Theses in Nursing

The objective of this study was to evaluate sleep disturbances, review treatment methods, and develop a plan of treatment options utilizing sleep hygiene methods. A review of literature included sleep disturbances and interventions to alleviate such problems.

Given the projected increasing shortage of well-prepared nurses, particularly at the baccalaureate level, the climate of limited resources for adequate RN training, and high attrition rates among NNs, it is imperative every effort is made to effectively prepare actively enrolled BSN students to care.

This thesis proposes a plan to implement a perioperative nurse training program. Due to a nationwide shortage in nurses, it is imperative to increase the retention, satisfaction and quality of healthcare provided by perioperative nurses.

Care of the trauma patient historically has had a strong focus on clinical management during the resuscitative and critical phases of care. This is a review of a Level I center creating a Trauma Care Unit (TCU), an inpatient unit dedicated to the care of the step-down and medical-surgical acuity trauma patient. This article will review some of the historical events leading to the creation of trauma systems.

With 108,335 people on kidney replacement therapy in the United States, the need for kidney transplantation has increased. In 1998 there were 40,825 on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant in comparison to 71,862 in 2007 with a median wait time of over three years. At the same time the number of kidneys transplanted went from 9,761 to 13,156.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 134 nursing personnel to explore attitudes and experience in adopting electronic health record, evaluate preliminary psychometric properties of Electronic Health Record Benefits (EHR-Benefits) scale and investigate the predictors of electronic health record benefits and avoidance of computer use. Most participants used a computer in accessing patient records and clinical documentation and were confident in using them.

Full Abstract: Compassion fatigue in the nursing profession can be detrimental to individual nurses as well as health care organizations.

The purpose of this evidence-based project was to develop an education program on diabetic foot ulcer wound care treatment and prevention in the elderly for registered nurses in the long term acute care and skilled nursing settings.

Healthcare organizations are under increasing pressure to provide the best care for their patients. They are not only starting to be held accountable for preventable problems, but are being scrutinized based on patient outcomes. Many patients in the hospital will require a stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). While many patients do survive their ICU stay, a large number of them are left with physical disabilities related to that stay. Some of those disabilities are long term or even permanent.

Full Abstract: Health care organizations must strive to provide easily accessible ongoing education structured and tailored to meet the specific learning needs of nurses. Although many studies have identified nurses learning needs, benefits and barriers to continuing education programs specific to patient related issues, little research has examined the development and implementation of a structured unit-based educational process and its effects on the learning needs of staff nurses.

Challenges exist among hospital staff in performing high quality cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) according to the 2010 international guidelines. Effective and uninterrupted chest compressions have demonstrated improved patient outcomes. The literature recommends that education and training specific to teamwork and leadership be provided to healthcare providers caring for patients requiring resuscitation.

Older adults with dementia present a higher risk for falls than their healthy counterparts due to disease-related cognitive and physical changes and deconditioning from low mobility during hospitalization.

Abastract: The mean age of the nursing workforce has increased over the last 25 years and as a result a nursing shortage is developing because these nurses are now retirement age. Precepting in a clinical setting has become a necessary method for orientation of graduate nurses with preceptors not receiving necessary training or compensation. After completion of a successful orientation it is important to give new graduate nurses continued support and encouragement while providing a safe learning environment.

 As the population continues to age, more patients are dying in healthcare facilities than ever before (Bercovitz et al., 2008); nurses need to be prepared to provide end-of-life care to this population. This study examines the factors that affect nurse attitudes towards death and care of the dying patients. A descriptive correlation study was concluded in an acute care hospital during February 2012.

Skin, the largest organ of the human body, has many important functions; among them are thermoregulation, acting as a barrier against toxins, and secreting water and electrolytes. Traditionally, skin care in the neonatal intensive care unit has been handed down from more experienced nurses to new nurses. Today’s neonatal nurses realize the importance of utilizing evidence based guidelines to guide their care, which includes the area of skin care.

As nursing has developed as a profession, the role of nurse-physician communication and how it relates to patient outcomes has been a focus of research. While poor patient outcomes have been identified as a result of ineffective nurse-physician communication, the factors leading to ineffective communication have not been identified. This qualitative research study was designed to identify the variables involved in effective and ineffective nurse-physician communication.