Nursing Commons^™

Implementation Of A Dual-Registered Nurse Skin Assessment Protocol To Reduce Hospital Acquired Pressure Injuries, Kaylie V. Newbold, Nishita Trivedi, Mckenzie Clendenen, Jariah Mcdaniel

Scholars Week

Hospital-acquired pressure injuries(HAPIs) remain a significant patient safety concern due to gaps in early detection, lack of structured skin assessments, and thorough documentation. This evidence based practice project proposes a dual-Registered Nurse skin assessment protocol, requiring two Registered Nurses to perform a full risk assessment and co-sign documentation, within two hours of hospital admission, and every 12 hours thereafter. Implementing these practices will improve accuracy, reduce missed injuries, further improve the use of other skin assessment tools such as the Braden Scale. This set of interventions promotes early detection, prevention, accountability, and improved patient outcomes, guided by the Health Promotion …

Reducing Nurse Burnout, Kaylee R. Mofield

Scholars Week

I presented an evidence-based project to a healthcare facility with interventions and a suggested policy change to help reduce nurse burnout. One suggested policy change I made was changing the staffing policy. Within this new policy I suggest that if the patient census was 25 patients it calls for 5 nurses, 17-20 patient calls for 4 nurses, 16 or less patients calls for 3 nurses; along with no calling off staff due to census but rather utilizing this staff as a float or resource nurse. Another suggestion I made was nursing leadership holding monthly “check-in” meetings separate from the monthly …

Fast Track In The Emergency Department, Raegan Luechtefeld, Ella Kjellberg

Scholars Week

Emergency departments nationwide all consistently work to improve efficiency and patient care, reduce wait times to be seen and length of stay, decrease overcrowding, and increase both staff and patient satisfaction. One way to utilize evidence-based practice and provide better patient outcomes is to implement “fast tracks” into emergency departments. This is used as a triage tool in order to separate critical patients from ones with minor illnesses and injuries. Fast tracks help to accomplish all of the stated goals by helping the providers and nurses to give more specialized and efficient care. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project …

Decreasing Wound Healing Times By Decreasing Stress Levels, Bayleigh S. Kraus, Colson Burnett, Kelsey Spann

Scholars Week

The relationship between stress levels and delayed wound healing needs to be further investigated, particularly in hospitalized and chronically ill patients. Research shows that psychological stress can impair immune function, reduce tissue regeneration, and prolong inflammation, all of which slow the healing process. It is important to explore how both acute and chronic stress affect different types of wounds, such as surgical incisions, pressure injuries, and diabetic ulcers. Additionally, identifying which stress-reduction interventions are most effective in improving healing outcomes is essential. Understanding these factors can help nurses implement targeted, evidence-based interventions to promote faster recovery.

Implementing Labor Plans To Increase Labor Satisfaction, Allyson G. Johnson, Emma G. Hancock, Kinley Edwards

Scholars Week

This scholarly presentation examines the implementation of a standardized birth plan tool within a healthcare facility to improve maternal birth satisfaction. The project focuses on enhancing patient-provider communication, supporting shared decision-making, and ensuring that patient preferences are clearly documented and respected throughout labor and delivery. Findings suggest that integrating a structured birth plan tool may increase maternal satisfaction and promote more patient-centered obstetric care.

Reducing 30-Day Readmissions: Simplifying Discharge, Olivia Hibbs

Scholars Week

Hospital readmissions within 30 days remain a major challenge for healthcare systems and are often linked to ineffective discharge communication and low patient health literacy. Improving discharge planning through simplified instructions, early education, and the teach-back method can help ensure patients understand their medications, follow-up care, and warning signs after leaving the hospital. Strengthening communication and care coordination during the transition from hospital to home may improve patient outcomes and reduce preventable readmissions.

Meds-To-Beds Improving Medication Adherence, Hannah Draper, Regan Ashby, Ryan Rieke

Scholars Week

The Meds-to-Beds program improves medication adherence by delivering prescribed medications directly to patients before hospital discharge, ensuring timely access and reducing barriers such as transportation or pharmacy delays. By incorporating bedside education from pharmacists, patients gain a clearer understanding of their medications, which enhances confidence and proper use. This coordinated approach has been shown to decrease readmission rates and improve overall patient outcomes.

Implementing A Health Literacy Assessment To Reduce Readmissions, Saiylor M. Beecham, Jewel Render, Bethany Pruitt

Scholars Week

This presentation examines the impact of limited health literacy on patient outcomes, highlighting its role in medication errors and hospital readmissions. Grounded in Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory, it emphasizes the importance of implementing standardized, non-stigmatizing health literacy assessments to improve nurse-patient communication and patient understanding. Evidence-based strategies such as teach-back methods and plain language education are recommended to enhance patient safety and reduce preventable readmissions.

Assessing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Christine A. Mccaulay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice capstone project presents the development and evaluation of a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the assessment and management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in adults. The project addresses the ongoing challenge of diabetes-related complications and hospitalizations, highlighting the critical role of personalized patient education and the integration of smartphone technology for home monitoring. Central to this initiative was the question of whether an expert panel would endorse an evidence-based guideline for diabetes monitoring using innovative technology, as evaluated by the AGREE II tool. A robust review of the literature supported the guideline’s development, with high-quality …

Reducing Social Isolation In Elderly Hospice Patients Through Structured Social Interventions, Ashley Babayan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This doctoral project was conducted as a quality improvement organizational change initiative aimed at reducing social isolation among elderly hospice patients through structured social interventions. Social isolation is a significant psychosocial concern in hospice populations and is associated with increased emotional distress, depression, and decreased quality of life. Despite hospice care’s holistic philosophy, structured and standardized social engagement interventions are inconsistently implemented across settings, creating a gap in practice. The practice-focused question guiding this project was: In elderly hospice patients experiencing social isolation, how do structured social interventions (regular visits, group activities, and emotional support systems), compared to standard hospice …

Utilizing Proactive Rounding With Nursing Leadership To Improve Patient Satisfaction Scores In An Adult Medical-Surgical Unit, Lily A. Bogyah

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Patient satisfaction is a key quality indicator that reflects patients’ perceptions of care and the healthcare system’s performance. Patient satisfaction scores at the project site were significantly lower than the national benchmark, particularly on the adult medical-surgical unit.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In patients on an adult medical-surgical unit (P), how does the use of proactive patient rounding conducted by nurse leaders (I) versus current practices alone without such rounding (C) affect patient satisfaction scores over an eight-week period (T)?

Evidence: A literature review of multiple studies found that implementing daily nurse leader …

Exploring The Relationship Between Behavioral Health Early Prediction Model And Patient Outcomes In The Emergency Department, Karen M. Richendollar, Kathie M. Zimbro

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Problem: Emergency departments (EDs) are increasingly utilized for mental health (MH) care, often resulting in overcrowding and delayed access to specialized services. A significant proportion of MH patients are discharged without a psychiatric consult, raising concerns about safety and readmission rates. This trend places additional strain on already limited behavioral health resources and contributes to care delays for patients in acute crisis. Moreover, the lack of standardized discharge criteria for MH patients increases variability in care and may compromise patient outcomes. Purpose: This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Behavioral Health Early Discharge Prediction Model (BHEDPM) in identifying MH patients …

A Scoping Review Of Gender-Based Violence Interventions Conducted In Afghanistan, Wahiba Abu-Ras, Basil H. Aboul-Enein, Patricia J. Kelly, Dilshod Achilov

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

BACKGROUND: Gender-based violence (GBV) remains one of the most pervasive human rights and public health challenges worldwide, with disproportionate impacts on women and girls in conflict-affected and fragile states. Afghanistan represents one of the most restrictive environments for women's rights, where structural, cultural, and political barriers severely limit the implementation and evaluation of GBV-prevention programs. This scoping review aims to identify and critically appraise GBV prevention and response interventions implemented in Afghanistan and assess their contribution to advancing gender and health equity.

METHODS: Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines and the PICOS framework, nine databases were systematically searched for studies published between 2010 …

Evaluation Of Nurses' Leadership Self-Efficacy In Belize, Ruth Rosalee Reina Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing leadership in Belize is lacking but crucial to the well-being of patients, families, and the healthcare team. The purpose of this non-experimental, descriptive, comparative study was to a) determine the difference in leadership self-efficacy for current nurse leaders with three years or less of leadership experience compared to current nurse leaders with more than three years of leadership experience in Belize, and b) examine the differences in leadership self-efficacy between nurses in a leadership position and nurses not in a leadership position in Belize. The theories supporting the study were Burns’ transformational leadership theory and leadership self-efficacy, based on …

Bio 230 - Microbiology, Sarah Moroianu

Open Educational Resources

This open educational resource (OER) syllabus is designed for BIO 230: Microbiology at Lehman College, City University of New York (CUNY), a single-semester introductory microbiology course for non-biology majors such as Nursing, Dietetics, Health Education, and Physical Education. The course reviews microbial structure, metabolism, genetics, and microbial ecology, with applied emphasis on infectious disease, antimicrobial drugs, host immune defenses, and microbial diseases. The syllabus aligns course content with the freely available OpenStax Microbiology textbook (Parker et al., CC BY 4.0) and reflects accessibility best practices consistent with CUNY guidelines.

Optimizing Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (Crrt) In The Icu: A Qsen-Based Framework For Nursing Decision-Making Support, Leslie Okhirkhian

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Nurses in critical care environments must exercise precise clinical judgement to recognize patient destabilization cues while managing the complex biomedical technologies that support failing physiological systems. Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) is a modality for hemodynamically unstable patients requiring fluid overload management and waste removal; however, it is a complex technology that demands nurses navigate a “tightrope” between renal perfusion and hemodynamic stability. Despite its prevalence, there is no concise decision-making support for nursing care in the current literature based on the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) strategies. This presentation addresses this gap by proposing a QSEN-based, standardized …

Parental Safe Sleep Knowledge And Infant Safe Sleep Practices In Tidewater, Virginia, Karen Hancock, Kathie Zimbrow, Carolyn Rutledge

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Tidewater, VA has the highest SIDS rate in the state. The purpose of this submission is to contribute to the limited knowledge available on parental knowledge and infant safe sleep practices in Tidewater, VA. Through this study we have attempted to identify impediments to infant safe sleep practices and hope to use this information to address gaps in education on infant safe sleep practices.

This abstract will be presented in poster presentation form and is appropriate for the following categories: Maternal, Child, and Neonatal Nursing as well as Public Health and Community Nursing.

Contributions to this work were made by …

“For Us, Drones Mean Health”: How Medical Drone Delivery Affects Healthcare Outcomes, Accessibility, And Trust In Remote Regions Of Madagascar, Brianne O'Sullivan, Christallin Lydovick Rakotoasy, Lorie Donelle Phd, Rn, Fcan, Nicole Haggerty, Elysée Nouvet

Faculty Publications

Medical drone delivery (MDD), defined as the use of uncrewed aerial vehicles to transport medical products, is an emerging technological innovation responding to persistent health supply chain challenges in rural and low-resource settings. Within sub-Saharan Africa, MDD systems have demonstrated large-scale success in improving key health outcomes, health supply chain efficiency, and reductions in medical product stockouts and wastage. However, the existing evidence base on the effectiveness of this technology is dominated by quantitative, performance-based evaluations, with limited emphasis on the community-driven mechanisms that shape such outcomes. Drawing on original qualitative research, this article presents a qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) …

Efficacy And Safety Of Stem Cell-Based Interventions For Burn Wound Healing: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Pre-Clinical And Early Clinical Evidence, Prayuth Poowaruttanawiwit, Patsanan Kulla, Naveeya Pakpoomkamonlert

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Background: Burn injuries remain a major therapeutic challenge, with conventional treatments often failing to achieve complete functional skin regeneration. Stem cell-based interventions, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and exosome derivatives, have demonstrated regenerative and immunomodulatory potential, yet their translation to clinical practice remains limited.
Objectives: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of stem cell-based therapies for burn wound healing across pre-clinical and clinical studies.
Materials and Methods: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines, four databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane) were searched through April 2025. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials and controlled pre-clinical …

Beyond The Chart: Clinical Decisions That Protect Patients, Stephanie Bell Kelsey, Rhea May Brasi, Carlisa Caso, Tida Chitmongran, Kieaira Cooksey, Erika Ferrell, Jacqueline Franke, Aizel Joyce Garrido, Lidia Geberslassie, Laurie Gillmore, Theo Hipos, Mindi Johnson, Heimy Jun, Robin Kanaan, Jiahui Li, Alexis Mangubat, Katia Marcu, Sara Mccarthy, Adithya Nath, Brenda Orozco, Maria Papageorge, Elizabeth Ruckman, Debbie Salcido, Aleczandrea Schmelzle, Vivian Stark, Kara Traynor

Nursing 711 Class Projects

The cases in this collection were written by graduate nursing students enrolled in the Master of Nursing program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Nursing. Each author drew from their own clinical experience to illustrate how structured reasoning shapes patient care at the bedside and beyond. Their willingness to reflect honestly on moments of uncertainty, advocacy, and judgment — and to share those reflections with students who are still developing their own — is the foundation of this work. This collection exists because of their generosity.