Nurse Residency

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  Unsafe Sleep Practices

  Hillary Nash RN, BSN; Caitlin Rouselle RN, BSN; and Sabrina Schleh RN, BSN

  In newborns does enhanced verbal and visual education given to their parents/guardians related to unsafe sleep practices help to lower the incidence of unsafe sleep reported on our unit?

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  Use of SAT/SBT in Adult Critical Care

  Jack Shibles RN, Kelsie Lynch RN, Grace Decker RN, and Matthew McDonald RN

  In mechanically ventilated adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, how does having a protocol for pairing a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) with a spontaneous awakening trial (SAT) compared to not having a protocol affect the number of ventilator days?

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  Why do we care about safety with TBI patients?

  Delaney Loring RN BSN, Haley Greenleaf RN, Olivia Kaczmarek RN BSN, and Michaela Ryerson-Wing RN

  Do nurses working with acute and chronic TBI patients need additional education and training to provide safe, patient and family centered care during an inpatient hospital stay?

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  Bean 5 Turn Team: Improves Turing Interventions & Reduces HAPI Rates

  Paige Thompson RN and Johnna Grant RN

  Does implementing a turn team on hospital units aid in preventing pressure-related injuries as compared to standard of care, without a turning team?

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  Early vs. Delayed Ambulation: Impact on Postoperative Patient Outcomes During Hospitalization

  Nhi D, Alex T, and Hannah H

  In post-op patients, how does early mobilization compared to delayed mobilization affect patient outcomes within hospital time?

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  Fall Risk and Patient Safety

  Sidney Sparda, Iza Lobue, and Lilly Morrissey

  In patients with increased fall risk how does using the TIPS tool compared to The Johns Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool (JHFRAT) affect patient falls within an acute care setting?

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  Falls Happen... Do Tele sitters vs. 1:1 Companions Make a DIfference?

  Jenna Flewelling RN, Gabby Guzman RN, and Rhiannon Regan RN

  In patients with an increased fall risk (P), how does a tele sitter (I) compared to a 1:1 in person companion (C) affect the amount of falls that occur (O) within a hospital stay (T)?

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  Glycemic Control in Type II Diabetics

  Brianna Jordan BSN, RN; Caelyn Smith BSN, RN; Kyleigh Alt BSN, RN; and Sarah Goslin BSN, RN

  In type two diabetics, how does in-patient insulin protocols compare to interventions at home influence glycemic control over 6 months?

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  Professional Socialization

  Colleen Dyer RN, Ben Torpey RN, and Drew Wunderli RN

  In the on-boarding process for new graduate registered nursing staff, how does Professional socialization compare to traditional orientation influence staff retention or satisfaction after their first year of employment?

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  Psychosocial Health of Patients with a Left Ventricular Assist Device

  Sarah Christensen, Trang Le, and Natalie Pagenstecher

  Among adult patients diagnosed with advanced heart failure, what is the effect of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation on self-reported measures of psychosocial health during the post implantation period?

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  Reducing Heart Failure Readmissions

  Jenny Dutra BSN, RN; Taylah Kilby BSN, RN; and Carolyn Palmer BSN, RN

  How Does Structured Nursing Led Heart Failure Education Compare to Basic Patient Education and Resources, and How Does it Influence Reducing Heart Failure Readmissions Within 30 Days of Discharge?

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  Sleep Menu: Maintaining a Normal Sleep Regiment in an Unfamiliar Environment

  Samantha Donnell, Hallie Shiers, Nichole Demarco, and Taysier Elshaikh

  Key aspects of the health benefits of good sleep in the hospital setting

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  Staff Assist Process in the Emergency Department Setting

  Caroline Goodnight RN, Rasha Burkeba RN, and William Covert RN

  In the Emergency Department, how do zone-based response systems compare to department-wide response systems in a staff assist affect overall patient outcomes within a one-year period of time?

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  The Power of Empowerment: What Happens When We Include Patients in Nutritional Decision-Making

  Katarina Konstantino BSN, Julia Vaughan BSN, and Jennifer Hillyard BSN

  In hospitalized patients, how do personalized meal selections impact patient satisfaction and overall quality of life during hospital stays?

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  Using the Johns Hopkins Mobility Goal Calculator to Improve Functional Outcomes During Inpatient Stays and after Discharge

  Thomas Badger BSN, RN; Katherine Bower BSN, RN; and Becky Radolf MSN, RN

  Do adult hospital inpatients achieve pre-admission baseline functionality with higher frequency using the Johns Hopkins Mobility Goal Calculator (JH-MGC) versus the standard clinical approaches to mobility?

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  Palliative Care and Length of ICU Admission

  Grace Howard RN, Briana Kramer RN, Chloe Heslin RN, and Kyle Cleary RN

  Does incorporating palliative care influence the length of stay in intensive care patients?

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  Betamethasone and the effects on newborns of various gestations

  Julie Allen, Hanna Freeman, and Kristina Smith

  PICOT Question: In newborns of various gestational ages, how does administering betamethasone affect newborn outcomes within the first 72 hours of life?

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  Handoff Report & Standardizing Report Sheets

  Isabella Santeramo RN ADN, Caitlin Salas RN ADN, Samantha Neilhart RN ADN, and Debra Harmon RN ADN

  PICOT Question: In nursing, how does a standardized report compared to a non-standardized report affect efficiency in continuity of care in a 12-hour shift?

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  Q2 Turns and Air Fluidized Therapy Beds

  Fartun Hirsi RN, Audrey Iradukunda RN, and Krissia Walker RN

  PICOT Question: How does repositioning patients every 2 hours compared to Air Fluidized therapy beds reduce the incidence of pressure injuries in critically immobile ill older adults?

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  The Benefits of Heat Application and Range of Motion vs. Ice Therapy

  Jared Proulx RN BSN and Alejandro Canales RN

  PICOT Question: In patients with musculoskeletal injuries, is heat application and gentle range of motion more or less effective than standard icing and immobilization methods in regard to the healing process, prognosis and positive patient outcomes?

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  The Complexity of PRN Psychotropic Medications in the Acute Care Setting

  Morgan Pasquali BSC RN

  PICOT Question: In the geriatric population who have PRN medication for agitation compared with those without PRN medication for agitation, are at risk for adverse events during their hospital stay?

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  The Need and Impact of Child Life Interventions and Support on Night Shift

  Meranda Martin RN, Elise Moloney RN BSN, and Natani Condo RN BSN

  PICOT Question: For pediatric patients (P), how would having a Child Life resource available on night shift (I) improve (C) overall patient experience (O) during hospital stays (T)?

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  The Use of Nitrous Oxide in Adult Inpatient Populations for Analgesic and Anxiety Management During Bedside Procedures

  Avery Low RN, Frances Brown RN, and Hannah Lewis RN

  PICOT question: In adult medical-surgical inpatient populations, how does nitrous oxide compared to commonly used pain medications, affect patient procedure compliance and/or experience, within the length of their hospital visit?

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  Alarm Fatigue: Alarm Management/Intervention Education vs. Current State

  Keegan Dodge Dodge RN BSN

  PICOT Question: In inpatient telemetry units, how does alarm management/intervention education in comparison to current state affect a decrease in non-actionable alarms and reduce alarm fatigue?

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  Baby Doll Therapy for Older Adults with Dementia

  Ashley Holmes RN BSN and Naimo Ukash RN BSN

  PICOT Question: In patients older than 65 with dementia, (P), how does doll therapy (I) as compared to pharmaceutical interventions (C) affect caregiver burden (O)?

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  Diaper Destiny

  Delilah Graffam BSN RN and Liz Yeaton BSN RN

  PICOT Question: In the infant population, how does the use of different diapering techniques –such as textured/highly absorbent diapers and pH buffered wipes– impact skin integrity and the occurrence and/or severity of diaper dermatitis?

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  Early Ambulatory Cardiac Monitoring for Detection of Arrhythmias in Stroke Patients: Holter Monitor vs Zio Patch

  Jennifer Chretien RN

  In patients diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke, is 14-day monitoring with an ECG patch (e.g., Zio patch, Ezypro) more effective at detecting cardiac arrhythmias than traditional 24–48-hour Holter monitoring?

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  Medical Play

  Sophie Dugas RN and Michella Canning RN

  PICOT Question: Does medical play create a positive outlook during and after medical procedures in pediatric patients during their hospital stay?

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  Noise Levels in the Operating Room

  Olivia Bruzkova RN, Jaime Gore RN, Jennifer Suttles RN, and Sarah Trinward RN

  PICOT Question: For patients undergoing surgical interventions, how does reduced noise levels compared to unreduced noise levels influence patient outcomes and satisfaction?

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  Stethoscope Cleansing

  Addie Brinkman RN and Eric Langland RN

  PICOT Question: How often do healthcare providers clean their stethoscopes, and does it contribute to an increase in nosocomial infection?

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  Environmentally Friendly Disposal of Pharmaceuticals in the Hospital Setting

  Kate Sobanik

  Background: The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Drug Enforcement have regulations on the safe handling of narcotics as well as guidelines for environmental sustainability with the disposal of all pharmaceuticals. Federal, state and local regulations can vary but hospitals are required to dispose of pharmaceuticals in specific ways to prevent injury to the environment and living organisms.

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  How will the use of a black out hour and the improvement in handoff communication increase patient safety when arriving on the medical surgical units?

  Mackenzie Aleva

  Background: Change of shift admissions also increase nurse's frustration and workload. Most importantly change of shift admissions pose a risk for patient safety. On this unit specifically there are frequent change of shift admissions that occur.

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  Nurse Mentorship and Retention

  Alicia St Michel

  Background: Every year hospitals experience staff turnover. Implementation of a mentorship program apart from someone who is a preceptor, could help with staff retention and staff satisfaction.

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  Resources for Reduction of Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers Following a Mass Casualty Event

  Emily Dunn and Tonya Ernst

  Background:

  Being in healthcare, employees are faced with all sorts of challenges regarding their own mental and physical health and how to prioritize it, on top of caring for patients and their families. One challenge that healthcare workers hope they never have to learn how to cope with is the stress of mass casualty events.
  
  

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  Shared Governance and Impact on Nursing Job Satisfaction

  Karl Buhr and Colleen Lagulli

  Background: Emergency departments are extremely dynamic environments that require continuous quality improvement and adaptation. Implementation of change is necessary but has a great effect on the workflow of nursing staff.

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  The Impact of Clustered Nursing on Adult Patients in the ICU

  Haley Armentrout and Jacob Sackett

  Background: Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at risk of developing many different complications due to the complex nature of their health conditions as well as the care required in the critical care environment. Among the different complications that can occur in this population, delirium and issues associated with mechanical ventilation are especially concerning.

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  The Therapeutic Use of Intraoperative Music to Reduce Postoperative Pain in Patients Receiving General Anesthesia

  Caroline Ford

  Background: The recovery from surgery can be very painful for some patients and require opioid management and longer hospital stays for unmanaged pain. Music has been a non-analgesic way of helping patients with chronic pain and recent studies have shown that music intraoperatively can greatly improve the patients' pain after surgery requiring general anesthesia.

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  Effect of Virtual Reality on Pediatric IV Placement

  Alicia Blakely BSN, RN; Rachel Matson BSN, RN; Elizabeth Johansson BSN, RN; Lindsey Barrow BSN, RN; and Lindsey Howe BSN, RN

  In the pediatric population, how does use of virtual reality therapy during PIV placement affect levels of patient pain and anxiety, compared to non-virtual reality distractions, during PIV placement procedure?

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  How Healthcare Workers Can Improve the Experiences of Transgender Patients

  Oliver Shears RN, BSN

  Among adult transgender patients (18+) in an inpatient or outpatient setting, does having healthcare team members competent in transgender healthcare improve overall patient satisfaction with their hospital stay?

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  Impacts of Working Nightshift on New Graduate Nurses

  Alivia Brown RN, ADN and Carlin Stimus RN, ADN

  Does working nightshift have an impact New Graduate Nurses health and knowledge retention?

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  Racial Bias and its Role in Maternal Mortality

  Allison Roets RN and Katy Flanagan RN

  How does racial bias play a role in the mortality rates of minority, specifically black antepartum patients when compared to white women?

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  Smoke Evacuation in the Operating Room

  Meghan Holley RN, BSN and McKenzie Moon RN

  In perioperative staff, does mandating the use of smoke evacuation in the surgical setting compared to no smoke evacuation decrease the amount of exposure to toxic byproducts found in surgical plume for each surgical case?

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  Support for the Carpuject Syringe System as a Best Practice in Nursing Care

  Mostapha (Stav) Aghamoosa RN, BSN; Warren Johnson RN, ADN; Benjamin Kim RN, ADN; and Nicole Murphy RN, BSN

  Many nurses at Maine Medical Center (MMC) are not using the Carpuject syringe system, despite the fact that the ready-to-administer (RTA) prefilled syringe product is distributed to the med room. The Carpuject syringe system can reduce medication administration errors as well as improve time efficacy in nursing practice and therefore should be in wide use at MMC.

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  How Important Are Regular Breaks for Bedside Nursing Staff?

  Gabriel Wohl

  Background: A career in nursing can be a challenging one and a rewarding one. Nurses work directly with patients in need, in a way that their efforts have an immediate and tangible impact. Due to the nature of the work itself, nursing is also a physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding career that often leads to exhaustion, burnout, and in many cases, a departure from the profession altogether. It is well known that nurses work long hours and often receive little to no breaks. Is this lack of proper breaks a chief accessory to the overall dissatisfaction and burnout that nurses experience? What does the data tell us?

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  Implementation of Frequent Skin Assessments

  Tiffany Gagnon

  Background:

  The current skin assessment policy at the Behavioral Health Unit at Southern Maine Health Care requires more frequent skin checks for patients who are immobile in a mental health department.

  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports “hospital-acquired pressure injury rates continue to rise across the United States” (Pittman et al., 2022).

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  Initiating Chlorhexidine Wipes for Infection Prevention in the ICU

  Samantha Carey

  Background

  • Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) result in approximately 28,000 deaths and approximately $2.3 billion in added costs to the U.S. healthcare system each year, and yet, many of these infections are preventable (Reynolds, 2021).

  • Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is an antiseptic that can be used for skin cleaning and has been shown to be effective against a wide range of organisms, including some antimicrobial-resistant organisms.

  • The primary objective of this study was to assess the incidents of CLABSI’s when CHG wipes were implemented compared to traditional bathing soap and water for patients with a central line in a critical care setting. The secondary objective was to examine how cost effective CHG wipes were in comparison to traditional bathing supplies.

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  Robotic vs. Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery

  Chloe Aiken and Abigail Reera

  Background: As OR nurses, we have seen an increase in the number of robot-assisted bariatric surgeries instead of being performed laparoscopically. In the United States, the first surgical robotic telepresence system became available in 1987. From there, IntuitiveSurgical, Inc. reworked that system to create numerous prototypes leading to the DaVinci series that we utilize at SMHC.

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  Smoking Cessation Post-Discharge for Medical Surgical Patients

  Jessica Francis and Julie Lavery

  Introduction: Does the combination of behavioral counseling coupled with medication (vs medication alone) result in greater smoking cessation for our patients after discharge?

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  The Registered Nurse, Fall Prevention, and Mobilization Alarms

  Anna Williams

  Background:

  Current Maine Health policy requires response to a mobilization alarm within 5 minutes by a RN, CNA or other clinician. Fall risk assessments are required upon arrival and admission, at the beginning of each shift, transfer between units, changes in patient condition and after a fall.

  Current practice involves the TIPS tool.

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  Effect of Preoperative Skin Cleansing on Instances of Surgical Site Infections

  Katie Armington, Jessica Blank, Madison Waterhouse, Cynthia Gavett, Hailey Tofflemoyer, Rachelle Cassidy, Lindsay Bushnell, Jennifer Barriere, and Anastasia Colbath

  Background

  • On a single square centimeter of skin, there can be as many as 10 million aerobic bacteria

  • Bacteria on a patient’s skin is the leading cause of infection related to surgery

  • 17% of all hospital acquired infections come from surgical site infections

  • Surgical site infections cost about $3,000 $29,000 per patient