Nursing Commons^™

Inpatient Treatment Compared To Outpatient Treatment For Borderline Personality Disorder, Paige Auch, Jaylin Gaston, Jori Harskamp, Ella Peterson, Kenzie Vonrentzell, Pam Hulstein

Celebration of Research

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex mental illness characterized by emotional instability, impulsivity, and unstable relationships. Individuals with BPD often require frequent hospitalizations and experience significant functional impairment. With increasing BPD admissions, Spencer Hospital seeks evidence-based strategies to improve patient outcomes and reduce readmissions. A literature review of ten studies (2016-2025) was conducted using PubMed, CINAHL, and Science Direct, appraised with the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model to compare inpatient and outpatient treatments for adults with BPD, focusing on symptom manage and quality of life. Findings indicate inpatient care with specific programs such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), …

Gut Health Interventions On Major Depressive Disorder, Hannah Beckloff, Ellie Erickson, Olga Furmanova, Hailey Van Dyken, Ashtyn Wobig

Celebration of Research

This evidence-based project aims to evaluate the potential benefits of probiotics, stress management, and a healthy diet for adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder at Promise Community Health Center. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, the project examines how interventions related to gut health can help alleviate depressive symptoms and implements the necessary tools to support this population at Promise. Our research findings suggest that combining probiotics, stress relief, and diet changes, along with adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder, may reduce depressive symptoms and encourage a more holistic lifestyle for these individuals.

Understanding How Nurses Could Utilize Child Life Specialists, Paige Perkins

Honors Projects

Do pediatric nurses notice improvement in patient education levels when they use the resources of Child Life Specialists, understand their role, and utilize their resources to educate their patients, compared to hospitals without Child Life Specialists?

Quality Improvement Project Strengthening Faculty Competence: The Impact Of Structured Debriefing Education On Nursing Faculty Confidence And Competency Compared To Current Practice, Sudaneyse Emmanuel

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nursing education sometimes struggles to prepare faculty to lead effective simulation-based learning and debriefing. Inconsistent debriefing practices can reduce faculty confidence and competency, limiting student reflection and the development of clinical judgment. This quality improvement project examined whether a structured debriefing education program could enhance nursing faculty confidence and competency in simulation debriefing compared with current practice at a technical college. The project used the Jeffries Simulation Theory and Lewin’s Change Theory as guides. The project used a one-group pretest-posttest design by using the C-Scale to measure confidence and the Facilitator Competency Rubric to measure competency among nursing faculty who …

Proclamation By The Governor Of Alabama: Year Of The Nurse, Robert Bentley

Documents

In 2015, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley declared the "year of the nurse" in honor of the "100 years of regulatory excellence" since the establishment of the Alabama Board of Nursing in 1915.

Invitation To The Open House At The New Education-Nursing Building, University Of North Alabama

Documents

Invitation to the open house at the Education and Nursing Building on Circular Road, now known as Stevens Hall

Whitlock Retiring As Nursing Professor, Melissa Gray

Documents

Article depicting the career and retirement of University of North Alabama nursing professor, Annette Whitlock, in 1985.

Building Connections For Care: A Practical Guide For Novice Nursing Professional Development Practitioners, Debra Hunt

Student Dissertations

Building Connections for Care is a practical textbook designed to support novice Nursing Professional Development Practitioners (NPDPs) as they transition from expert bedside clinicians to educational leaders within complex healthcare systems. Grounded in the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) practice model, the book integrates ethical foundations, communication strategies, leadership frameworks, and inquiry methods to build confidence and competence in the NPDP role. Chapters trace a developmental pathway from role transition and Benner’s novice-to-expert model through ethics and just culture, incivility and workplace culture, and communication skills including feedback, SMART goals, SBAR, and professional digital conduct. Subsequent chapters expand NPDP …

Improving Patient Health Portal Enrollment In The Primary Care Setting, Erika L. Bell

Doctoral Dissertations & Projects

In today’s increasingly digital healthcare environment, patient health portals have become critical tools for enhancing communication, improving care coordination, and empowering patients to actively participate in their health management. These secure, web-based platforms allow patients to access medical records, request prescription refills, view lab results, and message providers. Although patient health portals are offered by a vast majority of U.S. health systems, they remain underutilized, with only 15-30% of patients engaging with these platforms despite their potential to improve patient engagement, health status awareness, and care quality. Enhancing patient health portal use not only empowers patients but also supports broader …

New Graduate Nurse Retention Strategies Toolkit For Managers And Leadership, Taryn Ryan

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem:

Nurse retention has been a persistent issue for over a decade, with increasing turnover among new graduate nurses. Many new nurses leave the profession due to inadequate preparation for clinical roles and responsibilities.

PICOT:

The PICOT question that guided this project was: For nurse managers and leaders supporting new graduate nurses (P), how does the development of a best-practice retention toolkit (I), compared to existing retention practices (C), guide evidence-based strategies to improve nurse retention (O)?

Evidence:

Evidence indicates that new graduate nurses often feel insufficiently prepared for patient care responsibilities, compromising patient safety (Haddad et al., 2023; …

Una To Award 1st Doctorate Of Nursing Practice, Bernie Delinski

Documents

A cohort of four graduates become the first students awarded a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of North Alabama.

Six Departments Move Into New Building, Una Alumni Association

Documents

Alumni News article discussing the early stages of Stevens Hall, then known as the Education and Nursing Building, and its impact on the School of Nursing, School of Education, and Departments of Social Work, Sociology, Foreign Languages, and Political Science.

Program's Namesake 'Born' To Be A Nurse, Bernie Delinski

Documents

Article celebrating the naming of the Florence Helen Nethery Duncan Bachelor of Science in Nursing in honor of its namesake's gift and the 50th year anniversary of the degree.

New Building Houses Education And Nursing, University Of North Alabama

Documents

Article from the 1979 Resume of UNA discussing the Education and Nursing Building, now known as Stephens Hall, as well as the accreditation of the Schools of Nursing and Education.

Student Nurse Receives Honors At North Alabama, The Timesdaily

Documents

Pamela Thompson Suggs graduating senior at the University of North Alabama was chosen for the honor of leading the Nightingale pledge and was the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Nursing Student Award.

State Nursing: Una Earns #3 Ranking, Courier Journal

Documents

In 2024, the nursing program at the University of North Alabama was ranked third in the state after Auburn and the University of Alabama by the research of RegisteredNursing.org..

Student Loan Fund Boosted, Florence State University

Documents

Retired nurse, Mrs. Anne Callahan donates funds to the Florence State University (FSU) nursing program that will be matched by the federal government making educational funding available to nursing students.

Career Day Planning: Alumni Agree To 'Come Home', Teresa Leonard

Documents

The article describes the return of various alumni to discuss their careers with students at the University of North Alabama, among them is Charlotte Tomlinson Homan, an alumna of School of Nursing and employee of the critical care unit at the Colonial Manor Hospital.

New To Una Faculty, The Flor-Ala

Documents

The image is derived from The Flor-Ala and depicts new faculty members for the 1977 academic year. Several new instructors in the nursing department are featured, including Mrs. Charlotte Jamieson, Ms. Patricia Auxier, Mrs. Debra Pratt, Ms. Lavin Reed, and Mrs. Jayne Gillespie.

Kelley's Korner: Fsu Nursing Program Will Get Thorough Study, Pete Kelley

Documents

The article analyzes the plausibility of the development of the Florence State University nursing program.