The School of Nursing 2011-2012 student design projects will be on display on Friday, May 25 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Todd Wehr Auditorium, 1047 N. Broadway. See this year's Student Projects booklet (pdf file) for detailed information. This year's projects are described below.
Environmental Enhancement: Music Integration into the Therapeutic Regimen of Inpatients at a Mental Health Center
Students: Sara Achten and Brianna Gardner
Faculty Advisor: Professor Catherine Leffler
Our goal for this project is to incorporate music into the current therapeutic regimen for the inpatient population at Waukesha County Mental Health Center due to the positive response we received while leading a music session during a previous clinical experience. We plan on developing a controlled, therapeutic protocol for music so that it can be offered more than when the clinical groups are there. We hope to see the patients benefiting from the change long after we are done. We would like to have music offered during meal times as well as in the evenings during free time before visiting hours. It is our belief that music will enhance the atmosphere making it a better quality healing environment. We like to refer to this as “Environment Enhancement.”
Health Promotion and Stress Reduction for Nursing Students
Students: Amanda Carpenter, Maria Peterson
Faculty Advisor: Professor Catherine Leffler
Nursing is a particularly challenging undergraduate program that focuses on caring for others. However, to care appropriately for future patients, nursing students must first develop techniques for maintaining their own health. In today’s health care world, health promotion and prevention is becoming the new care model. Implementing a stress reduction and peer support group for nursing students at MSOE’s School of Nursing is the first step in improving students and future health care providers’ well-being. The group name selected was MSOE Nursing All STARS. STARS is an acronym standing for: (S)upport, (T)each, (A)ccept, (R)each out, and (S)ocialize. The goals of the bimonthly peer-to-peer support group are to: a) raise awareness of personal stressors, b) reduce feelings of stress, c) build helping relationships, and d) develop positive stress reduction techniques and coping mechanisms. Additionally, a trained counselor is available at no cost for students needing or desiring additional support at no cost.
Bathing Protocol for Neonates less than 1,200 Grams
Students: Brittany Farley, Christine Wendorf
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Josie Wollenhaupt
Very low birth weight premature babies require special care, especially surrounding maintenance of their skin. The purpose of this change project is to use evidence-based skin care guidelines for low birth weight premature neonates (less than 1,200 grams in weight) in St. Joseph’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Milwaukee. The nurses in the NICU expressed a desire for us to create a unit policy related to bathing these tiny babies and caring for their fragile skin. This project required research on current practice and evidence for best practice guidelines. Reduction of Hypertension and Constipation in MSOE students by encouraging Food Services Inc. to offer fresh produce on campus Students: Erin Haefs, Karina Weideman Since MSOE Health Services opened five years ago, the nurse practitioners have noted that many students seeking health care have either hypertension or constipation. They estimated that for every three students assessed, one student has either hypertension or constipation. The foods available and consumed throughout the MSOE campus are a possible contributing factor to the problem. The foods may be high in calories, fat, and sodium. Fruits and vegetables are available but not always presented in fresh form. We believe that if fresh fruits and vegetables were available to MSOE students, many of them would eat less of the foods high in calories, fat, and sodium and more of the nutritious fruits and vegetables. The purpose of our professional practice project is to reduce the incidence of hypertension and constipation in MSOE college students by encouraging Food Services Inc. to offer fresh produce on campus. To achieve our purpose, we have communicated with Food Services Inc. and have provided them with persuasive information regarding student statistics and community resources.
Increasing Awareness, Screening, and Referral of Mental Health Issues in the Adolescent Female Population at St. Joan Antida High School
Students: Jarek Barney, Stephanie Wall
Faculty Advisor: Professor Victoria Carlson-Oehlers
Through our professional practice project, we will try to break through the negative stigma associated with mental illness, which we are referring to as emotional health. In an effort to do this, we will educate and encourage emotional health with the overall goal of promoting a better understanding of what emotional health is, how it occurs and progresses, and the steps involved in dealing with and treating emotional health. Posters regarding mental health and daily emotional health tips of the day will be played over the announcements. Once awareness is raised through teaching, a screening session for stress, depression and anxiety will be conducted at the St. Joan Antida health fair using the DASS 21 screening tool. The results of this screening will be collected and analyzed, and then options for referral to extra support and help will be identified and offered following data collection. The overall goal of this project is to raise awareness of depression, stress and anxiety while offering screening and establishing a resource for referral to subjects at risk.
Encouraging Hand Washing of Visitors Entering the NICU
Students: Natalie Beimel, Elizabeth Watry
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Josie Wollenhaupt
Hand washing is the simplest and most effective way to prevent the spread of infection. Rates of nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infections continue to remain high and affect all types of patients. Considering the vulnerability of premature and critically ill neonates, the prevention of infection in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is particularly important. Preterm infants are at particularly high risk for infections due to their fragility, ineffective skin barrier, and immature immune systems. Because of this, it is important to ensure hand washing among not only health care staff but among visitors as well, as they also play a vital role in the transmission of infection. Specifically, some studies report hand-washing compliance rates as low as 20 percent (Raskind et al., 2007). In one such study, researchers found that only 6.6 percent of parents completed hand washing. We will implement this change project by creating and administering a brochure to parents and visitors. This project seeks to encourage visitors to wash their hands upon entering the NICU, promoting their involvement in protecting and ensuring a healthy environment for these vulnerable neonates.
Preventing Errors Through the Use of Standardized Procedure Checklists
Students: Elise Lang, Claire Steele
Faculty Advisor: Professor Catherine Leffler
The purpose of this project was to use standardized procedure checklists to prevent errors in the clinical setting at Planned Parenthood. Currently, this clinic has no formal system in place to perform specific procedures safely. Often times, steps or equipment is forgotten which can lead to longer wait times for the client and is seen as unprofessional for the staff. We are creating various checklists for procedures in order for all staff to be more efficient and improve care. By implementing checklists, the staff will be able to review the equipment needed, essential steps, and proper documentation. We hope that these checklists will be an effective tool for the staff and will be used for the years to come to provide safe care.
