Other Nursing Commons^™

Patient Perception Of Nurse Practitioner Care, Nurse Practitioner Scope Of Practice And How That Influences Provider Choice, Naomi Hemp

Doctoral Projects

This project investigates patients' perceptions of nurse practitioner (NP) care versus physician (MD) care, the factors influencing these perceptions, and patients' understanding of NP scope of practice. A cross-sectional design was used, gathering quantitative data through an anonymous one-time survey distributed via Qualtrics, open for three months. Questions were based on The Watson Caritas Patient Score (WCPS) and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (HCAHPS). Data were analyzed using Intellectus Statistics software™, with descriptive statistics summarizing the findings. A two-tailed paired samples t-test revealed statistically significant differences in favor of patients' perceptions of NP care versus …

Enhancing Nurse Competency: Proper Application Of Chlorhexidine Gluconate Dressings To Prevent Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections, Joseph Earich

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) pose a significant risk to patient safety and healthcare outcomes. The proposed Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project addresses the knowledge gap among nurses regarding the correct procedures for changing chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) dressings on central lines. The goal is to enhance nurse education and adherence to best practices, thereby reducing the incidence of CLABSIs. The project employs a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test methodology. Nurses will complete a pre-test to assess their baseline knowledge of CHG dressing changes. The nurse will participate in a hands-on educational session to improve their understanding and …

Development Of A Clinical Pathway For Acute Pain Management As An Element Of The Prevention Of Delirium In Older Adult Trauma Surgery Patients, Stacey Mermigos

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

For hospitalized patients, delirium is prevalent and associated with poor outcomes including increased mortality, morbidity, hospital length of stay, and healthcare costs. Although past studies have identified effective interventions to both prevent and manage delirium in critically ill patients, the most widely used evidence is not easily generalized to non-critically ill patients, specifically trauma patients who experience acute pain, serial surgical procedures, and other notable precipitating and predisposing factors. Clinical pathways are structured plans that are useful for encouraging consistent, evidence-based interventions for various medical conditions and situations. At this time, there is no clinical pathway for the prevention of …

A Four-Year Longitudinal Study Of Effectiveness Of Evidence-Based Bundle Practices For Preventing Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections In An Academic Health Care Center, May Mei-Sheng Riley

Doctoral Projects

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) significantly contribute to morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, and elevated healthcare costs, underscoring the crucial need for prevention to ensure patient safety. Despite ongoing mitigation efforts, CAUTI prevalence remained a concern in our facility at the time of this study. Catheter insertion and maintenance bundles, a recognized framework utilizing teamwork, collaboration, and focused interventions, were implemented to reduce CAUTIs and improve patient safety. This study evaluated the effectiveness of these bundles in reducing CAUTIs and catheter utilization to identify best practices for enhanced catheter management and care quality.

Enhancing Hospital Throughput With The Power Of Reminders: Implementing A Discharge Before Noon Strategy At An Urban Teaching Hospital, Jessie Ventura

Doctoral Projects

The doctoral project deploys a "Discharge Before Noon" strategy at an urban teaching hospital to resolve discharge delays and improve patient throughput efficiency. Hospitals experiencing overcrowding must prioritize timely patient discharges to enhance clinical results and operational performance. The project adopted the PARIHS framework to steer implementation through its emphasis on evidence-based practices, contextual factors, and facilitation strategies. The research gathered discharge data and team coordination results before and after the intervention period. The findings revealed elevated discharge numbers before noon and substantial progress in interdisciplinary team collaboration. The initiative indicated an optimizing trend for discharge procedures, even though statistical …

Exploring Metacognitive Interventions To Enhance Pre-Licensure Nursing Student Academic Performance: A Mixed-Methods Perspective, Angela Christian, Kara Delafosse

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

rigorous demands of nursing school and the high expectations for critical thinking. Situating students for success requires implementing effective study strategies. Metacognition is the ability of students to manage their studying and learning tactics, while recognizing how and when to employ various strategies to master content (Chang et al., 2021). Metacognition directly correlates with enhanced critical thinking, clinical judgment, effective communication skills, and problem-solving capabilities which are critical in the nursing profession (Chang et al., 2021). Incorporating these skills to assist students as they matriculate through their academic journey situates them for success in the nursing profession. Using metacognitive awareness …

Cardiac-Surgical Advanced Life Support (Cals-S), Rachel Hewett, Lois Lenzmeier, Amber Martin

Nursing Posters

Improve resuscitation outcomes of cardiovascular surgery patients through the adoption of the Cardiac Advanced Life Support-Surgical (CALS-S) algorithm for cardiac arrest.

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover: Generational Diversity At Centracare, Theresa Reichert, Lora Gullette, Britney Winkelman

Nursing Posters

The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) identifies key elements of a health work environment. Key elements to build belonging within a health work environment (HWE) include:

• Recognizing the value each person brings to the team
• Open, respectful, and effective communication
• Helping teams identify missing "F"s by valuing multiple perspectives
• Avoiding communication breakdowns
• Building departmental cultures where it is safe for employees to speak up with safety concerns
• Advancing collaboration and mutual respect, even during conflict.
• Strengthening employee fulfillment, retention and morale

At CentraCare, many different generations work together to care for patients and one another. Understanding generational strengths …

Developing Education To Improve Confidence And Competence In Handling Physical And Mental Health Emergencies For Ambulatory Care Nurses, Teresa Nathan, Cathrine Robak

Nursing Posters

With over 60 clinics employing over 600 nursing staff, the educational needs for the CentraCare clinic system are vast and diverse. We conducted a learning needs assessment, identifying confidence and competence gaps in the subjects of physical health and mental health emergencies as a theme across the clinic system.

A Tapestry For Sustaining Perioperative Participation, Larry Asplin, Joanne Oliver-Coleman

Nursing Posters

Perioperative nursing shortages are becoming critical. Many baby boomers are retiring. As a result, this team was tasked to create some basic principles that will help sustain the value of perioperative nursing by utilizing a multigenerational approach.

Perioperative Resources Nurses are pivotal in enhancing the quality and efficiency of care within surgical settings. These nurses operationalize evidence-based standards for healthy work environments and promote creativity in implementing these standards. They can be full-time, part-time, virtual, or volunteer.

High-Risk Tcm Program & Decreasing Hospital Readmissions, Elise Hedman, Christine Erickson

Nursing Posters

Prevent hospital readmissions in high-risk TCM patients utilizing the Community Paramedic program as a resource to visit patients in the home.

Ialways Perform Bedside Report, Lindsay Kephart

Nursing Posters

The aim was to create a standard tool for handoff that aids nurses and providers to consistently communicate patient information in the inpatient acute care setting.

Key Driver:

• Staff reported confusion surrounding several different acronyms or tools used to discuss patient information across the care team.

Creating Standard Work To Improve Length Of Stay, Jennifer Burris, Patricia Dumonceaux, Lindsay Kephart

Nursing Posters

Plan:

Improve the geometric mean length of stay (GMLOW) from 1.071 to 1.024 by creating and implementing patient flow and throughput standard work.

Do:

Implement standard work for interdisciplinary team members.

• Create a culture of accountability with consistent use of the expected discharge date (EDD) and patient milestones in Epic, during hand offs, and use of My Care Boards.
• Ensure provider to nurse communication occurs daily using ALWAYS, a standardized tool
• Create and ensure beside nurse-to-nurse hand off occurs using a standardized method known as iALWAYS.
• Create and implement patient education tools.
• Enhance discharge readiness tools to improve real-time communication …

Consistent Inventory Of Sterilized Instruments Ensures A Safe And Uncompromised Supply Of Instruments For Procedural Use, Tiffany Tammen, Amber Eckstein, Ellen Simonson

Nursing Posters

CentraCare Rice Memorial Hospital received a regulatory citation related to sterile instrument integrity and storage. Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) created a systematic approach to assess instrument inventory and integrity to ensure an uncompromised supply of instruments for procedural use.

Improving Workflows For Filling Provider Contractor Needs - Sw Region, Erika Lamb, Kristi Patterson

Nursing Posters

An interdisciplinary team was brought together to solve for the following problems:

• The process for filling contractor needs in Willmar was unclear. Willmar has high contractor utilization which is expected to continue into the foreseeable future.
• Turnaround Times: "Regular" provider hires: 90 days. Contractor hires: 120 days. At times, contractor needs at RMH were asked to be filled within 60 days.
• There were gaps in communication across roles regarding the progress, contractor onboarding, perceived challenges, and potential red flags.

Improving Patient Outcomes & Decreasing Cost Of Care, Kate Fischer, Christine Wiles

Nursing Posters

Increase patient's self-management of their chronic conditions while decreasing hospitalizations, avoidable ED visits and cost of care.

Identification Of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: The Impact Of A Nurse Led Screening Tool Utilizing The Ottawa Rule, Chandra Brower, Shannon Krumvieda, Shalana Bolton

Nursing Posters

The ETC lacked a formal tirage process for identification of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH), which can lead to delayed treatment and suboptimal patient outcomes. Data showed SAH patients who presented to the Emergency Trauma Center (ETC) with headache (HA) and hypertension frequently had long wait times before evaluation by a provider.

Improving Monticello Emergency Department Stroke Door To Drug Time, Andrew Winter Eppa, Alea Stanger, Jessica Miller, Naomi Schneider, Kristi Patterson

Nursing Posters

The aim of this project is to decrease the Monticello ED Stroke Door to Drug measure performance from the baseline of 67 minutes in CY2024 to < 60 minutes by September 30, 2025.

Innovating Clinical Documentation: The Role Of Speech Recognition In Nursing, Caylee L. Hagen, Heather Thyen

Nursing Posters

As nurses, documentation is a critical part of our daily workflow, and it is time consuming.  Speech-to-Text offers a hands-free, efficient solution that allows nursing to dictate notes.

Iv Infusion Pump Integration Journey, Holly Kockler, Heather Thyen

Nursing Posters

Implement Infusion Pump Integration systemwide across CentraCare (excluding Surgery, Endo, EP Lab, Cath Lab, NICU, and Special Care Nursery).

The aim for this project was to enhance patient safety by reducing infusion pump programming errors and increase nurse efficiency by reducing pump programming steps and decrease burden of documentation.

Leveling Up Epic Tools To Streamline Care, Lindsay Kephart, Holly Kockler, Emily Eggert

Nursing Posters

The aim for this project was to improve discharge planning collaboration amongst the entire care team in 4 inpatient pilot depts at St. Cloud Hospital

Key Drivers:

• Improve communication across the care team
• Help to efficiently review a patient's discharge plan
• Track patient progress toward discharge in real-time
• Increase the visibility of outstanding care team tasks and discharge delays
• Improve data collection to enhance the discharge process

Commencement Program 2025, Loma Linda University

Commencement Programs

CONTENTS

2 | Message from the President

3 | 2025 Events of Commencement

5 | The Academic Procession

6 | Institutional Administration

7 | Board of Trustees

8 | Significance of Academic Regalia

9 | University History Highlights

11 | Criteria for Institutional Awards

13 | Loma Linda University Health and Loma Linda University Honorees

The Programs, The School Honorees, and The Speakers

29 | School of Medicine

50 | School of Pharmacy

63 | School of Dentistry

81 | School of Public Health

94 | San Manuel Gateway College

101 | School of Allied Health Professions - Allied Health …

Lateral Violence Awareness In Nursing Students At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Aika Owens

Honors Theses

The purpose of this honors thesis was to obtain descriptive data about how nursing students at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Professional Nursing Practice perceive lateral violence in their clinical rotations and educational environments. This Honors thesis is significant to nursing because although lateral violence is a well-researched topic among scholars of nursing practice, there is little gathered data regarding lateral violence among nursing students, specifically at the University of Southern Mississippi. Nursing students are a vital population to examine because nursing students are often first exposed to lateral violence within a clinical setting, leading to early internalization …

Reducing Falls In The Emergency Department By Implementing A Virtual Tele Sitter, Danette Riherd

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose: This Quality Improvement project focused on evaluating the effectiveness of a portable tele-sitter device in reducing fall rates in the emergency department from February 10, 2025 to May 1, 2025. Background: This project was implemented in a 20-bed emergency department within a hospital system located within the suburbs of a major United States city. Methodology: Baseline data was collected prior to project implementation. Data collected during the implementation period was then collected and compared to baseline data to evaluate whether the intervention effectively reduced falls in the emergency department. Results: Post implementation descriptive statistics indicated a 43% reduction in …

The Lived Experience Of New Graduate Nurses Implementing Evidence-Based Practice In A Clinical Setting, Kimberly A. Mcfarland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive phenomenological analysis study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of new graduate nurses (NGNs) as they implemented evidence-based practice (EBP) in clinical settings. This study addressed the problem that NGNs often lack the skills and confidence to effectively apply EBP, despite its critical role in improving patient outcomes. The research aimed to provide insight into the challenges, support systems, and strategies that influence EBP integration during the transition from student to practicing nurse. The study utilized the interpretive phenomenological analysis methodology to analyze data collected through semistructured interviews conducted via the Teams …

Health Literacy, Health Perception, And Influencing Factors Among Immigrants, Canan Birimoglu Okuyan, Ebru Deveci, Fatma Karasu

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Individuals living in rural areas face several healthcare disadvantages, including limited access to medical facilities and specialists during emergencies. This study examines healthy lifestyle behaviors, health perceptions, and influencing factors among immigrants in a rural region of southern Türkiye.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved immigrants registered at a family health center. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Perception of Health Scale, and the Health Literacy Scale.

Results: Statistically significant differences in THLS-32 scores were found based on participants’ occupation, marital status, and education level (p < 0.05). A moderately positive correlation was observed between health literacy and health perception scores (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Research on the relationship between …

The Incidence Of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries In The Setting Of The Changing Nursing Workforce Throughout The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jacqueline H. Jacobs

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Background: This study examines how the experience level of Registered Nurses (RNs) has declined while the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) has increased from 2018 to 2022. Purpose: To evaluate the association between nurses’ experience level and patient outcomes, specifically HAPIs, on a state-by-state basis. Methods: Retrospective, observational study of Medicare patients hospitalized in 41 states using the Medicare 5% Limited Dataset. Nurse experience was measured by the date of first licensure using the Nursing Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN). Outcomes include a comparison of the percent increase in HAPIs and change in RN experience level by state. …

Facilitating The Use Of Sbar By Nursing Staff For Handoff Communication, Amarillis L. Tompkins

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Clear communication during shift handoffs is crucial to minimize errors and ensure patient safety in intensive care. The current SBAR framework used in the MICU is constrained by limited documentation space, which led to communication inefficiencies and heightened risks for patient care.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In the NFSG VA MICU, will staff nurses (P) using a revised SBAR communication tool with a checklist (I), compared to the current outdated SBAR tool without a checklist (C), improve the accuracy and completeness of patient handoff communication (O) over eight weeks (T)?

Evidence: The project …

Mindfulness Meditation For Informal Caregivers Of Individuals Living With Alzheimer's Disease, Stacey Miller

Theses and Graduate Projects

Abstract

Caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease places significant emotional, physical, financial, and psychological burden on caregivers. Alzheimer’s disease is leading to an increase in family members becoming informal caregivers for their loved ones living with this disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association (2022), 66% of caregivers for people with dementia live in their homes with them. This scholarly project, through a literature review and qualitative data collection, explored the lived experiences of informal caregivers leading to feelings of stress. Mindfulness meditation provides proven benefits to stress management. Margaret Newman’s theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness lays the foundation for …

The Spiritual Call Of Nursing: Supporting Patients In Spiritual Distress, Cheryl Green, Lauren Thayer, Eliza Dickerson Rn

Posters

Nursing has historically been associated with the spiritual. Referred to “anamcara,” a soul friend in Celtic writings (Groves & Klauser, 2005), nurses accompany those in need, and the ill, from birth to end-of-life. The purpose of this project was to increase awareness of nurses in the identification of patients’ Spiritual Distress, a NANDA diagnosis.