Nursing Commons^™

The Lived Experience Of Families With A Mentally Ill Family Member, Moses Wankiiri, Karen B. Drake, Kimberley R. Meyer

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

The study of the lived experience of families with a mentally ill family member involved seven family members who had come to visit their mentally ill relatives in the mental Hospital. The major objective was to explore the lived experience of families with a persistent1 mentally ill family member. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive-phenomenological design, participants were purposively sampled and data was collected using a tape recorder. Colaizzi’s phenomenological approach for data management was then employed. The study revealed that family members held misconceptions about mental illness
and described care as a contractual obligation. They lived in misery as …

Medical Home Model Of Patient-Centered Health Care, Sandra N. Berryman, Sheri P. Palmer, James E. Kohl, Jon S. Parham

Faculty Publications

The medical home offers a patient-centered model of care. The foundation of a medical home is the organized and continuous interprofessional care of patients.

Self-Management Of Diabetes In Low-Income Appalachian Women., Erin Austin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Diabetes mellitus is a major health concern and the number of Americans diagnosed with the disease is quickly increasing, affecting all aspects of an individual’s life and requiring significant self-involvement. Little is known about how low-income Appalachian women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) manage their diabetes from day-to-day. This population struggles to effectively manage the illness as they desire for many reasons. The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of Appalachian women in self-managing diabetes so that health care providers can better meet the social and cultural needs of this unique population.

This study used …

Nurse Residency Program: Best Practices For Optimizing Organizational Success, Marilyn Meyer Bratt

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

A nurse residency program’s best practice recommendations are presented within this article and are organized around three processes: establishing the program infrastructure, creating a multistaged evidence-based program, and sustaining the program through appropriate evaluation and dissemination of results. These recommendations represent lessons learned and key findings derived from a team of academic and nursing professional development educators after 7 years of residency program implementation at multiple rural and urban hospital sites. Organizations, regardless of size and resources, can use these recommendations to increase the likelihood of building a successful residency program.

Cinemeducation: Teaching Family Assessment Skills Using Full-Length Movies, Astrid H. Wilson, Barbara J. Blake, Gloria A. Taylor, Glenda Hannings

Faculty Articles

A thorough family assessment provides a foundation for the nursing process when working with families. Therefore, nurses, along with other health care providers must develop expertise in conducting family assessments to provide the best possible care within the community. This article describes an innovative educational strategy using movies to teach family assessment skills and puts forth recommendations for future research to provide evidence to support this teaching modality.

A College Study On Grief, Depression, And Anxiety, Briana Alexandre Paulo

Senior Honors Projects

Trauma and stress have been commonly studied with the occurrence of anxiety disorders. However, less research has been conducted on the relationship between the experience of loss, the centrality of the loss to a person’s identity and the experience and severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety. Current research has examined the relationship between a significant stressful event and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of anxiety and depression are experienced by people during various points in their life, although higher levels of these disorders may be exhibited after having experienced a loss or stressful life event.

Grief can …

Firefighter Fitness-For-Duty Medical Screening: A Peer Review Quality Improvement Pilot, Julie Collings Rochefort

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite the overwhelming evidence that sudden cardiac death is the most frequent cause of firefighter fatalities, many fire departments do not have a program to measure or maintain basic firefighter fitness and health. This project evaluated and compared medical screening outcomes of four industrial fire brigades within a multinational oil and gas corporation and introduced a quality improvement plan. The goal of this project was to apply the evidence and measure outcomes to determine the most effective way to ensure that firefighters in a corporate setting are healthy. This was accomplished by utilizing established guidelines in developing an educational program …

Implementing A Bystander Awareness Program On A University Campus, Robert Joseph Vadovic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Between 17% and 62% of college students experience some form of violence during their time at school. About 25% of female college students experience a sexual assault before graduating. One university had seen an increase in violence, including assaults and bias events. Administrators and nurses implemented a bystander awareness program to help alleviate this growing problem. Members of the college's residence life staff and its Greek organizations (fraternities and sororities) participated in the Step Up program, a prosocial training program to get people to intervene safely when witnessing acts of violence. Participants (N=236) completed surveys prior to the program, immediately …

Sickle Cell Disease: A Quality Improvement Initiative For Emergency Department Providers, Pretrescia Marie Walker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an incurable, chronic condition that results in a constellation of disorders, frequent emergency department (ED) visits, and repeated hospital admissions. Those affected often suffer from pain crisis, infection, acute chest syndrome, stroke, and multi-organ impairment and frequently do not receive adequate pain management during acute pain episodes because ED providers view them as drug seeking. The majority of patients with SCD are African-American and may be low income, uninsured, or on Medicaid. As a result, these demographics make ED under-treatment of pain in patients with SCD a health equity issue. This was a pre-experimental one …

Nursing Students’ Cultural Immersion In Kenya: A Case For A Clinical Capstone Site, Nancy C. Wilk

Nursing Faculty/Staff Publications

Awareness of cultural concepts is an important component of nursing education and cultural immersion experiences are invaluable in fostering understanding of them. These types of experiences take students out of their comfort zone and challenge them both personally and professionally.

For several years, students on all levels have been participating in a 10-day trip to Kenya led by nursing faculty. Undergraduate students who go on the trip receive clinical credit for their community health course and are required to journal daily about their experiences while on the trip and write a reflection paper for the course when they return. The …

Bronchial Thermoplasty In The Endoscopy Unit Reducing Smooth Muscle Hypertrophy Asthmatic, Marie Porter Rn, Bsn, Cgrn

Patient Care Services / Nursing

No abstract provided.

Conference Learnings, Kimberly Bartman Rn, Bsn, Cvn

Patient Care Services / Nursing

No abstract provided.

Spanning The Bridge To Patient Safety Through Medication Bar Code Scanning In The Emergency Department (Ed) Setting, Susan Teti Bsn, Rn

Patient Care Services / Nursing

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Study/Article Characteristics And Methodological Quality Of International Nurse Workplace Violence Research Published Before And After The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert On Disruptive Behaviors, Terressa Margarette Stowell Love

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The majority of new nurses experience workplace violence from other nurses. The purpose of this study was to compare study/research characteristics and methodological quality of international nurse workplace violence research published before and after the 2008 release of the U.S. The Joint Commission (TJC) sentinel event alert on disruptive behaviors.

Methods: Thirty-nine quantitative nurse workplace violence research articles published between 2001 and 2012 were assessed and divided into two groups: articles published (a) before the 2008 TJC sentinel event alert or the same year, i.e., 2001-2008 (BTJC) and (b) after the 2008 TJC sentinel event alert, i.e., 2009-2012 (ATJC). …

Evaluating Shared Governance For Nursing Excellence, Evette Michelle Wilson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The national challenges of nursing shortages, decreased staffing levels, and increased patient acuities have contributed to nurse's increased workload and job dissatisfaction. Nurses have become frustrated with the professional practice environment. The inability to make decisions about issues that affect their nursing practice and the care provided to their patients results in nurses leaving the work environment in search of higher job satisfaction. Employers are becoming more creative in their strategies to improve the work environment and retain nurses within their organizations. Healthcare leaders have implemented management strategies such as shared governance models. These models focus on providing a satisfying …

Dare To…. Defy C Diff, Lourdes C. Fernandez Rn, Bsn, Ccrn, Csc, Roslyn M. Harris Ms, Bsn, Rn, Ccrn-Cmc

Patient Care Services / Nursing

No abstract provided.

Nutritional Status Of Patients With End Stage Liver Disease: An Outpatient Assessment, Anna Marie Cumming-Browne Hefner Phd, Msn, Cpnp, Rn

Dissertations

Cirrhosis is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. It is well documented end stage liver disease drives a patient to a catabolic state thus depleting them of essential nutrients. Malnutrition is often unrecognized and untreated in outpatients. Though BMI, nutritional intake, anthropometric measurements have been used in clinical trials, there still remains no standard nutritional assessment. The purpose of this dissertation was to (1) identify the incidence of malnutrition in patients with compensated and decompensated liver disease utilizing defined nutritional parameters (Subjective Global Assessment, anthropometric measurements, hand grip strength, and laboratory values) and (2) correlate with …

Psychometric Properties Of Standardized Patient And Faculty Rater's Evaluations Of Pre-Licensure Nursing Student Competencies, Karen A. Macauley Phd, Dnp, Fnp-Bc, Gnp, Bc

Dissertations

The use of simulation as a teaching modality has been rooted in the military, aviation, space, and engineering for centuries (Bradley, 2006). Clinical simulation allows for training of healthcare providers that might be too costly, risky, or hazardous in the clinical setting (Bradley, 2006). A variety of simulation modalities are used including virtual learning, task trainers, mannequins, and standardized patients (SPs). External demands for improved accountability of clinical performance is requiring nursing educators to reevaluate methods of teaching and how we measure nursing competence (Nehring & Lashley, 2010). Standardized patients have been used in medical school curricula to teach and …

Description Of Medical-Surgical Nurses Care Of Patients At Risk For Pressure Ulcers, Barbara Jean Mayer Phd

Dissertations

Aim: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the level of understanding of PU development and prevention and perceptions of implementing PU prevention measures in nurses caring for patients in medical-surgical units. Method: The study was conducted in three (3) community hospitals within the same healthcare system using an Interpretive Description approach. Six (6) focus groups were conducted including thirty (30) participants. Findings: Participants described their knowledge of PU development and prevention as good and perceived continuing education as important in maintaining knowledge levels. Two (2) methods of identifying patients at risk for PU development were …

Risk-Appropriate Maternal Care: Identifying Risk Factors That Effect Maternal Outcome, Lucy R. Van Otterloo Phd, Msn, Rnc, Cns

Dissertations

Although maternal deaths are the most tragic of obstetric events it continues to be a rare event. Maternal morbidity, on the other hand, is increasing and poses a greater impact on the economic, psychological, and physical health of the woman and her family, yet it has not been the focus of measurement or research since there is no systematic collection of data available. As complications increase, the likelihood of adverse maternal outcomes such as longer postpartum stays due to the need for more extensive care will also increase. Nurses are being challenged to use their knowledge and skills to identify …