Athena Commons - Digital Repository of Mississippi University for Women
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Impacting Nurse Practitioner Role Confidence Through a Mentorship Program
Full text linkMentorship is frequently overlooked as a key strategic focus in healthcare environments, yet it is essential for fostering a culture of mentorship. Structured mentoring initiatives offer significant benefits for both mentors and mentees. They enable nurses to build professional connections while enhancing their skills. It is essential for nurses to receive thorough mentorship that not only hones their professional abilities but also considers their emotional well-being. An increasing amount of research highlights the beneficial effects of mentorship on various outcomes, such as role confidence, job retention, and overall career satisfaction. Most health care systems lack a mentoring program specifically tailored for nurse practitioners, but those that implement formal programs have shown a positive impact on job retention and job satisfaction. This quality improvement project aimed to determine if implementing a new nurse practitioner mentoring program led to significant improvements in participants’ confidence, expectations, and overall readiness. Twelve family nurse practitioners were paired in a mentor/mentee relationship with years of experience for the mentors ranging from 8-14 years and \u3c 18 months for the mentees. Content was developed to create a pilot mentoring program for family nurse practitioners. The pilot program lasted for 12 weeks from September 2024 to December 2024. A total of 7 survey questions regarding confidence and experiences in their role as nurse practitioners appeared on the pre-test and post-test surveys. There were statistically significant changes between the pre-test and post-test for four out of the seven questions. This mentoring program had a positive effect on participants\u27 confidence, expectations, ability to meet professional demands, capability to address patients\u27 clinical care needs, and confidence in managing their patient load, highlighting the importance of a nurse practitioner mentorship
COM 320 Facebook Group Survey
Full text linkThis class research project involved a qualitative study looking at a private Facebook site that focuses on the city of Columbus and the surrounding area. The owner of the site gave permission for a survey to be conducted among the sites more than 17,000 members. The Qualtrics survey was live for two weeks, and then students analyzed the responses. The Communication theories discussed during the semester were chosen to compliment the social media research project. The research and findings were incorporated into the course curriculum, and students were responsible for writing and editing the methodology component of the research paper as well as selection of findings to present in the paper
Inside the Mind of a Prisoner
No full textLife behind bars is an alternative way of living that is typically reserved for those who violate statutory law. Prisoners’ mental health are usually put on a back burner due to the nature of their environment. Citizens in the civilized world tend to disregard people housed in the jail, understandably, but it is important to try to view them with an open mind. Health professionals noticed the effects of those incarcerated and conducted several studies to better understand the mind of a criminal. Incarcerated individuals were gathered in polls to retrieve their thought process and the reasons behind the way they behave in certain manners. There is a common theme amongst all the findings: depression.Their state of mind is not where it needs to be, and this can be pointed back to the justice system.The United States focuses more on punishment rather than rehabilitation which is why this country has recidivism (return) rate in the world
COMPREHENSIVE DETECTION OF ENDOGENOUS CFTR EXPRESSION IN EPITHELIAL CELL LINES: BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR APPROACHES
No full textCystic fibrosis (CF), primarily affecting Caucasians of northern European descent, results from mutations in the CFTR gene. DF508, the most common of CFTR mutations, results in dysfunctional Cl- channels in epithelial cells. Detecting CFTR protein expression at endogenous levels poses challenges, prompting this study to employ biochemical and molecular methods for its detection in non-transfected epithelial cell lines. Human pancreatic epithelial cell lines expressing endogenous wild-type CFTR (Capan-1) and DF508-CFTR (CFPAC) were treated with 5mM sodium butyrate for 60h to upregulate the CFTR expression. Additionally, a human lung epithelial cell line stably transfected with wild-type CFTR gene (CFBE-wt) was employed as a positive control. CFTR protein expression levels were assessed using biochemical techniques such as immunoprecipitation and improved western blotting [Heda et al, BioTechniques, 68(6), 319-325, 2020] using anti-CFTR polyclonal antibody MD1314. Concurrently, CFTR mRNA expression levels were determined by RT-qPCR, serving as a complementary approach to biochemical detection methods. The results demonstrated the successful detection of endogenous CFTR expression through both biochemical and molecular methodologies, where western blotting was employed for the first time in such detection. RT- qPCR emerged as the most convenient method, allowing us to quantitate the detection of endogenous CFTR expression, albeit at the mRNA level. However, biochemical detection of CFTR protein expression levels posed challenges due to the need for substantial quantities of antibodies and/or protein samples. Nevertheless, these detection methods hold promise for CF diagnosis using patient specimens
Discovery and Identification of MUWow Bacteriophage from Columbus, MS
Full text linkBacteriophages are an abundant type of virus with the ability to infect and kill bacteria while using them to replicate through lytic or lysogenic processes. Bacteriophages play a key role in the regulation of bacterial populations in various environments and are being explored as potential tools in phage therapy. The aim of this study was to isolate, characterize, and manually annotate the genome of the bacteriophage MUWow collected from the campus of the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS at GPS coordinates 33.493021 N, 88.419611 W. MUWow was isolated from a soil sample on Arthrobacter globiformis B-2979. Plaque assays, spot tests, and serial dilutions were used to purify the lysate and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were performed to determine phage characteristics. MUWow DNA was sequenced at the Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute. Various bioinformatics tools, including PECAAN, GeneMarkS, Phamerator, BLASTP, HHPred, TMHMM, and SOSUI, were used to determine open reading frames and predict gene function. MUWow belongs to cluster AY and displays Siphoviridae morphology, with a head diameter of approximately 50 nm and a tail length of 100 nm. Its genome has 55,034 base pairs, a GC content of 62.4%, and 98 unconfirmed genes. A subset of these genes code for proteins that have determined functions, including minor tail proteins, membrane proteins, and helix-turn-helix DNA binding domain. The annotation of the MUWow phage will advance current understanding of bacteriophage diversity, and further bioinformatic analysis is being performed to explore the structure and function of predicted proteins
Factors Influencing Registered Nurses Pursuing Advanced Degrees
Full text linkNurse retention is a problem that has impacted the healthcare system for years and is predicted to grow as the baby boomer generation retires. In 2022, Mississippi had 29,370 nurses and over half were over the age of fifty (Feeney, 2024). The research highlighted the importance of positive workplace relationships and supportive management to increase job satisfaction and loyalty among nurses. Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, nursing shortages had been reported but the pandemic increased those numbers and exacerbated nurse burnout. Nurses pursuing advanced degrees are a population that is leaving the bedside and the deficit in bedside nurses affects patient outcomes. Identifying the motivating factors for nurses pursuing advanced degrees provides key insight into the demographic differences and improvements that can be tailored to help foster job satisfaction which directly affects nursing retention. The research conducted was a descriptive quantitative design to assess registered nurses’ influencing factors for pursuing advanced degrees. Data was collected from a ten-question survey of 179 registered nurses in various fields of practice in Mississippi and the surrounding areas. The study identified key motivating factors such as burnout, work-life balance, job dissatisfaction, and the pursuit of career advancement. Autonomy, knowledge acquisition, and compensation were nearly ranked as top motivators for educational advancement, but the emotional drivers carried more weight than strategic career planning
Universal Classroom Design
No full textThis research seeks to bridge the gap between K–12 inclusion practices and the realities of higher education by exploring how universal design, institutional support, and educators’ belief systems can create more inclusive environments and support students to have higher grades and more intrinsic mastery of the subject matter. It is not enough to mandate inclusion; we must actively build systems that support all learners, regardless of whether their disability is visible, diagnosed, or self-identified. This study looked at the efficacy of universal classroom design in raising the median grade in a course. The median grade in this course has historically been between 80 and 90% mastery. The respondents had a similar median grade, and nearly all the students who used the available accommodations felt that they helped, as indicated by a higher median grade among those respondents, aligning with other studies that have shown that having the options available provides the option of support as students deem necessary
Closing the Gap: Preschool Quality Affect on Language Acquisition Across Socioeconomic Statuses
Full text linkLanguage acquisition is impacted greatly in the early years of life by many contributing factors. Children begin to have the conscious ability to acquire, learn, and develop language in exponential capacities around the age of 3-4 years old. These years are vital for the future of individuals\u27 speech and communication. Preschool education is the beginning building blocks that lead to K-12 language learning and development. Socioeconomic statuses differ across all preschool aged children’s homes, consequently affecting the language heard and learned in the household. Our goal is to examine whether the quality of preschool education reduces the language acquisition gap among preschoolers from different socioeconomic backgrounds. To research the preschool’s educational impact upon language in different socioeconomic statuses we would carry out a plan to conduct a survey during the first week of school by sending a questionnaire home for the parents to fill out regarding annual household income. The annual household income of each family would be compared to the rankings of socioeconomic status annual income average rankings in the U.S. Then, the Preschool Language Scale - 5th Edition would be conducted on a class of 3-4 year olds in the preschool in August, and then again in May to compare the results. We will have gathered the socioeconomic statuses of each child while comparing score results to view the growth of language across this timeline
Natal And Neonatal Teeth In Mississippi Newborn
No full textTitle: Natal And Neonatal Teeth In Mississippi Newborns
Submission Type: Semester Long Research/ Oral Presentation
Abstract: In recent years, we have seen a growth in Mississippi infants being born with or growing teeth at an earlier stage. This may be caused by several things, like gestational age, maternal age, or possibly the mother’s diet. We are now looking for common similarities between these infants to see what the possible cause may be. Although this may not seem detrimental, this is still very harmful for infants, causing diseases like Riga Fede Disease. This is a disease that is caused by mandibular incisors and creates ulcers at the bottom of the tongue. This is very painful and can create issues for mothers who are breastfeeding. METHODS: We will go through an Honest Broker and have them access patient charts in Epic. The Honest Broker will send the data and help us determine if there are similarities between the infants and their mother’s gestational age. RESULTS: Our research is still ongoing, and the information is held confidential at UMMC. We are hoping to better understand potential common factors of patients with natal and neonatal teeth in Mississippi, so we can educate future mothers on ways they can prevent this from occurring