School of Nursing - University of Minnesota

esearch
Student Profile:
Jill Guttormson
U of M team of experts: Front row, l-r: Craig Weinert, MD, MPH,
School of Medicine; Linda Chlan, PhD, RN, School of Nursing;
William Engeland, PhD, Neuroscience.
Back row, l-r: Abbey Staugaitis, RN, project coordinator (School of
Nursing); Mary Fran Tracy, PhD, RN, CCNS, FAAN, University of
Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview; Deb Skaar, College of Pharmacy;
Annie Heiderscheit, PhD, BC-MT, Center for Spirituality & Healing;
Kay Savik, MS, School of Nursing.
Not pictured: Bob Patterson, PhD, Physical Medicine and Rehab; Jill
Guttormson, MS, RN, project coordinator.
Based on the patient’s preferences, the therapist
develops a music collection and places it at the bedside.
The therapist visits patients daily to see if they are happy
with their music selection or if they would like more CDs.
Each day a patient is on the ventilator, researchers
collect data on all medications, ventilator settings, and
other aspects of care. Urine output is also analyzed for
cortisol levels, a marker for stress.
a multi-disciplinary team
Chlan, who joined the SoN faculty in 1999, credits a “great
team” for making it possible to conduct this complex,
multi-center study. In addition to the music therapist, her
team of U of M experts includes a critical care clinical
nurse specialist, physician-intensivist, pharmacist,
neuroendocrinphysiologist, endocrinologist, biomedical
engineer, biostatistician, as well as graduate and
undergraduate research assistants. Research nurses
working in the ICU units are also vital team members.
Researchers will continue to gather study data until
spring 2010. So far, anecdotal reports from participants
and their families suggest that the music has a positive
effect. Many patients say that they had their “best night
of sleep” after listening to the music. And family members
say their loved ones are calmer and more relaxed.
“ICU nurses are dedicated to doing all they can to help
patients be as comfortable as possible,” Chlan says. “If the
findings from this study lead to a new way to help the
millions of patients who receive mechanical ventilation
each year, it will be music to the ears of ICU nurses.”
by dixie berg
Experiencing
the dynamic
nature of
research
When Jill Guttormson arrived for the U of M’s graduate
nursing education program in 2002, she came with eight
years of intensive care nursing experience—and a goal. “I
wanted to learn ways to improve care provided to patients
through nursing education,” she says.
But while working with associate professor Linda Chlan
on a study of ICU patient care, Guttormson discovered a
passion for nursing research. The discovery led her to
pursue a PhD.
“I am very lucky to have Linda Chlan and Craig Weinert
as mentors, along with Sue Henly and Cynthia Gross as
supportive committee members.” Guttormson says.
Weinert, MD, MPH, is associate professor of medicine.
Henly, PhD, RN, and Gross, PhD, are professors of nursing.
Guttormson’s dissertation research, now underway,
focuses on ICU patients receiving mechanical ventilation—
and how they perceive interventions to improve their care
and comfort during varying degrees of wakefulness.
“Had I not had worked with Dr. Chlan on her studies,
my dissertation research would have overwhelmed me,”
Guttormson says. “It’s one thing to read about doing
research in books and quite another to do it. The
opportunity to experience the dynamic nature of research
has been invaluable.”
fall/winter 2009 15