Through Mentorship, Leah Lodato, Campbell Wroblewski, Sarah Endre, Annika Eldred

SPARK Symposium Presentations

High turnover rates contribute to staff shortages, increased workload, burnout, and a decline in patient care quality. Nurse retention can be incredibly costly, and it is estimated to cost $56,300 per every RN who leaves their job. For the average hospital, this can equate to roughly $3.9 to $5.8 million in losses per year.” (2024 NSI National Healthcare Retention and RN Staffing Report). Our initiative focuses on implementing a structured mentorship program for new graduate nurses at Vanderbilt’s 6 East Med-Surg unit. By pairing new nurses with experienced mentors, the program aims to improve job satisfaction, provide professional …

Colorectal Cancer Screening And Correlating Gender Disparities, Kara Marr, Megan Janssen, Margaret Payne, Laura Reed Dnp, Aprn, Fnp-Bc, Cne

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background

In 2023, colorectal cancer (CRC) was the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US, equating to approximately 50,000 total deaths (National Cancer Institute, 2024). Further, it is estimated that an additional 1.4 million Americans are living with CRC (National Cancer Institute, 2024). Early detection screening modalities remain imperative since the NIH has released a combined survival rate of 70% when utilized (National Cancer Institute, 2024). Different derivatives of CRC develop from pre-cancerous polyps and are often without signs or symptoms of disease progression; this asymptomatic period emphasizes the importance of early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer …

Navigating Excellence: A Comprehensive Program Evaluation Of An Academic Clinical Nurse Educator Pilot Course, Rachel D. Marquart

DNP Projects

Background and Rationale: Clinical instructors play a key role in nursing education, yet clinical instructors have varying degrees of formal preparation for the role. These inconsistencies affect student outcomes and instructors’ ability to effectively teach, mentor, and evaluate students. To address this, Belmont University developed the Academic Clinical Nurse Educator Program online course. This project conducted a comprehensive program evaluation to assess its effectiveness.

Aim: This project evaluated the effectiveness, success, and sustainability of an online Clinical Nurse Educator and Preceptor course designed to prepare registered nurses to teach undergraduate students and new nurses in clinical settings.

Design …

Written Reminders For Mammogram Compliance, Kristine Cholly, Marcus Barksdale, Rachel Gates, Mabel Olaya, Laura Reed Dnp, Aprn, Fnp-Bc, Cne

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background

Breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States, with a median age of mortality at 68 years old. Mammography has been shown to improve early detection and reduce mortality rates. Current United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends biennial mammograms for women aged 50-74. However, compliance with biennial mammogram screenings remains inconsistent. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of written reminder letters in improving mammogram compliance among women aged 50-74 years old. The study focuses on comparing mammogram adherence rates among patients who received reminder letters compared to those …

The Impact Of Adopting Unicef Growth And Development Modules In Enhancing Nursing Students' Knowledge: A Qualitative Study, Yousef Eljeesh, Mahmoud Ayash

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

Background: The growth and development phase are an essential and critical period of human life, especially in the early stages. It was defined by most professionals as the interval from conception to eight years of age. This interval is vital for brain growth. In addition, these developmental years have a significant and lifelong impact on children. Thus, almost all children in these years need to be well cared. Aim: The study aimed to assess the impact of adopting UNICEF modules on nursing students' knowledge about growth and development concepts. Design: A qualitative study design was used to conduct the study. …

Caring For Native American Elders: Developing Cultural Knowledge And Comfort Levels Of Senior Nursing Students In Northern California, Ireland Odonnell

Nursing | Senior Theses

Providing appropriate care to patients in the healthcare setting includes being aware of their culture. Nurses play an important role in caring for patients and need to know how to be culturally sensitive toward their patients. Various research articles highlight the lack of knowledge and comfort that current nurses and nurse educators have when caring for culturally diverse patients. Research also shows that a lack of overall knowledge about how to be culturally competent, knowing how to care for patients from different backgrounds, and understanding the effect cultural beliefs have on modern-day medicine poses a challenge when trying to provide …

The Impact Of Standardized Leadership Rounding On Nursing Satisfaction, Amber N. Vaughn

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

This quality improvement project aimed to address the lack of standardized communication between staff and management within the behavioral health service line, as this contributed to a negative culture. This project explored if implementing standardized leadership rounds would increase nursing staff satisfaction compared non-standardized rounds. This project utilized a pre- and post- intervention survey design, with a survey consisting of 15 questions. Eleven (N=11) nurses participated in the study, completing both the pre- and post- intervention surveys. There was an eight-week period of intervention between the pre- and post- intervention surveys. The pre-intervention survey mean score was 6.4848, while the …

Chalkboards To Chatbots: Helping Faculty Harness Ai For The Future Of Higher Education, Justin C. Grace

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into nursing education presented significant opportunities yet posed challenges due to varied faculty readiness. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement (QI) project evaluated an educational intervention aimed at enhancing nursing faculty's AI proficiency and confidence at Regis University’s Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions. Using a mixed-methods, pre- and post-intervention design, validated surveys assessed changes in faculty perceptions, knowledge, and skills related to AI. The intervention included a digital toolkit with nine instructional videos demonstrating practical AI applications using FreedAI’s large language model, ChatGPT, supported by voiceover narration and closed captioning. Data analysis involved descriptive …

Nursing Workplace Rituals: Communication Before, During, And After Covid-19, Angel Infante

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT

NURSING WORKPLACE RITUALS: COMMUNICATION BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER COVID-19

Angel Infante, PhD

The University of Texas at Arlington, 2025

Professors: Dr. Deborah Behan (Committee Chair), Dr. Yungfei Kao (Committee Member), and Dr. Jessica Grace Smith (Committee Member)

Background: According to Griner et al. (2021) many disruptions caused confusion for healthcare workers during the pandemic. Communication is imperative when dealing with everyday disruptions in a hospital setting. However, it is even more important to learn about the different types of communication and what is communicated during a past pandemic to know how and what to communicate in a future pandemic. …

Decreasing Hospital-Acquired Clostridium Difficile Infections, Angel S. Louder

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Clostridium Difficle Infection (CDI) is a significant healthcare threat due to its ability to be transmitted rapidly in healthcare settings. Patient engagement and participation in infection prevention initiatives at admission will lead to early implementation of isolation precautions, diagnosis of infectious pathogens, and treatment. A quality improvement project was implemented at a south-central Texas acute care hospital to engage alert and oriented adult patients, using a bundled approach to screen for the early detection of CDI within 48 hours of hospital admission, thereby reaching the goal of reducing hospital-acquired CDIs. This initiative improved patient engagement with CDI screening, reducing confirmed …

Enhancing Patient-Centered Efficiency: Reducing Cardiology Clinic No-Shows Using Technology, Pre-Visit Planning & Patient Resources, Pat Shirey

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) affects 48% of U.S. adults, requiring regular cardiology visits to manage risk factors and the early detection of complications (American Heart Association, 2019). No-shows disrupt continuity of care, worsen health outcomes (Choi et al., 2020), and decrease clinic efficiency (Goossens et al., 2022). A North Texas cardiology clinic reported a 31.9% overall no-show rate and a 42.1% no-show rate for new patients, costing $1.3 million annually.

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to reduce no-show rates through a patient-centered cardiology appointment bundle to improve continuity, patient outcomes, and efficiency.

Methods: This eight-week project utilized the Plan-Do-Study-Act …

The Impact Of High Deductible Health Plans On Mental Health Treatment, Kristian D. Dambrino

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Project Title: The Impact of High Deductible Health Plans on Mental Health Treatment

Background and Rationale: High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) are designed to reduce overall healthcare spending by shifting more upfront costs to patients to discourage overutilization of care, yet HDHPs often increase financial burden, particularly in outpatient mental health care. Patients covered by HDHPs often face substantial out-of-pocket costs before reaching their deductible. This can lead to potential delays or discontinuation of psychiatric treatment. Financial transparency interventions by the mental health provider may mitigate these barriers through more-informed patient decision-making regarding payment options. This project evaluates the impact …

Utilizing A Virtual Discharge Nurse To Help Decrease Patient Length Of Stay And Improve Earlier Discharge Times, Carol A. Romano

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project explores the impact of implementing a Virtual Discharge Nurse (VDN) on patient length of stay (LOS) and discharge timing at Paoli Hospital within the Main Line Health system. Hospital discharges are often complex and can negatively impact patient flow and outcomes. This study highlights the urgent need for innovative discharge practices in healthcare and supports the potential benefits of integrating technology into nursing roles to improve patient care and operational efficiency. The project's significance lies in addressing these challenges by utilizing VDN to enhance communication, education, and resource management during discharge. We …

Safe Nurse-Patient Ratios: A Guide For Healthy Staffing, Daria Sickler, Molly Mills, Carly Ross, Leah Cepeda

SPARK Symposium Presentations

In order to enhance patient outcomes and nurse well-being, our initiative focuses on optimizing patient-staff ratios, which improve overall quality of care while reducing nurse burnout. With involvement of key stakeholders such as legislators, policymakers, hiring departments, managers, charge nurses, and nurses themselves, we aim to foster a. collaborative approach that addresses the root causes of stress and dissatisfaction. The goal to create this supportive environment where nurses have manageable workloads, leads to increased job satisfaction and reduced burnout. We expect to see improved patient outcomes, and higher nurse retention rates due to healthier, more sustainable work environments. This approach …

Preventing Nurse Burnout In The Trauma Icu, Annelise Wilson, Samantha Pendleton, Hailey Dowd

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This change project identifies that nurse burnout is a prevalent problem within the healthcare setting, specifically with nurses working in a critical care environment. Burnout can be described as a negative outcome resulting in exhaustion (emotional, mental, physical) due to stress. The population focused on is the nursing staff on the trauma intensive care unit at VUMC. The proposed recommendation for change is to have a mandatory resource nurse on every shift. Essentially, this nurse is one who has no patients and can be utilized to fill in for breaks and perform anything under the nurse's scope of practice when …

Evidence-Based Discharge Bundle To Reduce Heart Failure Readmissions, Chelsea Zepeda

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: Heart failure (HF) affects over 6.7 million adults in the United States, resulting in frequent hospitalizations and readmissions, increased mortality, and billions of dollars spent annually on healthcare costs. Reducing readmission rates is a priority for the healthcare industry.

Objective: This evidence-based practice project aimed to reduce HF readmission rates through a bundled approach to address socioeconomic factors that place patients at higher risk for readmission, provide patient-centered education for HF management at home, and provide follow-up phone calls after discharge to assess patient symptoms.

Methods: English-speaking patients, aged 65 or older, with any active diagnosis of HF were …

Enhancing Faculty Self-Efficacy In Student Retention Through Teas Reading Comprehension Score Education, Katina A. Ennis

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Student retention remains a persistent challenge for Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs, with significant implications for the nursing workforce amid a national shortage. Faculty self-efficacy in interpreting and utilizing academic readiness data, particularly ATI TEAS reading comprehension scores, is often limited, leading to missed opportunities for early intervention. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project evaluated whether a targeted educational intervention could enhance faculty self-efficacy in using TEAS reading comprehension scores to support at-risk students and improve retention strategies.

The project employed a quantitative pre- and post-intervention design using the validated Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) …

Recognizing And Responding To Moral Distress: Using Transformational Leadership To Increase Nurse Leader Thriving, Miriam Dowling-Schmitt

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: Moral distress, burnout, and compassion fatigue in acute care nurses has increased significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic and has been associated with high levels of nursing turnover and increased costs to healthcare systems. Nurse leaders at the study organization had never received education on recognizing and responding to moral distress. Nursing engagement scores were low at the study organization in the areas of leadership support and well-being investment in nurses.

Problem Description: Between 2017 and 2021 job satisfaction for nurses with direct patient care responsibilities decreased in 20 of 21 categories according to the Bureau of Health Workforce. High …

Implementation Of A Providence Early Assessment Team (Peat), Barbara Nguyen, Crystalyn Beier, Brittny Ross, Patrick Murphy Ccrn

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Improving Safe And Effective Management Of Pain At Home, Alayna V. Olivarez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Pain is the most common clinical symptom in individuals with a cancer diagnosis. Additionally, home is the preferred place for cancer care which introduces numerous challenges for cancer pain management. The primary purpose of this literature review is to identify support interventions to enhance pain control, prevent exacerbations in pain, and optimize quality of life in individuals with cancer transitioning from the acute care setting to home. The secondary purpose of this review is to analyze patient-specific barriers influencing self-efficacy of pain management and overall health outcomes in the target population. A systematic literature search was conducted using CINAHL, EBSCOhost, …

Effectiveness Of A Multi-Departmental Nursing Tiered Orientation Model On Service Line Culture, Self-Efficacy Of Nurses, Positive Patient Outcomes And Nurse Satisfaction, Kimberly Thompson

DNP Projects

Abstract
Background: Nurses who transition into specialty practice areas in healthcare settings may demonstrate a lack of confidence and a high level of stress. Decreased levels of nursing engagement, self-efficacy, and interdepartmental team collaboration may also be seen. Multi-departmental tiered orientation models can help facilitate the development of increased confidence and competence and ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of this doctoral project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-departmental tiered orientation model for nurses hired into a specialty area. The specific objectives included were to a) determine the effectiveness of the model on service line …

Evaluating The Effect Of A Mindfulness App On Pediatric Nurses Caring For Adolescent Patients Diagnosed With Disordered Eating, Kaitlyn Green

DNP Projects

Abstract

Background. The health and wellbeing of nurses are affected by the demands of their workplace and the people that they care for. In turn, nurses’ wellbeing affects their work and patient outcomes. There are opportunities to address certain workplace structures, systems, and policies that create stressors and lead to burnout, fatigue, and poor mental and physical health. For nurses to continue to provide quality care in environments that have increasing demands, they must first feel healthy, well, and supported themselves. Healthcare leaders have a role in ensuring the wellbeing of their nursing staff. Compassion fatigue is a large focus …

The Impact Of Code Lavender On Compassion Fatigue And Burnout Of Pediatric Bedside Staff, Sara L. Castle

DNP Projects

Background: Compassion fatigue is a significant problem in healthcare that can impact staff retention, job satisfaction, and patient outcomes. Code Lavender combats compassion fatigue by serving as a crisis intervention tool using evidence-based relaxation techniques, paired with increased support from Leadership.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of Code Lavender on reported levels of compassion fatigue and burnout amongst pediatric bedside staff working on a 12-bed progressive care unit at a Children’s Hospital in a large Academic Medical Center.

Method: This study employed a pilot evaluation design, consisting of pre- and post-surveys utilizing questions from …

Evaluation Of A Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention Of Work-Related Stress, Job Satisfaction, Retention, And Quality Care: A Quality Improvement (Qi) Project, Laura M. Bragg

DNP Projects

Burnout among advanced practice providers (APPs) remains a significant concern nationally and within the University of Kentucky Healthcare system, with post-COVID evidence showing persistently elevated stress and emotional exhaustion. This quality improvement (QI) project implemented and evaluated a brief, app-based mindfulness intervention using the Headspace “Learn the Basics of Meditation” program for work-related stress, job satisfaction, mindfulness, and retention intentions among APPs. A one-group pre-post design was implemented, with 45 APPs completing the pre-intervention survey and four completing both the pre- and post-intervention surveys. Although no statistically significant improvements were observed, nonsignificant decreases in emotional exhaustion, fatigue, and turnover intention …

Cultivating Civility, Courtney Ruck

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Nurse leaders play a vital role in creating, sustaining, and ensuring a culture of civility along with a healthy work environment for both staff and patients. A challenge nurse leaders face today is the prevalence of bullying and incivility that continues to grow within the nursing profession and has detrimental effects on nursing staff, patient satisfaction, and healthcare organizations. Bullying and incivility can have disastrous effects on the mental, emotional, physical, and professional lives of those victimized by such behavior. When a culture of incivility is prevalent, patients suffer as secondary victims; patient safety and patient satisfaction are compromised. Organizations …

Improving The Psychosocial Work Environment To Prevent Sickness Absence And Turnover In Nurses: A Systematic Review, Laurent Corthésy-Blondin, Alessia Negrini, Samantha Vila Masse, Christine Genest

Revues de littérature, synthèses de connaissances

In nurses, the high rates of sickness absence (SA) and turnover generate staggering costs. Their prevalence could be reduced by acting on the work-related psychosocial factors (WRPFs) that can impact the mental health of nurses and lead to their absences and departures. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding the effectiveness of interventions that target WRPFs from a SA and turnover prevention perspective. This systematic review aims to identify interventions that target WRPFs to reduce SA and turnover in nurses, describe the methods used to evaluate their effectiveness, and report on their effectiveness at improving SA, turnover rates, and …

Implementing Gallup 12+ Employee Engagement Survey In A Critical Access Hospital, Catherine R. Hardwick

Honors Theses and Capstones

Objective: To utilize the Gallup Q12+ survey to assess baseline staff engagement among nurses and nursing assistants at a critical access hospital, implement direct education intervention, and evaluate its impact on staff engagement rates, with the goal of identifying micro and macro-problems.

Methods: This quality improved project was conducted at Littleton Regional Hospital, a level Ⅲ trauma center and critical access hospital. The PDSA cycle started on March 1 and ended May 10. The Gallup Q12+ survey was sent to Registered Nurses, Licensed Nursing Assistants, and Nursing Technicians to establish baseline staff engagement levels and areas that need improvement. Directed …

ปัจจัยที่สัมพันธ์กับความตั้งใจคงอยู่ในองค์การของพยาบาลวิชาชีพเจเนอเรชั่นแซด โรงพยาบาลระดับตติยภูมิ สังกัดมหาวิทยาลัย ภาคตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ, แคทลียา เจณวิทย์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อ 1) ศึกษาความตั้งใจคงอยู่ในองค์การของพยาบาลวิชาชีพเจเนอเรชั่นแซด โรงพยาบาลระดับตติยภูมิ สังกัดมหาวิทยาลัย ภาคตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ และ 2) ศึกษาความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างภาวะผู้นำสอดคล้องของหัวหน้าหอผู้ป่วย คุณภาพชีวิตในการทำงาน ความเข้มแข็งทางจิตใจกับความตั้งใจคงอยู่ในองค์การของพยาบาลวิชาชีพเจเนอเรชั่นแซด กลุ่มตัวอย่าง คือ พยาบาลวิชาชีพอายุ 22-29 ปี จำนวน 189 คน จากโรงพยาบาลระดับตติยภูมิ สังกัดมหาวิทยาลัย ภาคตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ 3 แห่ง โดยใช้แบบสอบถาม Google form จำนวน 1 ชุด 5 ตอน ได้แก่ แบบสอบถามข้อมูลส่วนบุคคล แบบสอบถามภาวะผู้นำสอดคล้องของหัวหน้าหอผู้ป่วย แบบสอบถามคุณภาพชีวิตในการทำงาน แบบสอบถามความเข้มแข็งทางจิตใจ แบบสอบถามความตั้งใจคงอยู่ในองค์การ มีค่าความเที่ยงเท่ากับ .98, .94, .89, 1.00 วิเคราะห์ข้อมูลโดยใช้สถิติพรรณนาหาค่าความถี่ ร้อยละ ค่าเฉลี่ย ส่วนเบี่ยงเบนมาตรฐาน และหาความสัมพันธ์โดยใช้สถิติ Chi-square และรายงานขนาดความสัมพันธ์ด้วย Phi coefficient ผลการวิจัยพบว่า 1) ความตั้งใจคงอยู่ในองค์การของพยาบาลวิชาชีพเจเนอเรชั่นแซด จำนวน 189 คน ส่วนใหญ่มีความตั้งใจที่จะคงอยู่ในองค์การ คิดเป็นร้อยละ 70.40 และกลุ่มที่ตั้งใจจะลาออกจากองค์การคิดเป็นร้อยละ 29.60 2) ภาวะผู้นำสอดคล้องของหัวหน้าหอผู้ป่วย คุณภาพชีวิตในการทำงาน ความเข้มแข็งทางจิตใจมีความสัมพันธ์กับความตั้งใจคงอยู่ในองค์การของพยาบาลวิชาชีพเจเนอเรชั่นแซดอย่างมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติที่ระดับ .05 (χ² = 59.93, χ² = 46.95, χ² = 14.87) ตามลำดับ โดยภาวะผู้นำสอดคล้องของหัวหน้าหอผู้ป่วย คุณภาพชีวิตในการทำงานมีความสัมพันธ์ค่อนข้างสูง (Phi = .56, Phi = .50) และความเข้มแข็งทางจิตใจมีความสัมพันธ์ปานกลาง (Phi = .28)