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Surgical Smoke Evacuation Quality Improvement Project
Get PDFAbstract
Background: Surgical smoke is a byproduct produced during surgical procedures when high-energy producing devices are used to vaporize tissue. This smoke poses health risk to anyone present in the operating room.
Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to educate and minimize the exposure of both staff and patients to the hazardous toxic fumes and vapors produced by energy-generating electrocautery devices.
Methods: The intervention based on the Kim Ball Smoke Evacuation Compliance Model was implemented in a large military hospital with 20 operating rooms and three labor and delivery suites. Implementation included formal education strategies, equipment updates, and compliance monitoring tools. Data collection included staff education tracking, direct observation of eligible surgical procedures using the AORN audit tool, and suction Bovie pencil implementation. Descriptive statistics were conducted to evaluate the project outcomes.
Results: Over 50% of staff completed the education. Compliance for all five AORN audit elements improved or was sustained during post-implementation. Suction Bovie usage increased 113.5% from pre- to post-implementation.
Discussion: This quality improvement initiative showed that using a suction Bovie pencil, along with educating staff about the dangers of surgical smoke, helped to create a smoke-free environment in the operating room.
Conclusion: Utilizing a suction Bovie pencil had a positive impact on helping to create a smoke-free atmosphere in the operating room. Future direction for this project is to educate all surgical new-hires and provide bi-annual training for permanent staff to continue their knowledge and awareness of surgical plume.
Key Terms: Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, bioaerosols, diathermy plume, operating room, suction Bovie Pencil, surgical plume, surgical smok
Educating Patient Populations on the Use of SEM Scanner Technology
Get PDFA hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) is a localized skin wound that can occur on a person’s epidermis and underlying tissues due to friction or shear over bony prominences as a result of long-term immobilization in a hospital setting. HAPIs are a significant source of lengthened hospital stays, increased medical costs, and mortality rates. The sub-epidermal moisture (SEM) scanner is a revolutionary point-of-care device which can detect the level of moisture underneath the epidermis which precedes the appearance of a HAPI, providing an objective measurement of imminent pressure injury risk.
This applied thesis project aimed to create an educational brochure on the risk factors of acquiring a HAPI as a hospital inpatient, prevention methods that have proven to reduce pressure injury occurrence, and an introduction of the SEM scanner as a tool utilized to determine imminent risk for patient populations. The brochure clarifies common misconceptions regarding the scanner and explains why the tool is pertinent to patient care, while providing a walk-through of the patient scanning experience.
The creation of an educational brochure on pressure injury prevention and the use of SEM scanner technology has effectively demonstrated inclusion of the patient in the discussion of their own care and treatment plan. It can be concluded that the brochure provides an accurate and accessible summary of the SEM scanner as a tool to assess risk of HAPIs for patients to make informed decisions about their health and assist in the process of reducing personal risk
Life in Dance: Relationship to Self and Dance Environment
Get PDFDance is an athletic art form in which the body is trained repetitively to perfect sequences of movement. The training regimen for dance requires a lot of time and dedication; this training can have an impact on self-esteem, especially when aspects of dance become detrimental to the dancer.
Maintaining a high level of self-esteem is important for dancers because self-esteem impacts a dancer\u27s ability to grow in their artistry as well as life outcomes outside of dance.
Current research on dancer self-esteem highlights a very specific issue: body image. Dancers are expected to execute technique and fulfill high standards; oftentimes, these high standards in relation to body movement lead to negative perceptions of a dancer’s body. Negative views of one’s body will impact self-esteem negatively.
The current study - Life in Dance: Relationship to Self and Dance Environment - pivots away from body image and focuses on foundational dance issues and their impact on self-esteem.
Through mixed-methods exploratory research design, this study aims to gain further insight into dancers’ self-esteem outcomes based on the impact of three exposures: motivational climate, perfectionism, and use of comparison. This study will contribute to the current body of research regarding dance and self-esteem by exploring the impact of all three exposures, especially perfectionism - the primary exposure - and how they connect to a dancer\u27s self-esteem. Through investigating the exposures a better understanding of dancer self-esteem is developed, pedagogical standards are better informed as well as ideas on avoiding burnout in dancers. Lastly, this study could contribute to meaningful intervention not only for a dancer\u27s self-esteem in the context of a dance environment, but in life overall considering the impact of self-esteem on life outcomes
The role and expression of pros-1 in the C. elegans gonad
Get PDFThe nematode, formally known as Caenorhabditis elegans, has served as an excellent model organism in understanding fundamental biological processes, including those governed by conserved genes like pros-1. pros-1 is partially responsible for the formation of tubular structures within the organism. Glial cells and excretory canals are both examples of tubular structures governed by pros-1. pros-1 orchestrates the embryonic development of these cell types by modulating cell proliferation and differentiation, thus ensuring proper morphogenesis and organogenesis. Its regulatory influence likely extends beyond embryogenesis, potentially affecting reproductive processes as well. Furthermore, the evolutionary conservation of pros-1 underscores its significance across species.
Given the relevance of gene expression in developmental processes of all organisms, it is crucial to study the orthologues of pros-1 in different organisms. Examining sex-biased genes between C. elegans and mice offers insights into how conserved genes like pros-1 operate differently in males and females, and how these differences are regulated across species. This comparison not only validates gene expression findings but also highlights the broader implications of gene function in gonadogenesis. Studying the regulation of sex-biased genes can provide insights into how genes like pros-1 influence development in both C. elegans and mice, which can be extrapolated to better understand gene regulation in other organisms, including humans. Using a mixed method analysis, gonad-enriched and sex-biased genes in C. elegans were compared to orthologs in mice to determine which genes might have an ancient role in gonad formation.
To better understand the role and expression of pros-1 in the C. elegans gonad, a genetic cross will be performed that will generate a strain of animals that allows for the testing of the role of pros-1 in the male gonad. The cross will occur between a pros-1::gfp hermaphrodite and ckb-1::degron; him-8 male, thus creating a system in which the Pros-1 protein will be degraded only in the gonad, leaving the other proteins expressed by pros-1 elsewhere in the organism unaffected and functioning normally. This allows the role of pros-1 specifically in the gonad to be better understood
Exploring Other Needs: Possibilities for Supporting Community Literacy in the High School English Classroom
No full textHistorically, in research and practice, educators’ role has been to teach privileged literacies associated with academia. However, prior research also indicates that there are literacy needs that exist outside the classroom. This article explores possibilities for broadening considerations of literacy in the high school English classroom to include community literacy needs and skills. My study explored the impact of Louisville high school English classes on students’ community literacies. My findings suggest that coursework does have an impact, sometimes positive and, often, negative. However, certain classroom experiences supported or, at least, did not hinder community literacy growth, indicating that considering community literacy in the high school English classroom can be worthwhile. This article provides discussion and commentary of potential avenues for developing community literacy in the classroom, based on these findings
Resilience Training in Occupational Therapy Education
No full textIn the post-COVID era of healthcare, a new pandemic of burnout has taken hold of healthcare professionals. Burnout has been found to negatively impact patient outcomes and well-being of healthcare professionals. Resilience training has been found to be effective in reducing burnout and burnout symptoms in healthcare professionals and health profession students. However, research specific to occupational therapy and occupational therapy students is limited. This study asks the central question: Within graduate level Occupational Therapy programs, what do faculty members perceive are the barriers and supports to implementing resilience training within Occupational Therapy education? 14 faculty members teaching graduate level occupational therapy students across the United States provided insight on their lived experience with implementing resilience training.
After analyzing the data, the Pathway to Resilience was uncovered with themes that had emerged from the data. These themes include (a) Missing Pieces on the Path, (b) Crossing Generational Bridges, (c) Forks in the Road, (d) Guardrails of Care, (e) Many Roads to One Destination, and (f) Paving the Way Forward. These themes discuss the impact of a lack of training, time constraints, generational differences, student/faculty buy in, and faculty concerns for student perceptions when implementing resilience training. Current delivery models and faculty insights on how to move forward with implementing resilience training are also conveyed in the themes. Based on the study results, it is recommended that resilience training is incorporated into graduate level occupational therapy education in fieldwork courses, mental health courses, or during student advising. The findings of this study have implications for practice, education, and research. Integration of resilience training in occupational therapy education is recommended to best prepare future occupational therapists for the rigors of practice. Further research is needed to understand the best models for delivery and the long-term impact on occupational therapy practitioners when resilience training is introduced during their education. Improved preventative approaches to reducing burnout and its symptoms could lead to less turnover in the field of occupational therapy as well as practitioners that are happier and healthier
Navigating Circuit Splits: Analyzing Career Offender Enhancements in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines through Canons of Construction
Get PDFThis paper analyzes the Career Offender Enhancement within the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. This enhancement can provide unequal sentences for similarly situated defendants in different federal circuits. This paper seeks to investigate the current circuit split and utilize the canons of construction to provide a better understanding of how this split could be resolved and the philosophical reasoning. To answer this question, I conducted a case study on four different cases within four different circuits to understand the courts\u27 reasoning behind their application or lack of application of the Career Offender Enhancement. The results show two main issues surrounding the enhancement: Inchoate offenses and the definition of controlled substances. I believe that the Rule of Lenity, along with other canons, provides a framework for judges to interpret this unclear statute to best benefit the defendant and protect them from judicial overreach and extensive sentences. Further, this study emphasizes the importance of this issue being brought to the Supreme Court for the statute to be clearly interpreted and defined
An In-Depth Analysis of the Bellarmine University Student Athlete Experience
Get PDFThe goal of this thesis is to improve the student athlete experience at Bellarmine University through direct feedback from our current student athletes. By defining what parts of the student athlete experience they value most, Bellarmine can reflect on the support currently provided in these areas. Additionally, if it is concluded through the response that high valued areas are not being satisfied, Bellarmine can work to improve the support in these areas. Or, if there is abundant support in a low-valued area, Bellarmine could think to shift resources into a more needed concentration. Through the design sample, data was accumulated from current student athletes and alumni of Bellarmine University utilizing two separate surveys. By giving personal feedback, hopefully, student athletes will feel empowered, and real change can be made through having their voices heard. There is considerable research about what is good for student athletes and best practices, but there is limited research about what student athletes want or what they value specifically and how those values impact each other. Through this study, I hope to identify what student athletes want to get out of their collegiate experience and how Bellarmine can best serve those needs
Aristotle and Mencius, Comparisons of the Good Life
Get PDFAristotle and Mencius are both renown philosophers in the field of ethics and moral teaching. Using the Nicomachean Ethics and The Works of Mencius, we can analyze their respective theories to come to a better understanding of what the good life is in the eyes of these two great philosophers, as well as how an individual can work towards achieving a fulfilling life