STUDENT: Alexy Callaway

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Every single day, people go into the operating room to have a surgical procedure. Whether it is a routine surgery or an emergency surgery, this can be a very stressful event for many people. Waking up after being under anesthesia can also be very stressful and scary to the person. I wanted to research the effect of playing music in the post-anesthesia care unit to see if it made the experience more calming for the patient and if it played any role on the patient’s scale of pain. To conduct my research, I found many scholarly articles and journals that also had the same question about the effect of music on post-anesthesia care unit patients. In these articles and journals, it was found that playing music in the post-anesthesia care unit did have a calming effect on most patients and also reduced the amount of pain that these patients experienced.

STUDENT: Sydney Nonnemacher

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

There have been many advancements in the equipment that is used to treat and control Type 1 Diabetes, especially pertaining to the pediatric population. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has made glucose finger sticks a thing of the past, but how does this device measure up to traditional glucose machines in terms of diabetes management. The most accurate way to determine effectiveness in diabetics is by looking at the patient’s A1C levels.

STUDENT: Teara Neu

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Now more than ever, healthcare workers are working past their breaking point. The recent pandemic has shone a light on the working conditions of nurses all over the world. Nurse burnout or compassion fatigue occurs when work-related mental and physical exhaustion exceeds a functional level and begins affecting the nurse’s ability to show compassion and the quality of care they provide. Research on the effects of nurse burnout is plentiful and some research even suggests ways that the nurse can help themselves when they’re experiencing burnout. Little research suggests what interventions employers can put in place to address and prevent burnout. Research regarding these interventions shows that the implementation of a well-rounded Employee Assistance Program can help improve burnout among their staff. These programs can include cognitive-behavioral skill-building, counseling, activities to promote teamwork and unity, and programs to educate the staff on mindfulness, resiliency, and other self-care tips. All of the research recommends that more needs to be done not just in research, but in practice as well, for nurses experiencing burnout or compassion fatigue.

Key words: nurse burnout, employee assistance program, compassion fatigue, nurse burnout and quality of care.

Second Place in Category #1 – Nursing: Health and Aging

STUDENT: Francesca Rizzo

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

The basis of this project is to explore the unchanged ways of the BMI scale. It was originally created by a physicist and created the calculation by volume. This was the start of a scale in which doctors were able to calculate the weight range of an average person and if it was within the normal range of their height and age. The problem is that with the changes in lifestyles, an average height of 5’7″” and who has muscle mass on them may be considered obese by the BMI scale. We know that there is a difference in muscle and fat density, now how can we be able to make a new scale to determine obesity or underweight or to even completely getting rid of such a scale all together.

STUDENT: Heather Hollister

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

This is not a new issue dealing with nursing shortages. The purpose of this project is to see how the nursing shortages affect quality patient care and outcomes. The importance of having a lower nurse to patient ratio is improved quality of patient care and overall better patient outcomes. Based on what I witness at my job, a nurse that has eight patients is not able to spend adequate time with each of their patients which can result in important details of patient care being overlooked compared to a nurse that only has four patients and is able to spend more quality time with their patients. Within my research, I plan to look at the quality of patient care that patients are receiving while their nurse is working with low staffing, and to look at overall patient outcomes. I also plan to discuss the dangers of the shortage not only for the patients but how the nurses suffer as well.

STUDENT: Domenic Joseph Giacobbe III

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Animal Assisted Therapy is the use of animals to help people cope with current conditions and facilitate rehabilitation. Animal Assisted therapy is meant to improve patients physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. The objective of this project is to take a look at several studies in order to find how much of an impact Animal Assisted Therapy has on inpatients. This project will summarize the different ways Animal Assisted Therapy positively impacted inpatients suffering from different conditions.

STUDENT: Czekaj

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

When conducting my research, I looked through scholarly journals and articles that have done studies on vegan diets. I have found systematic reviews, cohort studies, and case reports. I then narrowed the search that relates a vegan diet to heart disease. I am looking at the age group of middle-aged adults (40-50 years of age) because this is the most common age of when cardiovascular diseases are diagnosed. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. There are many levels of prevention from this disease, but a main component that many people tend to ignore is diet. A diet filled with mostly dairy, high salt content, red and processed meats is a precursor for developing a cardiovascular disease. A vegan diet means to have a plant-based diet, excluding meat, fish, and dairy. In my research, I found multiple studies that following a vegan diet before the development of heart disease can decrease a person’s chance of developing one. Also, I found that people already diagnosed with heart disease and follow a vegan diet actually have fewer symptoms and risk for death than those who do not follow this diet.

Keywords: vegan diet, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, middle-aged, development, progression

First Place in Category #1 – Nursing: Health and Aging

Winner Library Literacy Award for Posters

STUDENT: Megan Lucey

PROJECT ADVISOR: Michael Evans

ABSTRACT

Wearable healthcare technology, devices that are worn to collect data on health and exercise, are growing in popularity and uses. Some of the functions of wearable technology include measuring blood pressure, sleep, heart rate and rhythm, and steps taken. A well-known example of these devices is the Fitbit™. Many wearable devices can be paired with smartphones for easy access to the data they collect. However, there are still issues with usability of wearable devices. A 2020 study determined that popular wearable wrist devices had unsatisfactory usability that needed improvement. Wearable devices are not yet integrated into electronic health records (EHR), but technology is being developed to assist with this advancement. These devices offer numerous advantages for nursing such as empowering a patient to manage their own health, providing significant amounts of health data, and improving quality of care. Still, there are disadvantages that must be addressed regarding these devices such as issues with usability, patient privacy, and security. Another issue with wearable devices is a lack of digital literacy among U.S. adults. These devices require digital literacy to be used, yet 16% of U.S. adults are not digitally literate, thus causing data to be misinterpreted. Wearable healthcare devices have the potential to provide significant benefits for nursing. However, concerns and issues of these devices must first be addressed. Areas of improvement for wearable devices include usability, EHR integration, security, HIPAA compliance, and data privacy. Nurses should be aware of this technology in order to educate patients on their healthcare options.

STUDENT: Jenny Vongmany

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT
Getting enough sleep at night is important for adults as it puts the body to rest after a long day. Sleeping can be therapeutic and relaxing, but some adults struggle with getting to sleep or having a full night’s sleep. Sleep deficiency can be dangerous as it increases the risk for health problems like cardiac disease, hypertension, and cancer. And sleep deficiency can lead to falling asleep at the wheel during the drive to work. Pharmacological therapy can be done, but the side effects increase the risk for daytime fatigue and substance dependence or abuse. Mind-body therapy is encouraged in Eastern medicine practices for healing all parts of the body. They are used to relax the mind, body, and soul, and they could also be an effective treatment for insomnia.

STUDENT: Logan DeSanto

PROJECT ADVISOR: Milton Evans

ABSTRACT

Informal caregivers of individuals with dementia are often faced with many challenges while taking on the role as the primary caregiver for the person with dementia. The number of individuals with dementia is expected to increase over the years. In addition, a high percentage of individuals with dementia receive care at home by unpaid family members or friends. The role as a caregiver for these individuals includes providing care on top of other life demands, such as parenting, work, and relationships. Informal caregivers experience many effects of caregiver burden while providing care. Caregiver burden affects both the caregiver and care recipient. Despite the challenges and demanding efforts included in the role as an informal caregiver, caregivers are still motived to provide care at home. Respite care is an intervention utilized to reduce caregiver burden in caregivers, allowing caregivers to continue to provide efficient care. Respite care includes short-term breaks for caregivers. When respite care is utilized, caregivers reported a slight decrease in caregiver burden by experiencing reduced strain. In addition, caregivers have a decreased desire to seek out hospitalization for the individual with dementia. On the other hand, respite care has increased caregiver burden in these caregivers. This evidence-based practice paper examines the latest data regarding current studies on scheduled respites for caregivers of home adult dementia patients. Recommendations are made based on the results of these studies with a goal of decreasing caregiver burden.