Browsing by Sigma Chapters "Phi Epsilon"
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- ItemAcademic achievement in children with new-onset seizures or asthmaMcNelis, Angela Marie; Austin, Joan K.; Phi Epsilon
It has long been recognized that children with epilepsy have more learning difficulties in school than either children without seizures or children with other chronic disorders, such as asthma. Problems such as repeating a grade, receiving special services, and scoring poorly on standardized achievement tests are over-represented in children with epilepsy. Factors that lead to problems with academic underachievement are not well understood. Primary purposes of the study were to examine change in academic achievement over a 12-month period and to identify factors related to achievement in children with new-onset seizures. A secondary purpose was to examine differences in academic achievement between children with new-onset seizures and those with new-onset asthma. Baseline data were collected within 6 weeks of children (8 to 14 years) having a first seizure or being placed on daily asthma medications. Data collected during the baseline interview provided information from the year prior to the onset of the health condition. The 12-month data collection provided information for the period of baseline to one year after the condition onset. Results at baseline indicated that children with seizures had lower math scores than children with asthma. Moreover, in both samples girls had higher reading and total battery scores than boys. At 12 months, there were no differences in achievement between the seizure and asthma samples, nor were there differences between girls and boys. In general, over the 12 months there was a decline in academic achievement for all children, however, children with seizures did not show more of a decline than children with asthma. Across samples, girls declined in reading, language, math, and total battery, and boys declined in language and total battery. Factors associated with higher academic achievement at 12 months in children with seizures were higher socioeconomic status, better child adaptive functioning at school, and higher parent and teacher expectations for the child's academic achievement. Findings suggest that clinical assessments for children with seizures should include both psychosocial and illness components. Future prospective longitudinal research should be conducted to explore factors that lead to changes in academic achievement, including the role of gender and illness condition variables.
- ItemAnalyzing Nurse Perceptions of Workplace Environments From a Statewide InitiativeCaruso, Judith T.; Kowalski, Mildred Ortu; Mapp, Marilyn; Jefferson Health New Jersey, Sewell, New Jersey, USA; Delta Rho at-Large; Phi Epsilon
Hospitals demonstrated consistent and sustained improvement in work environments after implementation of Nursing Workplace Environment and Staffing Councils. With empirical outcomes and identification of best practices throughout the state, staff nurses and nurse leaders learned from each other about creative, positive initiatives to improve nurse well-being and work environments.
- ItemBetter together: Pressure injury prevalence and nursing professional developmentWaldron, Mia K.; Johnson, Kara A.; Welch, Laura C.; Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA; Phi Epsilon
Monthly prevalence education and screening is preformed to address the necessity for active surveillance and identification of patients at-risk for pressure injuries (PI) among hospitalized children. Development of knowledge and clinical skills of unit-based Skin Team (ST) members on management of alterations in skin integrity, demands dedicated monthly focus.
- ItemBody weight and general health among female breast cancer survivorsZhou, Quiping (Pearl); Griffith, Kathleen; Wallington, Sherrie Flynt; The George Washington University, Ashburn, Virginia, USA; Phi Epsilon
Overweight and obese breast cancer survivors reported lower general health than women with normal weight. Significant predictors for perceived fair poor health include number of comorbidities income, education, and physical activities or excise in the past 30 days.
- ItemCase study: Using innovative curriculum design and interdisciplinary, international collaboration to develop a nurse practitioner leader to impact global health outcomes(2012-9-12) Davis, Sandra L.; Mills, Ellen M.; Schade, Diane; Phi Epsilon
The world is becoming smaller. We are now touched by human conditions that were once foreign and far-removed. Technology and transportation provide access to people and places that were once inaccessible. Increasing numbers of students enter NP programs with dreams of traveling to developing countries to make a difference. This presentation chronicles the story of how one student's unrelenting vision to deliver hospice care to the terminally ill suffering from HIV/AIDS and cancer in the remote villages of Kenya laid the groundwork for NP faculty to develop a rich and engaging plan of study that provided the opportunity to balance ideas, experience, and critical perspectives with evidence-based knowledge and theoretical frameworks. Reflective journaling, intra/inter professional connections, institutional resources, and international collaboration, were the underpinnings used to structure a solid basis for understanding, critically thinking, communicating, problem-solving, negotiating and evaluating the political, social, economic, and cultural opportunities, challenges, and barriers related to one specific issue in one specific area of the world. This presentation explores the development and implementation of a model for curriculum enhancement to develop NPs as leaders who make significant and sustained contributions to improving health outcomes in a globalized and increasingly diverse world. Implications Globalization is changing the way we live and work in the world. The responsibility and challenge for today's NP educator is to prepare Advance Practice Nurses who are ready to practice in an interconnected and interdependent world. It takes new thinking and innovative teaching and learning strategies to build NP leaders who can evaluate information from a comparative perspective, communicate effectively across cultures, and engage in problem solving across boundaries and cultures to impact global health outcomes.
- ItemCorrelates of fatigue in lymphoma patients undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantationEl-Banna, Majeda M.; Foxall, Martha; Farr, Lynne; Phi EpsilonFatigue is the most prevalent and disturbing symptom in cancer patients; however, little research explains the correlates and predictors of fatigue. The purposes of this study were to describe the fatigue patterns in lymphoma patients undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) and to examine the relationships among these fatigue patterns and the changes in the patterns of melatonin, depression, pain, nausea, hemoglobin level, total sleep time within 24 hours, and number of awakenings at night that contribute to the changes in fatigue during the baseline, chemotherapy and recovery periods. The conceptual framework of this prospective, descriptive, correlational, and repeated measures study is based on Piper's Integrated Fatigue Model. The sample included 26 lymphoma patients undergoing APBSCT, ages 19–71 years, Data collection included the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale, Single Fatigue Intensity Item, urine samples, Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Numerical Pain Intensity Rating Scale, Nausea Severity Item, hemoglobin level, and sleep/wake parameters. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, RM-ANOVA, Friedman's RM-ANOVA, cosine regression, sleep analysis, Spearman correlations and Tobit regression. The major findings were that the total fatigue and the four fatigue dimension scores changed significantly over time, with the highest scores one week after transplantation. The highest correlations were between fatigue and depression, and occurred 2 days after transplantation (r = .620 to r = .952, p < .05), No significant correlations were found between fatigue and hemoglobin level at any time point, Total sleep within 24 hours and mean pain level were most predictive of fatigue and the four dimension scores over time. Depression, hemoglobin level, number of awakenings at night, and melatonin mean levels also contributed to fatigue. Findings of this study suggest the importance of routine clinical assessment of fatigue and the suggested correlates before initiation of and during chemotherapy, as well as during the recovery period. Greatest attention should be paid to the first week after transplantation. The results of this study could lead to the development of interventions to lessen the symptoms contributing to fatigue, and could consequently decrease fatigue.
- ItemDesigning, developing, and deploying a healthy work and learning environmentDavis, Sandra L.; Law, Sydnae W.; The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA; Phi Epsilon
This presentation demonstrates how a faculty leader and a staff leader partnered to lead an Advisory Council in developing processes and recommendations for creating and sustaining a healthy work environment. It focuses on leadership characteristics and emphasizes evidence-based strategies for translating ideas into a practical road map for action.
- ItemEvaluation of a learning module for nurse practitioner students: Strategies to address patient vaccine hesitancy/refusal(2016-03-29) Venzke, Margaret Hadro; The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA; Phi Epsilon
Session presented on Saturday, April 9, 2016, and Friday, April 8, 2016:
Immunizations have been a major reason for the decrease in vaccine preventable diseases in the United States. Recently there has been an upsurge in vaccine hesitancy and refusal due to concerns about safety, efficacy and necessity of vaccines and vaccine misinformation reported in the media (Sadaf, Richards, Glanz, Salmon, Omer, 2013). Health care providers are encountering increasing rates of vaccine hesitancy and refusal in the primary care setting. Specific evidence based strategies are needed to assist providers when patients refuse recommended vaccinations (Leask, Kinnersley, Jackson, Cheaer, Bedford & Rowles, 2012; Domachowske & Suryadevara, 2013). There is limited research on educating health care providers on strategies to address vaccines issues. Primary health care providers (including nurse practitioner students) need additional knowledge and effective communication skills to address the issue of patient vaccine hesitancy/refusal. The purpose of this scholarly project was twofold. The first was to develop and evaluate an online, interactive, learning module to enhance knowledge of nurse practitioner students on issues of vaccine hesitancy and refusal. The second purpose was to examine the effectiveness of the learning module on enhancing nurse practitioner student knowledge of motivational interviewing communication skills to address issues of vaccine hesitancy and refusal. A pre-test/post-test design was used to assess the change in knowledge and communication skills of nurse practitioner students to address the issue of vaccine hesitancy/refusal. A one hour web-based, interactive education module was developed with specific content on issues in vaccine refusal, and specific provider strategies and motivational interviewing communication techniques. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a patient centered guided approach to enhance self motivation to change (Miller & Rollnick (2002). Dart (2011) discusses how MI is being utilized in a variety of settings to assist clinicians working with patients to improve healthy behavior outcomes. Data collection is currently in process. Results of this study may serve to inform future study of the use of interactive education programs for health care providers to address vaccine hesitancy refusal in clinical practice.
- ItemEvaluation of the associations between unplanned readmissions and the LACE Index and other variablesStankiewicz, Catherine; Phi Epsilon
Unplanned readmissions are common and costly. Factors have been identified that predict readmissions, and predictive algorithms, such as LACE index, have been studied and widely adopted despite variability in predictive ability. We examined the associations between unplanned readmissions and the LACE index, and other variables not in the LACE index.
- ItemThe evolution of pediatric clinical education using primary care simulationWiersma, Gretchen M.; Choma, Elizabeth G.; Walsh, Jennifer; Stevens, Kristen; The George Washington University, Ashburn, Virginia, USA; Phi EpsilonUpon completion of this presentation participants will be able to recognize gaps in undergraduate nursing education and explore simulation scenarios that address these gaps. Our pediatric simulation scenarios can be used globally by students and faculty to enhance undergraduate education.
- ItemGlobal interprofessional study abroad impact on nurse practitioners' and medical students' perceptions about role definition(2017-07-05) Kosko, Debra A.; Chapa, Deborah; Swanson, Melvin S.; Phi Epsilon
Purpose: Healthcare delivered by well-functioning teams results in improved clinical outcomes and lower costs. However, health professions students are typically educated in silos, seldom communicating across disciplines (Cox & Naylor, 2013). Once students graduate, the professional silos persist, resulting in fragmented care that increases cost and decreases quality. Therefore, educating health professions students about team-based care and how to work with other health professionals, known as Interprofessional Education (IPE), provides them the necessary skills to improve the healthcare delivery system and the lives of their patients upon graduation. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of a 2 week interprofessional study abroad program on health professions student’s readiness for interprofessional education (IPE).
Methods: This outcome-based summative program evaluation had a convenience sample of four family nurse practitioner (FNP) students and seven medical students. The education model was a two week immersion study abroad in Nicaragua where students provided patient care in FNP/medical student teams within a variety of clinical settings. The students attended debrief sessions throughout the experience that included discussions about IPE. All students and faculty stayed at the same hotel, shared meals and shared free time. Immediately before departing the US and immediately upon returning from the US, students received a web-based anonymous questionnaire via Qualtrics. An open-ended question was asked about the role of FNP’s and physicians in healthcare. Several additional open-ended questions were added to the post-experience questionnaire. These questions inquired about the impact of the study abroad on future clinical practice and their impression about learning with students from another health profession.
Results: The phenomenological analysis compared medical student’s responses to FNP student’s responses. Both groups responded similarly when asked about learning with each other. Common themes included great experience, enhanced learning and well working teams. One NP student stated the experience highlighted a lack of knowledge as compared to medical students, while one medical student stated greater learning occurred because of working with FNP students who were experienced nurses. When asked about applying the study abroad experience to clinical practice, none of the FNP students identified learning with medical students as impactful while one medical student stated learning with FNP students provided needed preparation for future clinical practice. A dichotomy was found with responses about the role of each other’s profession in healthcare delivery. There were no pre-travel responses from medical students while 4 of the 5 medical students provided post-travel responses. The theme of the responses was hierarchy. The medical students identified FNP students as physician extenders; that they are supervised by physicians and are below a physician. One FNP student responded pre-travel and one responded post-travel; both responses were also hierarchical such that the physician serves as a reference and was the health professional that guided patient care.
Conclusion: This study abroad provided students at our university a unique educational experience that enabled collaborative practice in a variety of clinical settings. Although the students worked in FNP/medical student teams and IPE core competency content was provided, an understanding of collaborative practice was not reflected in the qualitative data. Rather, the medical students and a FNP student used hierarchical terms to describe the relationship between the professions. An immersion experience abroad provides the opportunity for IPE, however, more research is needed in developing educational interventions that promote IPE and develop tools to measure IPE knowledge. This project will promote further development of interprofessional education models that can transform clinical practice. Study abroad models of IPE can also serve to promote interprofessional clinical practice globally.
- ItemInfuse Joy: A call to action in healthcare(Sigma Theta Tau International, 2020-05-11) Ricciardi, Richard; The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA; Phi Epsilon
Join Sigma President Richard Ricciardi, PhD, CRNP, FAANP, FAAN, as we launch the celebration of International Nurses Day with a webinar presentation on his Presidential Call to Action: Infuse Joy.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify one way joyful practice impacts patients, nurses, and all healthcare workers
- discuss one way we can instill and sustain the joy of practice in nursing and healthcare
- identify one way Sigma can contribute to instilling and sustaining the joy of practice in nursing and healthcare
To view the video: scroll down to watch the embedded video stream. The presentation slide deck is attached to this record as a PDF for repository patrons' convenience.
- ItemInternational immersion experience impact on nurse practitioner and medical students readiness for interprofessional education(2016-03-29) Kosko, Debra A.; East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA; Phi Epsilon
Session presented on Friday, April 8, 2016:
Background: Fragmentation of care and poor communication between healthcare professions contributes to poor quality, high cost healthcare, while care delivered by well-functioning team's decreases costs and improves clinical outcomes. Health professions students are educated in silos which are a source of fragmented care. Educating health professions students about team-based care and how to work with other health professionals, known as Interprofessional Education (IPE), provides them the necessary skills to transform our healthcare delivery system. Therefore, educational models that successfully teach interprofessional core competencies to our health professions students are needed.
Objective: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of a 2 week interprofessional study abroad program on health professions student's readiness for interprofessional education (IPE).
Methods: This outcome-based summative program evaluation had a convenience sample of four family nurse practitioner (FNP) students and seven medical students. The education model was a two week immersion study abroad in Nicaragua where students provided patient care in FNP/medical student teams in a variety of clinical settings. The students attended debrief sessions throughout the experience that included discussions about IPE. Everyone stayed at the same hotel, ate meals together and shared free time. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was administered before departure to Nicaragua, immediately upon returning from Nicaragua and 2 months post-intervention.
Results: Three of the four RIPLS sub-scales; teamwork and collaboration, negative professional identity, positive professional identity, all had internal consistency reliabilities exceeding 0.90. Pre-intervention mean subscale scores exceeded 4.3 out of a maximum 5.0, indicating a strong ceiling effect. These high mean scores dipped slightly, never below 4.0, at post-intervention. Mean scores 2 months later rebounded and were greater than 4.5 for all three subscales.
Conclusions: Although RIPLS was a reliable instrument for this program evaluation, the high pre-intervention scores made it difficult to evaluate substantial change between pre-intervention and post-intervention. The interprofessional educational program may have produced important changes, but the RIPLS could not detect these changes because of the high pre-intervention ceiling effect. More research in the area of IPE, particularly in the development of valid and reliable instruments, is needed in order to create interprofessional education models that can transform clinical practice. The implication of study abroad models of education can also serve to promote interprofessional clinical practice globally.
- ItemThe journey to building a healthy work environment through promoting diversity, equity, and inclusionDavis, Sandra L.; Law, Sydnae W.; Emard, Esther; The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA; Phi Epsilon
Diverse environments provide greater productivity, innovation, understanding and value to an organization. However, creating a diverse environment is just the first step to achieving these benefits. Organizations must create cultures where people with diverse characteristics can thrive. Members must feel included, respected and valued to do their best work.
- ItemLeadership journey: Innovative program initiatives to address social determinants of health and health equity through inter-professional learning collaborativesAllen, Cynthia; The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA; Phi Epsilon
To cap off the end of a Sigma Academy cohort, Academy scholars and other Sigma academy participants were charged with sharing their leadership journey and/or their Sigma Academy self-selected projects via a Pecha Kucha presentation. Pecha Kucha is Japanese for chit chat. This storytelling presentation format features 20 slides per presentation. Each slide is allotted 20 seconds for a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. These presentations were carefully and thoughtfully planned to allow for sharing key information in a short amount of time.
Repository patrons will notice that a slide deck is not attached to these academy presentations. All information is contained in the video, embedded below for easy access.
To view entire sessions of these presentations, complete with opening and closing remarks by esteemed faculty and mentor speakers, please visit this repository’s Nurse Leaders Virtual Summit collection.
- ItemLessons learned....Enhancing professional well-being during a pandemicHess, Marianne E.; Weinstein, Sharon M.; The George Washington University Hospital, Arlington, Virginia, USA; Phi Epsilon
Professional well-being has always been a concern. The AACN Healthy Work Environment Standards brought a long-standing issue to the forefront, increasing awareness of the impact of the environment on one’s ability to maintain balance. The presenters share lessons learned to enhance well-being during a pandemic and applications for our future.
- ItemMeeting Challenges of Professional Communication Using Live Actors: An Evidence-Based Clinical ProjectDorfman, Lisette; Taddeo, Justine Anne; Phi EpsilonEffective communication is essential for professional practice. Research data and collaboration with clinical partners, resulted in a project addressing self-identified communication challenges in professional practice through the use of live actors. Research data, the process for development, implementation, and evaluation of the evidence-based project will be presented.
- ItemNursing students’ perceptions of student-to-faculty and faculty-to-student incivility in the online learning environmentLull, Rachel E.; Bourdeanu, Laura; American Sentinel University, Aurora, Colorado, USA; Chi Eta; Phi EpsilonThroughout this research, incivility in nursing education has been examined, with a specific focus on the online environment. Incivility in nursing education has been widely researched in the traditional classroom, but limited research has been conducted to examine the occurrences and types of incivility in the online learning environment. With vast differences between the traditional classroom and the online classroom, it is essential to develop an enhanced understanding of these behaviors as perceived by the student. Student perceptions were gathered from graduate nursing students enrolled in at least one online course at a one Midwestern, private, faith-based university. The Incivility in the Online Learning Environment (IOLE) survey developed by Dr. Cynthia Clark was used to answer the question: In students who are actively enrolled in one school of nursing and who are taking at least one online course, what are their perceptions of faculty-to-student and student-to-faculty incivility in the online learning environment. Results of this study can be used to contribute to guiding faculty development through education of incivility and promotion of civil behaviors.
- ItemPredictors and outcomes of home care use in urban eldersBrassard, Andrea B.; Gebbie, Kristine M.; Phi EpsilonThis study used longitudinal data from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), a random sample of 2128 Medicare beneficiaries, to examine predictors and outcomes of home care use. Predictors of home care were examined using Grabbe's (1992) Home Care Service Utilization Model. In this model, functional status is the pivotal predictor of home care use. Three other predictor categories were examined: individual factors, family variables, and policy/economic factors. Significant predictors of home care use, other than functional status, were increasing age, female sex, two or more (out of seven) reported medical conditions, hospitalization within the past year, living arrangement, and Medicaid coverage. Household size was inversely related to home care use, as was living with a spouse or an adult child. Two outcomes of home care use were examined—mortality and nursing home entry. Home care users had significantly shorter lengths of survival, but these differences were related to functional impairment. The home care users were more impaired than the non-users, which accounted for the increased mortality rates. The rate of nursing home entry in the WHICAP sample was less than five percent, comparable to national rates of nursing home entry. Overall, the rate of nursing home entry for the home care users was nine percent, compared to three percent for the non-users of home care. When stratified by functional status, it appeared that the less impaired home care users more quickly entered a nursing home than similarly impaired non-users. Conversely, nursing home entry was delayed for the most impaired home care users compared to similarly impaired non-users. However, additional regression analyses which controlled for functional status, age, gender, and living alone, found no difference between home care users and non-users in rates of nursing home entry. Home care use was not an independent predictor of nursing home entry.
- ItemA qualitative study on the stressors among healthcare worker parents during the COVID-19 PandemicClausen, Michelle E.; Velasquez, Annalyn; Jeon, Min Jeong; Wallington, Sherrie Flynt; The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA; Phi Epsilon
This qualitative pilot case study focused on healthcare workers who were also parents of children ages 0-18 while working in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring and summer of 2020.