2016 TNA–TASN Joint Conference

Culture of Health: The Nurse, The Patient, The Community – Maximizing Life’s Potential
Results: The adolescents who participated in this project recorded various coping mechanisms (positive and negative) while residing
in a community where many citizens participate in risky behaviors. Although the sample size was small, this project can provide a
starting point for healthcare providers as they encounter adolescents who are in need of assistance with identifying effective coping
mechanism in their own lives.
Implications for practice: By understanding and identifying current coping mechanisms, healthcare providers are better equipped
to determine areas where at-risk adolescents need help to develop positive coping mechanisms and to find ways to reduce negative
coping mechanisms in the vulnerable population. Thus, healthcare providers can better serve the adolescent population and help
adolescents in transitioning into young adulthood. These professionals’ heightened awareness will also lead to greater psychological
and physical health among at-risk adolescents.
Incivility in the Nursing Work Environment
Elizabeth De Leon, BSN Student
Meredith Morris, BSN Student
Today, we have reached a society where healthcare is ever expanding, changing, and evolving. Baby boomers are aging and diseases
are rocketing, resulting in an increased demand for nurses. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and The
Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers (2013), 55% of the RN workforce is age 50 or older. In addition, the Health Resources
and Services Administration predicts more than 1 million registered nurses will reach retirement age within the next 10 to 15 years.
(Nursing Shortage, 2014). The process to becoming a nurse all begins with nursing school. Nursing school is a demanding time for
anyone who commits to it and can be emotionally, physically and mentally draining. As nursing students enter the hospital, the only
thing they have to cling to is all that they have studied. The unit floor is where they finally begin putting what they know into practice.
Nursing students work with the staff to gain invaluable experience to further their learning. Staff with hostile attitudes can impair the
way nursing students further their practice. It can negatively impinge on their confidence thus decreasing competency. Demands
of the profession and time continue to be factors that affect the nurse-student relationship. Rather than having a supportive nurse
that empowers others to do their best, we are seeing nurses experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue resulting in a toxic work
environment. Have we as a nursing profession progressed beyond eating our young or is it still a problem today?
In patients with long term indwelling catheters, is routine and PRN catheter care with
antimicrobial solutions alone enough to prevent CAUTI’s?
Tammy Maxwell, BSN Student
Brianna Newsome, BSN Student
Samuel Seaton, BSN Student
Catherine Williams, BSN Student
In this presentation, we will discuss if routine and PRN catheter care with antimicrobial solutions alone is enough to prevent CAUTI’s
in patients with long term indwelling catheters. Studies indicate that with one month of catheterization, which is also considered the
differentiation between short- and long-term catheterization, the daily risk of bacteriuria approaches 100%. This is due to the fact
that over time, a layer of microbes forms on the catheter surface. The longer a catheter is in place, the more microbes are produced;
therefore, increasing the risk of urinary tract infection. These microbes tightly adhere to the catheter surface and are extremely
resistant to antimicrobial solutions, necessitating removal of the catheter to successfully eradicate an infection. Cleansing with
antimicrobial agents alone is not sufficient in preventing CAUTI’s due to the microbes’ adherence to the catheters surface.
Keywords: catheterization, bacteriuria, urinary tract infections, CAUTI, antimicrobial
Interprofessional Problem Solving through Community Health: An Interdisciplinary
Global Health Immersion Pilot
Chelsea Biegler, BA, MSN Student
Background: The increasing globalization of healthcare has created a high demand for professionals trained in cultural competence
and interdisciplinary decision-making. Nurses, who deliver 90% of healthcare worldwide, are well suited to address complex global
health issues. However, few international educational opportunities exist for nursing students through which they may learn to
navigate diverse cultural and professional landscapes.
Objective: This pilot integrated community health nursing clinical experience with an existing business course to teach students
to work abroad as part of an interdisciplinary team. The project aimed to increase awareness of the central role of nursing in global
health and foster collaboration among members of the nursing school and several other university departments.
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