Title: Healthcare Providers’ Practices and Roles in Providing Bereavement Support

Authors:
Jennifer McAdam, PhD, RN, College of Nursing, Samuel Merritt University*
Jeneva Gularte-Rinaldo, PhD, RN, College of Nursing, Samuel Merritt University*
Alyssa Erikson, PhD, RN, Department of Nursing, CSU Monterey Bay

Purpose:
Overall purpose of this study was to describe the practices and roles of HCPs in high acuity units in high acuity units in providing bereavement support. The specific aims were to:

1. Describe and compare the current practices and beliefs about bereavement support between RNs and other HCPs.
2. Describe and compare the role in providing bereavement support between RNs and other HCPs.

Outcomes: 

-> See Resources

Title: Improving Dementia-Specific Referrals from the Acute Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Project

Authors:
*Lisamarie La Vallee, DNP, RN, ACM/ Assistant Professor Case Management Program / Samuel Merritt University

Kate Shade, PhD, RN/ Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, California State University at East Bay / Adjunct Associate Professor at Samuel Merritt University

Jonni Johnson, PhD / Senior Research Scientist, California Department of Public Health / Center for Health Statistics and Informatics

Purpose:
The purpose of this quality improvement project was to design and implement an education and referral protocol for care coordination staff to use when working with hospitalized patients with dementia and their families. The goal was to increase delivery of dementia resource education and dementia-specific referrals during the discharge planning process.

Outcomes:  
There was a modest yet positive increase in referral volume over the 60-day implementation period (n=6) compared to the pre-implementation period (n=1). An increase was sustained during the 60-day post-implementation period (n=4). Pre-post DKAS scores significantly improved for care coordination staff post-implementation (p <.001) by an average of 7-points. Fifty-three percent of RNCC and SW staff responded to the post-implementation survey and results indicated they thought the project was beneficial (n=8) or somewhat beneficial (n=1) to practice. Additionally, RNCC and SW staff reported an increase in awareness of available community resources and confidence in connecting patients and families to these resources.

 -> See Resources

Title: Improving gross anatomy learning in the lab with the use of peer teaching

Authors:
Elizabeth Ferrer PhD; Basic Sciences*
Karissa Legleiter MA, EdD; Basic Sciences*

Purpose:
In this study, we aimed to describe and analyze the introduction and implementation of assigned peer-teaching in a first-year podiatric dissection-based anatomy laboratory course.

Outcomes:
Survey results displayed that 66.7% of students had prior experience with peer teaching, 66.7% agree or strongly agree that peer teaching improved their ability as a dissector with 83% of students having no prior dissecting experience. Results further displayed that 100% of students agreed that peer teaching improved knowledge of anatomy and understanding of the topics they taught, 83.3% though it improved their retention of topics they taught. The biggest benefit of peer teaching was enhanced anatomy learning (100%) followed by experience teaching with peers and enhanced communication skills (66.7%).

->See Resources

Title: Underrepresentation of Disabled People in Health & Social Research: Implications and Recommendations for Change

Authors: 
Donna H. Odierna, DrPH, MS, CIP. Samuel Merritt University and Life Chiropractic College West
Heather Miller, PhD, CIP. Stanford University
Mary Lou Breslin, MS. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

Purpose:
The purpose of this project was to identify potential policies, procedures, and practical strategies for ensuring that disabled people are included and accommodated in all aspects of health and social research as participants, investigators, sponsors/funders, and members of oversight committees.

Outcomes:
Including disabled people in research requires that researchers, institutions, and sponsors/funders recognize this group as a bona fide population demographic. This inclusion can be supported through a variety of strategies, such as: 1) applying an equity framework for addressing disability health; 2) ensuring that disabled people are not unduly excluded from research by requiring scientific and ethical justification for exclusion criteria 3) providing accessible options for completing consent forms participating in study activities; and, 4) incorporating universal design principles into grant applications, ethics reviews, meetings, and study materials.

->See Resources //  See Links:

• National Academy of Sciences: Lack of Equitable Representation in Clinical Trials Compounds Disparities in Health and Will Cost U.S. Hundreds of Billions of Dollars; Urgent Actions Needed by NIH, FDA, Others to Boost Representation
   
• National Academy of Sciences: Compounded Disparities: Health Equity at the Intersection of Disability, Race, and Ethnicity   (Silvia Yee et al, See Resources)
   
• NEJM: Striving for Diversity in Research Studies  
   
• Health Affairs: Excluding People With Disabilities From Clinical Research: Eligibility Criteria Lack Clarity And Justification 

Title: Conversation Lab: A Case Study of Professional Development Fostering Interpersonal Communication

Authors:
Marcus Lorenzo Penn, MD, CYT, Instructor, Faculty Diversity Coordinator, Center for Innovation & Excellence in Learning, Office of People and Culture, College of Nursing
Cynthia M. Stacy, DNP, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
Robyn Wu, OTD, OTR/L, BCP*, Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy

Purpose:
The purpose of this scholarship of teaching and learning project was to develop, pilot, and evaluate the use of Conversation Lab for post-training reinforcement for PED-2021. The scope of the proposed presentation focuses on describing the process and outcomes of the evaluation process.

Outcomes:
A thematic analysis conducted on 29 narrative responses across four survey questions yielded three themes. The first emerging theme was that respondents experienced value from attending Conversation Lab, both in their professional and personal journeys. The second theme was that some aspects of the process, albeit helpful, were challenging or uncomfortable. The third theme was that the structured practice sessions and review of specific tools were seen as necessary for skill building.

->See Resources

Title: Improving Nurse-Patient Communication by Increasing Ethnocultural Empathy

Author:
Cynthia M Stacy, DNP, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing

Purpose:
The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine whether implementing evidence based cultural competency training would enhance nurses ethnocultural empathy and improve nurse-patient communication AHRQ's Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS).

Outcomes:
The intervention did not have a significant impact in raising the post-intervention scores on the subscales of the Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy.

-> See Resources

Title: Policy, Preparation, and Practice: Putting Human Trafficking into Perspective

Author:
Campbell, Shelitha R., DNP, MSN, BSN, APRN, FNP-BC, PHN 
Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Program| Graduate Department 
Co-Director FNP Program

Purpose:
To truly evaluate the alignment of policy as it relates to the public health crisis of human trafficking, the purpose of this project is to evaluate how well-prepared family nurse practitioner students are in implementing primary care prevention and providing supportive care service in the primary care setting.

Outcomes:

-> See Resources

Title: SMU Nursing School pilot studies using Artificial Intelligence Virtual Standardized Patients (AI-VSP) in the 2021-22 Academic Year

Authors:
Vineet Sidhu, MBBS, MHS; Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences; Research Assistant
Amin Azzam, MD, MA*; SMU Health Sciences Simulation Center; Simulation Educator

Purpose:
To assess the interaction and the outcomes of professional healthcare students (BSN and ABSN) with AI-VSP scenarios at SMU.

Outcome:
Response rate for BSN was 43 of 64 enrolled students (67%); ABSN was 39 of 47 students (87%). The AI-VSP encounters were realistic (63% BSN, 87% ABSN), helpful in terms of diagnostic ability (72% BSN, 89% ABSN), and helped prepare to see new patients (65% BSN, 82% ABSN). The likelihood of both cohorts recommending VSP to others was high (93% BSN, 90% ABSN).

Outcomes:

-> See Resources

Title:  Nurse Practitioner Emergency Response: Providing Primary Care During a Pandemic to People Experiencing Homelessness

Author: Sharon Vogan, DNP, FNP-BC FNP Program, Faculty & Director of FNP/DNP Clinical Placement

Purpose:
The purpose was to create a pop-up healthcare clinic to provide immediate healthcare access to residents of the shelter hotel. In particular, to help people manage their chronic conditions and prevent complications that could occur due to their mismanagement The goals were to ensure ongoing primary care with a regular PCP is established and prescription medication needs are met for PEH in a shelter-in-place hotel during the 2019-2022 COVID-19 pandemic.

Outcomes:
The outcomes resulting from the establishment of the NP-led pop-up clinic show a more than 3-fold increase in access to a PCP with 14 residents arriving to OSG with a PCP established and 46 residents leaving with a PCP established. In 283 encounters with residents over the 5-month period, the clinic provided access to 238 prescriptions of 85 different medications to residents for the management of their chronic conditions. One unplanned intervention was providing education on the Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment or POLST. This came up after talking with some of the residents who showed interest in knowing the process for using a POLST. The SMU team provided POLST form education to 44 residents resulting in 21 POLST forms being completed and signed by the resident and the Nurse Practitioner faculty. 

-> See Resources

Title: RePAIR Model: A Case Study of Restorative Practice at a Health Sciences Institution

Authors:
Marcus Lorenzo Penn, MD, CYT*, Instructor, Faculty Diversity Coordinator, Center for Innovation & Excellence in Learning, Office of People and Culture, College of Nursing
Celeste Villanueva, EdD, CRNA, FNAP, Interim Provost, Office of Academic Affairs
Kay Davis, EdD, Associate Professor, Research Methodologist, Health Science Simulation Center

Purpose:
The purpose of this case study is to comprehensively explore faculty, student, staff, and administrator perceptions regarding their satisfaction and comfortability in learning and applying restorative practices.  The aim of this exploratory research is to provide insights on the effectiveness of the novel RePAIR Model: Restoring Professional Accountability in Relationships (Penn, 2019). Specific research questions guide the exploration.

• How has confidence in voicing harm/mistreatment incidents been impacted? 
• How has confidence in addressing harm/mistreatment incidents been impacted? 
•  What is the impact on satisfaction with how harm/mistreatment incidents are addressed?
• Overall, how has the RePAIR Model influenced the SMU climate regarding professional relationships.

Outcomes:

-> See Resources and References

Title: Plantar Foot Pressure Distribution During Walking & Running in Neutral Cushioning Versus Stability Running Shoes

Authors:  
Stephen Hill, PhD^1,2*
Drew Smith, PhD^1,2
Tim Dutra, DPM, MS, FAAPSM, FACSM²
Shaleen Duhra, B.S²*
Bhavkaranjeet Kaur, B.S²
Olivia Ly, M.A²
Stacy Peralta, B.S²

(1) Motion Analysis Research Center, (2) California School of Podiatric Medicine, Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CA)

Purpose:
The goal of this contract research study is to compare the plantar foot pressure distribution patterns of participants walking and running in two distinct types of HOKA running shoes. The Bondi is designed to provide cushioned support6 for feet with neutral to high arches. In contrast, the stable Gaviota with stiffer foam in the medial portion of the midsole7, is intended to limit overpronation, common in pes planus.  This study employs plantar pressures to test the efficacy of these shoe types with a variety of foot types.

Outcomes:
The Results section demonstrates differences in plantar foot pressure distribution between neutral cushioning and stability running shoes during steady state walking and running on a motorized treadmill. This study demonstrates the importance of the availability of a variety of running shoes with varying degrees of cushioning, support, and stability features, and the clinical implications of appropriate selection and recommendation of running shoes to address individual biomechanical demands, not just on static foot postures, but dynamic loading during walking and running.

-> See Resources