Bridging The Gap: Strategies To Enrich The Clinical Experience Of Undergraduate Nursing Students To Improve Clinical Judgment Skills, Gabrielle Hope

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Introduction: The lack of competent clinical judgement among new graduate nurses contributes to poor patient outcomes, negatively impacting patient satisfaction scores, and subsequently raising the cost of healthcare for consumers. This project explores how reflective journaling and cooperative learning activities contribute to the development of critical thinking of nursing students during their Nursing Fundamentals clinical practicum.

Methods: Seventeen students enrolled in a private university nursing program were selected as the sample. The students were introduced to the recommended learning strategies and invited to anonymously participate in a pre-survey and post-survey. The surveys were identical in content and consisted …

Essential Collaborations Among Case Managers And Providers Regarding Discharge Processes, Lashawnda Richardson

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Communication is vital between case managers and providers when patients need care coordination post-discharge. This includes but is not limited to facilitating home health services, ordering durable medical equipment, sending referrals to rehabilitation facilities, and sponsorship for uninsured or underinsured patients. This gives case managers the opportunity to educate providers on the discharge needs they ordered for their patients. The collaboration between case managers and providers allows for timely discharge planning and providing patients and their families with accurate information regarding their discharge needs.

Sleep Hygiene Education, Hope Colon

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This DNP project was designed to increase awareness of insomnia and sleep hygiene in the target community by providing an in-person educational session on sleep hygiene. The educational session provided information on insomnia, sleep hygiene habits, statistics of those with sleep disorders, and medication use for sleep. The impact of the project implementation was measured using a pre-intervention survey and a post-intervention survey. All survey items had an increase in correct answers post-intervention. In conclusion, the results revealed there was an increase in awareness and knowledge base of insomnia and sleep hygiene after the education was provided.

Er Staff & Burnout: Interventions For Stress Management, Sara Elizabeth Kerbow

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nursing is one of the most difficult professions, not only physically exhausting but the mental and emotional toll can create havoc for the person’s life (Scala & Drummond, 2016). This DNP project, “Reset”, was founded on the concept of nursing burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma causing overwhelming stress related to the emergency room nurse and staff. The purpose of this project was to show how a 15-minute mental health reset can play an essential role in stress reduction. By using complementary health modalities such as lavender essential oil with diffuser, visual imagery, and massage while listening to soft calming …

Cardiovascular Disease Improvement Project, Deglan K. Mccrystal

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Health prevention promotes positive healthcare outcomes by identifying risk factors associated with a disease process in its early stages to halt or slow its progression. Preventions, like routine screenings, facilitate the identification of risk factors or the initiation of treatment of a disease. Identifying risk factors, which often go unrecognized, helps to manage conditions like cardiovascular disease before it progresses in severity. Early treatment options or identifying risk factors that lead to cardiac disease positively impact healthcare costs by reducing the number of hospital visits, emergency services, and the need for costly long-term care. Prevention increases the quality of disease …

Improving Sexually Transmitted Infections (Sti) Education And Access To Education For Healthcare Workers In A Rural Ambulatory Clinic, Savannah Elmore

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are prevalent across the United States, with one in five people diagnosed in 2018, resulting in nearly $16 billion in medical costs. The prevention and treatment of STIs have been identified as a priority area for improvement, with healthcare providers playing a critical role in education, diagnosing, and treating STIs. The aim of this capstone project was to improve STI education and access to education for healthcare workers in a rural ambulatory clinic. Through a needs assessment and the development of objectives and a timeline, the project identified and addressed gaps in STI education and resources, …

Identifying Patients Suffering From Housing Instability In The Emergency Department, Jarvis D. Roberts

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Homelessness is the most visible form of housing instability in the United States of America. Yet, millions of people across our nation live in unstable housing, which consists of temporary housing, shelters, outside encampments, and vehicles. Many citizens facing these types of insecurities live paycheck to paycheck and are one health crisis or emergency away from financial ruin. The COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and slow hourly wage growth have exacerbated this situation. This project aimed to construct a screening tool to identify patients suffering from housing instability in the emergency department setting and provide them with community resources.

Substance Abuse Awareness Amongst Practicing Nurses, Marjenia Williams

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: This paper discusses the problem and potential solutions of substance abuse amongst practicing nurses. Substance abuse is prevalent among 10% of the nursing population in the United States (Sofer, 2019). This problem is more significant than the public realizes. It is essential that new nurses and student nurses become aware of the risks and the causes of substance abuse within the culture prior to them practicing.

Methods: A 45-minute educational presentation based upon 10 peer-reviewed articles which include five articles regarding the problem and five discussing solutions was utilized to facilitate open discussion of the topic. The …

Fostering Relationships Between New Graduate Nurses And Leadership To Increase Retention, Michelle Cotton

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Objective: To implement weekly one-on-one touch bases between nursing leaders, such as managers and directors, with newly hired, new graduate nurses, up to 1 year after graduation to improve retention of those employees. The intent is to improve retention from a baseline of 23% in 2022.

Results: 35.8% of the newly hired nurses plan to remain in their current role for the next 2-3 years.

Conclusions: Almost 55% said that they strongly agreed with the touch base contributing to development/growth. This was the lowest scoring question and the most concerning related to retention. An overwhelming majority felt …

A Review Of The Effects Of Different Types Of Stigmas On The Retention Rates Of Patients In Medication-Assisted Treatment And How To Combat The Problem, Pamela Cox

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

It is difficult to turn on the news without hearing about the opioid epidemic or a recent opioid overdose. There is hope because there is a treatment to help prevent this epidemic. That treatment is known as medication-assisted therapy (MAT), where patients can present and, if they meet the criteria, can be given a prescription for buprenorphine/naloxone combination medication. Treatment with buprenorphine/naloxone has been shown to be highly effective treatment for substance use disorder (SUD). Even though it has been proven that this combination works, less than 20% of patients diagnosed with SUD present for treatment. This study focused on …

Combating The Opioid Crisis: Opioid And Naloxone Training In A Rural School District, Phadra K. Murray

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: The opioid epidemic is plaguing North Carolina and has crept its way into the academic setting of many elementary, middle, and high schools in the state, causing school nurses to scramble and search for ways to keep students safe. This DNP project was designed to educate school nurses in a rural county in eastern North Carolina about opioid education and naloxone administration. This project intended to increase the knowledge and confidence level of school nurses in case of an opioid overdose emergency within the school. As more and more children and adolescents experiment with opioids, there is an urgent …

Incorporating Simulation Experiences Into The Nurse Aide Curriculum To Improve Clinical Judgment, Tonya A. May

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This DNP Project was designed to strengthen clinical judgment skills in nurse aide students. Incorporating simulation-based learning opportunities into the nurse aide curriculum supports the development of clinical judgment skills. Four simulation scenarios were designed to focus on the student's ability to respond within the nurse aide’s scope of practice. Pre-test and post-test surveys were developed with a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = disagree, 5 – strongly disagree) to assess the student's perception of their ability to perform, notice, interpret, respond, and reflect on patient care. A …

Cardiovascular Disease In Firefighters, Emily Jordan Baldwin

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This quality improvement project aimed to address the problem of increased cardiovascular events in firefighters in a county in the foothills of North Carolina. Nola Pender and Dorothy Orem’s theories were utilized for this project. The literature review exhibits the prevalence and significance of cardiovascular disease in firefighters. The literature review demonstrates the benefits healthy eating and exercise have on the heart and towards the prevention of cardiovascular disease. A pre- and post-test was utilized for this project and allowed for the collection of data appropriately. The results showed education on cardiovascular disease, exercise, and healthy eating increased the knowledge …

Increased Concern Of Suicide Behaviors In The Adolescent Population, Jaime Shareen-Porter Earle

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This quality improvement project focused on addressing the concern for the increase of depression, anxiety, and self-harm behaviors among adolescents, which can lead to suicidal ideation and attempts. Suicide behaviors have increased among adolescents, and research revealed that suicide is the second leading cause of death in this population. An educational PowerPoint was presented to members of the community on suicide behaviors, how to identify the behaviors, and where to get support and resources in the community. Pre- and post-surveys were used to assess the participants' knowledge and confidence levels before and after project implementation. The surveys contained the same …

Mental Health And The Black Church: Decreasing The Division In Divinity, Latonya Gray

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Racial disparities in mental health care persist for Black Americans, with only one in three who need treatment receiving it. The care they do receive is often of a poorer quality than that of other groups. Faith communities serving Black members could help address this gap by partnering with mental health professionals to meet congregants' needs. With mental health now at the forefront of public discourse, considering the specific needs of the Black community is critical. Black Americans face disproportionate mental health burdens but are more likely to seek counsel from clergy due to cultural stigma. Educating clergy on mental …

Community Educational Session On Identifying The Signs Of Depression And Resources Available, Desiree Young

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The DNP Project was designed to educate the community on identifying the signs of depression and the community resources available to them. The intent of the project was to improve the community’s knowledge of depression symptoms and the community resources available that offer assistance to those dealing with these symptoms. There is a great need for education on depression signs, as many in various communities suffer from untreated depression, which often leads to negative outcomes. The impact of the project implementation was measured by using pre- and post-survey data evaluating the participants' overall knowledge of the signs of depression, stigma …

Benefits Of Patient-Centered Education For Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Paige Bortnick

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic, lifelong illness that affects millions of individuals in the United States. The rate of diabetes has doubled over the last 20 years in America and has climbed to be the seventh leading cause of death amongst Americans. The purpose of this project was to determine if participants in the target community demonstrated increased knowledge and awareness of diabetes after receiving education. A pre-intervention and post-intervention survey was given to determine if the education was effective. Data collected revealed an increased awareness and knowledge regarding the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, lifestyle, and diet modification.

Community Education: Impact On Earlier Recognition Of Stroke, Lauren Kahn

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Cerebrovascular disease was identified as the fourth leading cause of death in Cleveland County, North Carolina from 2014 to 2018 (Cleveland County Public Health Center, 2020). Community education was identified as a potential solution to decreasing the number of community members affected by cerebrovascular disease and resulting death and disability. Five community classes were taught with 97 participants. Pre-, post-, and 1-week post-class surveys were distributed to assess baseline knowledge, knowledge gain, and knowledge retention, with 74 pre-class, 72 post-class, and 28 1-week post-class surveys returned. Of these surveys, after exclusionary criteria were used, 40 pre-class, 53 post-class, and 22 …

Self-Care And Quality Of Life Of Remotely Monitored Appalachians With Heart Failure, Patrick Rexrode Murphy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Self-Care and Quality of Life of Remotely Monitored Appalachians with Heart Failure

Patrick R. Murphy

Background: About 6.2 million persons are living with heart failure in the United States and over 960,000 new cases are diagnosed annually. The cost to provide care to this population exceeds $30 billion per year. Rates of heart failure are higher in the Appalachian region where persons are more likely to experience poverty, lack resources, and be geographically isolated. Heart failure coupled with these unique challenges can negatively impact self-care and quality of life. Numerous interventions have been attempted to support this population, but …

Benefits And Barriers Of Using Prefilled Precedex Syringes In The Operating Room: A Cost Comparison, Ashley White

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

According to a report published by the Institute of Medicine, at least 44,000 and possibly up to 98,000 Americans die each year because of medical errors in hospitals. More than 7,000 of those deaths are from medication errors alone (Stucki et al., 2013). Anesthesia providers in the operating room (OR) are at even greater risk to commit medication errors due to their easy access to medications and their autonomy to make independent choices for medication administration. A small rural community hospital in Pennsylvania lacks a protocol for Precedex preparation. Evidence-based research show the benefit of prefilled ready-to-administer syringes, but the …