7670 research outputs found
Sort by
Final Summary- Prevention of Pressure Injuries
Full text linkFinal Summary- Prevention of Pressure Injuries
Our change project highlights the benefits of a turn leader in hospitals to prevent and reduce the occurrences of pressure injuries. The turn leader approach focuses on a designated staff member to monitor, manage, and document the frequent repositioning of patients and prompt reporting of skin breakdown. The turn leader maintains a schedule for repositioning the patients deemed high risk for pressure injuries and ensures pressure is redistributed among high risk areas. They are responsible for noting when the patient was turned, the positioning used, and any changes to skin integrity. To ensure effectiveness, all staff are trained on the turn leader role and pressure injury prevention. A pilot program will be established to track success on one floor and if successful, will be proposed to other floors within the hospital. Regular compliance audits will be implemented along with pre and post implementation comparison, nurse surveys, and direct observation. The goal is to have a 75% reduction in pressure injuries in one year, a decrease in severe pressure injuries, a 100% compliance rate and at least a 90% accurate documentation rate. This will ultimately lead to improved quality of life, reduced infection costs, reduced treatment rates, reduced hospital stays, and fewer readmissions
The Health Effects of Night-Shift Nursing on New Graduates
No full textThe purpose of this project is to address the ongoing health issues seen amongst night shift nurses. The literature continues to show an increasing number of physiologic and psychologic health effects on these nurses. Cardiovascular disease, glucose intolerance, stroke, cognitive decline, hypertension, and diabetes are just a few of the physiological risk factors that are higher amongst night shift nurses when compared to day shift nurses (Cheng et al., 2021). Circadian rhythms continue to be disrupted, increased cortisol levels are noted, and growing numbers of stress and anxiety are being reported (Ljevak et al., 2022). These health issues are affecting these healthcare hero’s quality of life, leading to the urgent need of addressing these health effects. Our goal is to implement sleep and stress education, provide exercise and mindfulness practices through yoga memberships and nurse-led activity clubs that can provide outlets for night shift nurses to practice healthy habits during their shift, and outside of work. With a detailed implementation and sustainability plan in place, we expect the implementation of education and exercise programs to improve nurses\u27 quality of life and reduce the risks of negative physiologic and psychologic health effects
EdTPA: Diving into Dynamics
No full textThe central focus and purpose of my lessons are for students to Evaluate and Identify Dynamics and Expression markings. Through the learning segments, I will focus on various dynamics through various activities and applications to repertoire and expression markings. The content aims to promote the individual musicality of the students as personal musicians. The use of dynamics is a starting point for students to be able to make musical decisions and express themselves. The students will be able to learn dynamic markings and definitions throughout the learning segment. The students can then apply the dynamics to their repertoire in class and personal solo projects. Students will make connections within the lessons, each lesson (three) building on one another. These activities were documented for EdTPA and will be highlighted in the poster presentation. The presentation held will showcase the various activities as well as details regarding EdTPA portfolio requirements that had to be met
Setting the Stage for Candidate Negativity
No full textMany scholars theorize that electoral systems can impact candidate negativity with increased negativity in plurality systems compared to preferential systems. Although multiple factors could influence candidate negativity, I theorize that electoral systems are the main factor. I test this by comparing candidate negativity in elections for the U.S. House of Representatives in Alaska before and after it switched to a preferential system, as well as comparing it to U.S. House races in the same years in Montana and North and South Dakota. The level of negativity is determined by coding candidate social media posts using the AFINN lexicon
The Effect of Skin Tone Inclusive Dermatology Education on Diagnostic Accuracy and Self-Confidence in Graduate Nursing Students
No full textBACKGROUND: People with skin of color face worse health outcomes than their light-skinned peers. According to the literature, graduate nursing programs lack skin tone inclusive curricular content (Shue-McGuffin & Powers, 2022). This contributes to disproportionate racial and ethnic health disparities. Skin tone inclusive online dermatology modules have been shown to improve diagnostic accuracy and self-confidence amongst medical students and residents (Trinh et al., 2021; Salava & Salmela, 2022; Wang et al., 2020). They may be an effective approach for graduate nursing students as they prepare to evaluate skin disease across the skin tone spectrum.
METHODS: This quality improvement proje\ct utilized a mixed methods convergent design using quantitative pre- and post-surveys including qualitative descriptive methodology. Participants were 25 graduate nursing students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science to Doctor of Nursing Program with an Advanced Practice/Family Nurse Practitioner concentration. The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model for continuous improvement was applied for two cycles.
INTERVENTION: In PDSA cycle one, student participants took a baseline diagnostic accuracy pretest and baseline self-confidence survey, completed LearnDerm by VisualDx, viewed a 75–90-minute curated web-based lecture using VisualDx-provided imagery, and took a diagnostic accuracy posttest and a post-intervention self-confidence survey. In PDSA cycle two, student participants took a baseline diagnostic accuracy pretest and baseline self-confidence survey, reviewed VisualDx’s LearnDerm Companion, viewed three 20-minute curated web-based lectures using VisualDx-provided imagery, and took a diagnostic accuracy posttest and a post-intervention self-confidence survey.
RESULTS: In the posttests, PDSA cycle one revealed a 7% decrease in mean diagnostic accuracy and 25% increase in overall diagnostic self-confidence. Statistical significance was demonstrated in PDSA cycle two with a 29% overall increase in mean diagnostic accuracy and 61% increase in overall diagnostic self-confidence.
CONCLUSION: Skin tone inclusive online dermatology modules may be an effective way to improve diagnostic accuracy and self-confidence in evaluating skin disease amongst graduate nursing students. Implications for graduate nursing education include improved knowledge of skin disease, including diagnostic distinctions of diverse skin tones. Broadly, skin tone inclusive education supports diverse and equitable patient care, improves health outcomes as a result, reduces disparities for individuals with skin of color, and future inclusive quality improvement initiatives.
Keywords: skin of color, dermatology, education, nurse practitioner, graduate nursing, disparities
References
Shue-McGuffin, K., Powers, K. (2022). Dermatologic simulations in nurse practitioner education: Improving skin cancer knowledge, confidence, and performance. American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34(3), advance online ahead of print. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34537796/
Trinh, D., Wanat, K., Roth, G., Young, K., & Humphrey, S. (2021). Efficacy of medical students’ virtual dermatology curriculum. The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 86(6). https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(21)00996-8/pdf
Wang, D., Petitt, C., Goel, N., Ash, M., & Mervak, J. (2020). Confidence and competency in the use of dermoscopy among new first-year dermatology residents: A repeated-pairs pre- /postassessment study of an online learning module, The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 85(6), https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(20)33061- 9/fulltex
Transforming Pitching: A Data-Driven Approach to Mechanics and Coaching Using Deep Learning
No full textThis project explores whether transformer-based deep learning architectures caneffectively capture the complex biomechanics of baseball pitching and translate those insights into concrete coaching recommendations. By drawing on motion capture (joint angles, velocities, body landmarks, ground reaction forces, and energy flow) the system learns to predict pitch velocity while pinpointing which elements of a pitcher’s motion most influence performance. Beyond quantitative results, the transformer framework offers interpretable outputs that categorize pitchers based on mechanical efficiency and overall force generation. These insights support more nuanced, athlete-specific guidance, such as pinpointing technique refinements or recommending targeted strength training. Byhighlighting which biomechanical factors limit a pitcher’s performance, the projectdemonstrates the capacity of transformer-based models to move beyond raw predictions and deliver actionable feedback. Ultimately, this work shows how leveraging advanced sequence modeling in sports analytics can aid coaches, trainers, and athletes in optimizing pitching mechanics
Nonviolence in the Nashville Civil Rights Movement
No full textFor my research, I am exploring nonviolent methods of protest and how it contributes to both peace building and social change in times of conflict. Particularly, the demonstrations performed by Nashville figures and students during the 1960’s. By studying specific leaders such as Bernard Lafayette and also particular events like the drive-in theater sit-ins, I work to gain a clearer understanding of non-violence both as a philosophy and tactic and how it was used in Nashville
Pathways to Purpose
No full textThe IRIS Project is a concept-driven design that reimagines career readiness for high school students in underserved communities. Inspired by the iris of the eye, the design symbolizes individuality and the unique identity of each student. The fluid, organic form of the iris is reflected in the spatial pathways, representing the diverse and evolving journeys students take toward their futures
A Bayesian Approach to Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) Reconstruction
No full textIn the past 10 years there has been an alarming rise of MLB players who have had to receive ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, or Tommy John Surgery, to address and fix issues present with the elbow of pitchers after long, consistent use in competitive games. Research has shown that there are correlations present between player injury rates and consistent statistics of pitches thrown by those who have had to receive the surgery. Type of pitch thrown, the rate of pitching, and the spin of a baseball have all been found to have significant impact on shortening the career of a pitcher and expediting their downturn until surgery is required. Building off these previous findings, this project used a Bayesian approach to statistical modeling and analysis to develop a predictive model. It incorporates pitching data from players with and without UCL reconstruction to accurately forecast whether a player is at risk of requiring UCL reconstruction before showing signs of damage
Tiny Plastics, Big Impact: How Microplastics Affect Macroinvertebrates in Urban Streams
No full textRichland Creek was monitored for macroinvertebrate biometrics from 2001 to 2012 (Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, 2016). Macroinvertebrates were collected in four tributaries, which were then given a habitat health score based on taxa richness, EPT, and intolerant taxa collected. This study found that macroinvertebrates are not widely supported in the Richland Creek Watershed (Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, 2016). Given that macroinvertebrate species have varying levels of sensitivity to different pollutants, the lack of macroinvertebrate presence in Richland Creek indicates that this urban watershed has a significant amount of pollution (Bauer et al. 2007). This study aims to analyze anthropogenic microplastic pollution levels in three tributaries of Richland Creek and whether the amount and/or size of microplastics found in stream sediment effects the macroinvertebrate species present. To do so, 18 samples will be collected across all 3 sites – 9 macroinvertebrate samples and 9 sediment samples. Macroinvertebrates will be collected using a kick net, then placed into a container to be identified. Immediately after identifying the Order of the macroinvertebrates, they will be released back into the stream. Sediment will also be collected in the field, then analyzed in the lab for microplastic content. It is expected that tributaries with higher levels of anthropogenic pollution will have larger amounts of microplastics accumulated in the streambed, which would decrease the abundance of sediment-dwelling macroinvertebrates. Preliminary data shows that sites 1 and 2 both contained 6 macroinvertebrate taxa. However, site 2 included stoneflies and mayflies, which are more sensitive to pollution than other species observed at site 1. Based on this preliminary data, anthropogenic microplastic pollution is likely impacting macroinvertebrate communities at site 1. These findings could have implications for conservation and land management practices in urban streams