Nursing Commons^™

Nursing Students’ Perceptions Of The Impact Of Teamwork And Collaboration On Patient Care, Riana Square

Honors College Theses

Teamwork and communication are two topics that a vast majority of nursing students are introduced to in their first semester of nursing school. Many nursing students have a desire to improve their communication skills and have a better understanding of the inner workings of interdisciplinary collaboration. A study across multiple cohorts of Georgia Southern Nursing students was conducted to explore their perceptions of the correlation between teamwork and patient care outcomes. This study also explores nursing students’ readiness to communicate with other healthcare professionals and the effectiveness of the means to practice these communication skills while in nursing school. It …

Parents And Health Care Teams Perceptions Of Communication In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Marjan Mardani, Haydeh Heidari

The Qualitative Report

Parents experience a lot of stress in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Then effective communication between parents and members of the care team is an essential component of improving the quality of care. The present study was conducted by qualitative exploratory research method for explaining parents and health care teams' perceptions of communication in NICU. We selected 39 participants by purposive sampling. We collected data through in-depth semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The transcripts were analysed using the conventional content analysis approach. Three themes were obtained by analyzing the data included, the nature of communication, the theme of factors affecting successful …

Implementing An Insomnia Assessment And Management Algorithm In A Rural Pirmary Care Clinic, Rebekah Gaffin

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint and significantly impacts quality of life and productivity. The accumulated total of direct and indirect healthcare costs related to insomnia is estimated to be as high as $100 billion/year and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Primary care providers play a critical role in identifying and implementing early interventions to address insomnia. However, this can be time-consuming, and providers may be unaware of the latest treatment guidelines and available resources. This project provided a research-based algorithm to identify and initiate treatment for patients 18+ with chronic insomnia in …

Promoting The Incorporation Of Regional Anesthesia To Improve Pain Management For Lower Extremity Surgeries, Kendra Knaga

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Opioid addiction in the United States is a healthcare crisis and continues to increase yearly. Multimodal pain management is a priority intervention that needs to be implemented to manage pain with less intra and postoperative opioid use. Peripheral nerve blocks are one alternative that can be used to decrease opioid use and assist in controlling pain for foot and ankle surgeries. This project aims to educate, develop, and create a protocol for popliteal nerve blocks at Hillsboro Area Hospital in Hillsboro, Illinois. As a result, the long-term goal is to reduce opioid administration and improve pain control. An educational PowerPoint …

Screening For Suicide In Veterans With Cancer, Dina E. Mcneil

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Veterans are at a higher suicide risk than the general population. Veterans with cancer are at a 47% higher risk for suicide. The Veterans Health Administration has an annual suicide screening requirement, but no requirement for more frequent assessment in this high-risk population. Clinical staff may also be hesitant due to fear and anxiety, serving as a barrier to screening. The objective of this project was to educate oncology clinical staff about risk factors for suicide in veterans with cancer, the use of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), referral processes, and local resources, and intended to increase the number …

Addressing Stroke Care Disparities Through Patient Education, Christina Annerino

Honors Capstones

It has been found across current studies and evaluations of stroke care and patient outcomes that there is a disparity in disability and mortality between male and female patients who have experienced stroke. The aforementioned studies did not identify the cause of this disparity, although a number of hypotheses for this phenomenon were provided. This study then conducted a preliminary survey of 130 participants, both men and women, aged 18-80 years old, to evaluate potential barriers to accessing stroke care and receiving treatment effectively. Preliminary survey data demonstrated consistent gaps in knowledge related to stroke risks, stroke symptoms, and when …

Incorporating A High Fidelity Transgender Simulation Into Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum, Kacee Child, Jenniepearl Spencer

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students participating in a high-fidelity transgender patient simulation. The aims were to increase student knowledge and confidence to improve communication and provide more inclusive and equitable care.

Healthcare providers are not adequately prepared to manage the unique health needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Nurses are ideally positioned to address gaps in LGBTQ healthcare by providing culturally competent care. Yet, LGBTQ health education is lacking in most undergraduate nursing school curriculums.

Methods

62 undergraduate nursing students participated in a post-surgical …

Heart Failure Zone Tool: A Quality Improvement Project, Emily Scahill, Cindy Driggers, Angelica Marquez

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Purpose

Heart failure is the leading cause of hospital admissions among adults over 65 years old and lack of patient knowledge regarding the self-management of heart failure is a key factor in rising readmission rates. This project enhances inpatient heart failure education using a laminated heart failure zone tool handout to guide heart failure education. The intent was to increase patients’ confidence regarding heart failure self-management and positively impact patients’ knowledge regarding the management of heart failure.

Materials and Methods

The process included identifying hospitalized patients who had been flagged as a heart failure core measure or had been identified …

Improving Collection Of Second Blood Pressure For Patients In Primary Care Who Present With An Elevated Reading, Jordan Sieh, Elizabeth Sundberg, Tania Arreguin

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Purpose: Early diagnosis of hypertension is critical to prevent complications such as renal and cardiovascular diseases. Many healthcare facilities do not have a blood pressure training program educating appropriate staff on importance of accurate blood pressure readings and techniques. The purpose of this project is to improve the number of patients with elevated blood pressure reading at the OneWorld Quick Sick Clinic.

Methods: Health aides/Health Assistants/Medical assistants at OneWorld Quick Sick will receive blood pressure training to review proper techniques. During this training they will also be educated on appropriate follow-up blood pressure readings and a new technique to document …

Patient-Centered Preimplant Education Session And Bi-Weekly Text Message Adherence Reminders In Patients With A Newly Implanted Cardiomems® Device: A Quality Improvement Study, Elizabeth M. Miller, Alicia Abboud, Audrey Cooper

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Rationale

Heart failure is a deadly disease, affecting over 6.2 million individuals and costing the United States an estimated 30.7 billion dollars (Virani et al., 2020). By 2023, heart failure costs in the United States are estimated to grow to 70 billion dollars with 75-80% of these costs attributed to inpatient hospitalizations (Heidereich et al., 2022). The CardioMEMs® is a small device placed in the patient’s pulmonary artery via a minimally invasive procedure by an interventional cardiologist. The use of remote patient data from the CardioMEMs® device has been shown to reduce hospital re-admissions, facilitate tailored medication management, detect increased …

Home Based Primary Care Program Evaluation Of Loneliness, Depression, And Multimorbid Conditions Of Older Midwest Veterans, Renee R. Sullivan

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Objectives: This program evaluation of Veteran Administration’s (VA) Home-Based Primary Care Program (HBPC) measured the differences in loneliness, diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and multimorbid conditions in rural and urban older adult veterans compared with older adult community-dwelling veterans. The correlations of loneliness using the 11- Item Revised University of California Los Angeles (R-UCLA) Loneliness Scale will describe the relationship of loneliness to mental health diagnoses, multimorbid conditions, demographic data, caregiver presences and the number in-person and phone contacts with the HBPC providers of a Midwestern Veterans Administration …

Evaluation And Education Of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocols For Total Knee Arthroplasty, Lauren Hunt, Jessica Prost

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) utilizes a multimodal, multidisciplinary perioperative protocol to minimize hospital length of stay, surgical complications, readmissions, and patient hospital costs (Frassanito et al., 2020). The protocols were initially established for abdominal and colorectal surgical patients; however, ERAS protocols are now widely used in other areas, including orthopedic surgery (Kaye et al., 2019). To achieve the maximum benefits, ERAS protocols must contain preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative components. A rural critical access hospital in Eastern Illinois, Crawford Memorial Hospital, serves numerous patients requiring total knee arthroplasties (TKA). While the providers utilize some aspects of ERAS protocols for these …

Implementing Pain Management Policies And Procedures At A Rural Pain Clinic, Jamie Swearingen

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The United States is facing an uprising in opioid use disorder and a rise in overdoses due to the disorder. Due to the high addiction potential of opioids and the potential for overdose, providers must be cautious and conservative in their opioid prescribing practices. In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Pain to help in prevention of developing opioid use disorder and unintentional overdoses. The lack of an opioid use disorder risk screening tool, random urine drug screens, and clear pain management contracts were identified as issues at one rural …

Building Trust To Extinguish Burnout: A Qualitative Study Of Hospital, State, And Federal Policies That Impact Pediatric Nurse Burnout In Connecticut, Cecelia Angelica Morello

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis explores how federal and state governments, as well as individual hospitals, respond or fail to respond to pediatric nurse burnout. The problem of nurse burnout is not new, and can cause nurses to make mistakes on shift, experience increased anxiety and depression, and increase risk of patient death or injury. Solutions to burnout in healthcare workers have been organized at the hospital, state, and federal government level. However, this thesis examines a lack of research on pediatric nurse burnout more specifically. After reviewing the national landscape of hospital-based solutions, short-term policy solutions, and long-term policy solutions, I examine …

A Behavioral Intervention Checklist To Reduce Re-Hospitalizations In Residents With Mental Illness, Jeffery Davis

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Skilled nursing facilities are an essential component of the continuum of care and, with the rapidly aging population, represent an increasing cost to the healthcare system. The policies beginning in the 1960s promoting the deinstitutionalization of mental health institutions have resulted in increasing numbers of individuals with serious mental illnesses now residing in skilled nursing facilities. The complex needs of individuals with mental illness have been associated with an even greater cost of care, deficient quality, and safety concerns. This quality improvement project analyzed the impact of an evidenced-based, structured behavioral intervention checklist on rehospitalization rates in individuals with mental …

Hepatitis C Management For Individuals In Custody, Oluronke D. Akinola

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a pathogen that spreads through blood and causes hepatitis C disease, a liver infection. Early infection symptoms are rare, making it a silent killer. HCV, the chronic liver disease accounts for half of all hepatocellular carcinoma cases and is the leading cause of liver transplantation in the US. This quality improvement project aimed to create an educational toolkit for the Department of Correction staff working with individuals in custody refusing HCV treatment. The education tools comprised an infographic flyer (English and Spanish) to teach individuals in custody about HCV treatment and a PowerPoint presentation …

Increasing Oral Health In A Midwest Elementary School: Quality Improvement Project, Dee Young

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Marginalized communities experience barriers to accessing oral healthcare in the United States (US). Due to this, many children are left to use the emergency department (ED) for dental care. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to improve oral health services access in children at one suburban Midwest elementary school. The objectives of this project were: a) to improve the efficiency of students registering in Fall 2023 to access available oral health exam services, b) to increase the number of students who receive an oral health exam compared to the number in the previous school year. …

Addressing Air Quality Mitigation As A Key Factor In Asthma Management And Prevention, Julia Buckles, Jewel Radford

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Asthma is the most prevalent disease in childhood and disproportionately affects African American (AA) populations in terms of prevalence and frequency of exacerbations. Air quality and environmental factors are strongly associated with the diagnosis and management of asthma and AA children are more likely to live in areas with poor air quality. An air quality flag program was implemented in a daycare located in a county with a predominantly AA population with a high prevalence of asthma diagnoses. The goal of the intervention was to increase staff awareness of air quality and the impact it can have on asthma diagnosis …

Utilization Of Depression Screening In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, John T. Norris Bsn, Rn, Dnp-Pmhnp Student, Robin Gordon Bsn, Rn, Dnp-Pmhnp Student, Margaret Harvey Phd, Aprn-Bc, Acnp, Chfn, Laura Reed Dnp, Fnp-Bc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose/Background

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder affecting millions of individuals worldwide. Research has shown that individuals with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing depression in comparison to those of the general population. Depression affects the individual's emotional well-being and has a significant impact on the management and outcomes of diabetes (Mather, 2022). This research study aims to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The PHQ-9 is one the most effective assessment tools available to identify symptoms of depression (Celik, 2020).

Methods

In this retrospective chart review, at least 50 …

Reduction Of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries In The Acute Care Setting, Bailey Rasmussen, Taylor Bacon, Andrew Gross

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Background: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) have been a longstanding problem in hospitals nationwide. HAPIs cause significant financial strain to a healthcare system and complications can be devastating to the patient.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement the Standard Pressure Injury Prevention Protocol (SPIPP) 2.0 Checklist for patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The primary aim of this study was to determine if implementing the checklist would reduce the number of HAPIs.

Methods: This project took place over a four-week period at a Midwest hospital in the ICU. Data were collected via patient chart …