DSpace Repository :: Browsing by Author "Dunn, Linda L."

Browsing by Author "Dunn, Linda L."

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9

Baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of clinical judegment and self-efficacy following high-fidelity simulation
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Pierce, Vicki Carol; Sherrod, Roy Ann; Houser, Rick; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Nurse education literature reflects that educators face a problem of how to provide meaningful clinical learning experiences that help undergraduate nursing students develop clinical judgment and increase self-efficacy. Many schools of nursing are incorporating high-fidelity simulation as an alternative clinical teaching strategy, yet there is little quantitative evidence to support the effectiveness of this teaching method in undergraduate nursing education, particularly regarding the development of clinical judgment. The purpose of this quasi-experimental time series design study was to explore the effectiveness of using multiple high-fidelity simulation experiences to increase perceptions of clinical judgment and self-efficacy in baccalaureate nursing students. Self-report data was collected following three different high-fidelity simulation experiences at three points in time. Data analysis revealed a statistically significant increase (p = .041) in students' perceptions of clinical judgment occurred between Time 1 and Time 3. Students' perceptions of self-efficacy also increased significantly from Time 1 to Time 3 (p = .003) and Time 2 to Time 3(p = .001). Regression analysis revealed a slight positive correlation (sig. = .003) between students' perceptions of self-efficacy and clinical judgment.
Bereavement services for Hispanics: an exploratory study of Florida hospices
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Arriaza, Pablo; Kosberg, Jordan I.; Csikai, Ellen L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the United Sates, numbering over 42 million and making up 15% of the total population. Hispanics are a diverse, intricate, and heterogeneous group that experiences various disparities in health care, including care at the end of life. One specific area, bereavement care, has received minimal attention in the literature, and previous national bereavement studies have not discussed ethnic variations related to the provision of bereavement services. This exploratory study, conducted in Florida, was undertaken to address existing policy, research, and practice gaps regarding bereavement services available to Hispanics. An on-line survey was developed to explore five research questions that centered on bereavement services offered by hospice agencies, bereavement coordinators' perceptions about the needs of Hispanics, and the strengths and challenges of hospice agencies when offering bereavement services to Hispanics. The sample consisted of all hospice bereavement coordinators in Florida. Initial contact was made by telephone to solicit participation and confirm contact information. An electronic survey was responded to by 73% (n = 30) of the total state sample. Results of this study reveal language and cultural barriers as major challenges in communicating with Hispanics and in offering and delivering bereavement services. Embedded within these challenges were reports by bereavement coordinators of the lack of Spanish-speaking personnel available to provide bereavement services. Additionally, results disclose that the number of Hispanics participating in bereavement services was much lower than the estimated number of potential Hispanic families and individuals eligible to participate in these services. Referrals to religious and spiritual support systems were considered an important referral source for Hispanics in bereavement agencies. Implications for social workers include the need to increase access to and the effectiveness of bereavement services for Hispanics through efforts in research, policy, and practice. Social work practitioners and researchers need to focus on the creation of instruments and processes for tracking bereavement services, and establishing practice standards for bereavement services. Needed policy efforts include advocating for more attention to the bereavement needs of Hispanics in state and national venues in addition to securing funds for creating grass-roots interventions.
Can Senior Volunteers Deliver Reminiscence and Creative Activity Interventions? Results of the Legacy Intervention Family Enactment Randomized Controlled Trial
(Elsevier, 2014) Allen, Rebecca S.; Harris, Grant M.; Burgio, Louis D.; Azuero, Casey B.; Miller, Leslie A.; Shin, Hae Jung; Eichorst, Morgan K.; Csikai, Ellen L.; DeCoster, Jamie; Dunn, Linda L.; Kvale, Elizabeth; Parmelee, Patricia; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; University of Virginia; US Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans Health Administration (VHA); Geriatric Research Education & Clinical Center
Context. Palliative care patients and their family caregivers may have a foreshortened perspective of the time left to live, or the expectation of the patient's death in the near future. Patients and caregivers may report distress in physical, psychological, or existential/spiritual realms. Objectives. To conduct a randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of retired senior volunteers (RSVs) in delivering a reminiscence and creative activity intervention aimed at alleviating palliative care patient and caregiver distress. Methods. Of the 45 dyads that completed baseline assessments, 28 completed postintervention and 24 completed follow-up assessments. The intervention group received three home visits by RSVs; control group families received three supportive telephone calls by the research staff. Measures included symptom assessment and associated burden, depression, religiousness/spirituality, and meaning in life. Results. Patients in the intervention group reported a significantly greater reduction in frequency of emotional symptoms (P = 0.02) and emotional symptom bother (P = 0.04) than the control group, as well as improved spiritual functioning. Family caregivers in the intervention group were more likely than control caregivers to endorse items on the Meaning of Life Scale (P = 0.02). Only improvement in intervention patients' emotional symptom bother maintained at follow-up after discontinuing RSV contact (P = 0.024). Conclusion. Delivery of the intervention by RSVs had a positive impact on palliative care patients' emotional symptoms and burden and caregivers' meaning in life. Meaningful prolonged engagement with palliative care patients and caregivers, possibly through alternative modes of treatment delivery such as continued RSV contact, may be necessary for maintenance of therapeutic effects. (C) 2014 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Evaluating narrative pedagogy in nursing education
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Santo, LaTonya Renee; Gaskins, Susan W.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Conventional teaching approaches centered on covering content are no longer adequate at equipping nursing graduates with the necessary cognitive and affective skills to function in the challenging roles of nursing practice. Nursing educators are adopting new pedagogies, such as Narrative Pedagogy, to better prepare graduates for the ever changing healthcare environment. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of educators who have used Narrative Pedagogy to teach nursing concepts and topics. This study sought to understand how educators evaluated students' learning outcomes following the enactment of Narrative Pedagogy. The research questions were as follows: (1) What are the desired learning outcomes following the enactment of Narrative Pedagogy? and (2) Which evaluation methods and tools are most appropriate to measure student outcomes following the enactment of Narrative Pedagogy? The participants consisted of eight nursing educators from the United States who had recently used Narrative Pedagogy to prepare registered nursing students. Each participant was interviewed initially via phone and asked to send examples of their syllabi, students' narratives, students' assignment submissions, and/or other evaluation tools. After the researcher reviewed the initial interview transcripts and documents, a follow-up phone interview was conducted. Data were analyzed, synthesized, and interpreted using an iterative, nonlinear three phase process using Heideggerian hermeneutics and descriptive statistics. Three major themes, related to evaluating Narrative Pedagogy emerged: (a) determining use of Narrative Pedagogy, (b) enhancing desired student outcomes, and (c) determining evaluation methods and tools. Results should help the pedagogical decisions of educators and initiate or continue dialogue related to nursing education reform among educators, administrators, students, and other stakeholders.
An exploration of formal mentoring experiences of junior faculty in associate degree nursing programs
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) Cannon, Marsha Moore; Atkinson, Becky M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this study was to explore the formal mentoring experiences of junior nursing faculty. The nursing faculty were located in associate degree nursing programs in community colleges in the Southeast. Three broad research questions were developed to guide the study: (1) What are the lived experiences of junior faculty with formal mentoring? (2) What is the nature of the interactions that take place between mentor and mentee? (3) What meanings do the mentees assign to these interactions? A qualitative research design was used to conduct the study. The participants offered a depiction of the lived experience of the formal mentoring experiences of junior nursing faculty. The results of the data analyses indicated the nurse educators encountered struggles as they acclimated into the nurse educator role. The formal mentoring that was provided for the mentees fostered within them a sense of belonging that resulted in job satisfaction and a desire to remain in nursing education. The mentees trusted that their mentors provided the best mentoring and learning experiences for them as the mentors sat in the classroom and observed them, provided guidance with instructional development, and assisted with test construction. All of these mentor actions helped the new faculty members grow as educators. Understanding the mentoring experiences of novice nurse educators is important to nursing education. Nursing faculty members leave education for a myriad of reasons including salary, stress, unclear role expectations, and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction greatly influences a faculty member's decision to remain in nursing education. The retention of qualified nurse educators is crucial to overcoming the nursing faculty shortage, and a means to address this problem is the mentoring of new educators. The study findings affirmed the positive nature of formal mentoring when examining the experiences of junior nurse educators.
The meaning of spirituality for nursing students before and after an international medical mission
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Booth, Leigh; Kuntz, Aaron M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Although caring for the mind, body, and spiritual components of the patient has been shown as a key component of patient care, nursing students are graduating with very little preparation in regards to this holistic practice. Students are prepared to meet the physical and mental needs of the patients; however, the spiritual domain of this holistic care is being neglected. All areas should be addressed within patient care. When one area is neglected, patient outcomes are not optimal. The purpose of this qualitative study was to focus on the spiritual aspect of holistic care and how an experiential learning method such as international medical trips could enhance a student’s ability and comfort level in this area. Providing students with this opportunity not only allows them unique experiences within healthcare, but it also gives students rare insights into the spiritual and cultural sides of human beings. In addition to providing these unique experiences to students in order to promote comfort in providing holistic care, students also need the opportunity to reflect and gather concrete learning from the experience. Using methods such as interviews and reflective journals, findings from this study indicated that nursing students lack knowledge and experience and have very little confidence in the area of providing holistic care especially related to spiritual care. Providing learning experiences through service learning activities such as international medical trips created opportunities for students to not only get the experience but also to grow in maturity and confidence in providing spiritual care.
Motivational orientations of registered nurses who pursue an advanced education
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Richardson, Rosemary; Stanton, Marietta P.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this study was to examine the motivational orientations (intrinsic motivation-to know, intrinsic motivation-toward accomplishment, intrinsic motivation-to experience stimulation, extrinsic motivation-identified, extrinsic motivation-introjected, extrinsic motivation-external regulation, and amotivation) of registered nurses who pursued a graduate degree. In addition, the study looked at the differences in demographic characteristics (age, income, and years of experience) and psychological needs (competence, relatedness, and autonomy). Lastly, it looked at the relationship between motivational orientations and psychological needs. The research problem included the following four questions: 1) are there differences between the motivational orientations of registered nurses who seek a master's versus those who seek a doctorate; 2) are there differences in demographic characteristics of those nurses pursuing a master's degree versus a doctoral degree; 3) are there differences in the psychological needs identified between those pursuing a master's versus a doctoral degree; and 4) is there a relationship between the types of motivational orientation and psychological needs? Results indicated no statistical differences in the motivational orientations reported by registered nurses who pursued a doctoral or master's degree. Registered nurses seeking a master's or doctoral degree scored the highest on intrinsic motivation-to know, extrinsic motivation-identified second, and third on intrinsic motivation-toward accomplishment. There were no significant differences in the three demographic characteristics self-reported by the nurses pursuing a master's degree or doctoral degree. Results revealed that there were no significant differences in the three psychological needs for these nurses. Results also revealed that there was a significant correlation between both extrinsic motivation-introjected and intrinsic motivation-experience stimulation to autonomy. In addition, there was a significant correlation between both extrinsic motivation-introjected and intrinsic motivation-experience stimulation and relatedness. Lastly, there was a significant correlation between intrinsic motivation-to know and competence.
Reflection as a tool to enhance critical thinking during the preceptorship experience
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Rose, Linda Sue; Stanton, Marietta P.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Critical thinking ability is required for safe nursing practice and nursing scholars agree that nursing students must learn critical thinking skills, however a consensus of how to best teach critical thinking is not readily available from the literature. Additionally, the need to assess and measure critical thinking skills is clear but research on methods of achieving this mandate is limited. The aim of this research study is to test the impact of an intervention applied during the preceptorship experience. The Health Science Reasoning Test (HSRT), a type of California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST); was administered to two groups of nursing students from difference college enrolled in a NUR Preceptorship course. Following the administration of the HSRT the experimental group received the intervention of directions on journaling of response to clinical events; the control group did not receive an intervention. The HSRT was administered again to both groups at the completion of the preceptorship experience and the scores analyzed to determine the impact of the intervention. Specifically, the purpose was to determine if the use of guided reflective journaling resulted in a statistically significant difference in scores on a test of critical thinking.
Religious coping styles, meaning, and emotional outcomes within the stress process: an examination of resilience in older adults
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Harris, Grant Michael; Allen, Rebecca S.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
People living with an advanced, chronic illness and loved ones caring for this group often report experiencing both positive and negative emotional outcomes as a result of their situation. The Folkman (1997) Stress Process Model suggests that meaning-based coping is the mechanism that leads to positive emotions and ultimately decreases negative emotions among this group. The current study examined one aspect of the Folkman (1997) model. Specifically, meaning was tested as a mediator of the relation of religious coping styles to gain control and emotional outcomes. Tests of the bivariate associations of study variables were conducted as were tests regressing mastery on the religious coping styles. The effect of race on variables of interest was also assessed. In addition, in-person semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth examination of key study variables and their relations. Participants included 35 non-demented care recipients with advanced, chronic illness and 35 family members providing care to this group. This sample included approximately equal numbers of Caucasians and African Americans. Analyses were conducted for care recipients and caregivers separately. Results indicated that meaning was not a mediator of religious coping styles and emotional outcomes. Bivariate associations suggested that the relation between the religious coping styles, meaning, and emotional outcomes varied by race. The religious coping styles were largely not predictive of mastery. Results of the qualitative and quantitative methods converged in several areas: the consequence of religion/spirituality is largely the creation of positive emotion, religious coping styles were not related to meaning, and the religious coping styles were not related to a sense of mastery. Interpretation of results was discussed in consideration of the current research in the area as well as the limitations of the current study. Implications for future qualitative and quantitative research based on study findings were addressed.

UA cloudflare authentication

Browsing by Author "Dunn, Linda L."

Results Per Page

Sort Options