Impact of a Standardized Handoff Tool between Gastroenterology and PACU Nurses’ Communication and Satisfaction

Impact of a Standardized Handoff Tool between Gastroenterology and PACU Nurses’ Communication and Satisfaction Abstract Problem: Patient handoff between nurses is a critical moment where it is imperative that complete and accurate information is exchanged. Handoff of patient information can be complex, and the use of unstructured, non-standardized handoffs could result in poor communication leading to the omission of pertinent information and a decrease in patient safety and staff satisfaction. Several studies have found the use of standardized handoff tools improve communication, decrease omission of critical information, and improve staff satisfaction. While the use of standardized handoff tools is best for patient handoff and safety, there still appears to be a gap in utilization in some areas of nursing. Methods: This quality improvement project utilized a descriptive observational design. Development of a new GI specific handoff tool was designed after obtaining feedback from both GI and PACU staff and reviewing the current handoff tool. Pre-implementation and post-implementation staff survey data were compared to determine if perceived communication and nursing satisfaction improved in relation to the application of the new handoff tool. Completion rates for items on the new GI handoff tool were also calculated. Results: Descriptive statistics, Fisher Exact tests, and two-tailed Mann-Whitney tests were utilized to determine statistical significance between staff surveys. No statistical significance was determined in the GI responses for either communication or satisfaction surveys. Two questions were found to be statistically significant in the PACU responses from the communication survey and one question was found to be statistically significant from the satisfaction survey. There was one question that was statistically significant in the combined staff surveys. The documentation completion rates for the most part either met or exceeded the 90% completion rate. One documentation item did not met the 90% completion rate. Implications for Practice: The implementation of the new standardized handoff tool did show improvement in the perceived communication and satisfaction with PACU nurses. No statistical improvement was shown with GI nurses, but there should be continued education on the use of the new standardized handoff tool. Almost all of the documentation items were identified correctly indicating a beneficial aspect of the new handoff tool

Photophysics of nanomaterials for opto-electronic applications

Vaste stoffen die bestaan uit nanomaterialen of zwak gebonden moleculen en polymeerketens zijn interessante kandidaten voor opto-elektronische toepassingen zoals zonnecellen, fotodetectoren of licht-emitterende apparaten. In dit proefschrift is de interactie van dezematerialen met licht onderzocht door middel van optische spectroscopie voor een verscheidenheid aan problemen. De belangrijkste technieken hierbij zijn fotoluminescentie- en fotogeïnduceerde absorptiespectroscopie (PIA). Voor de laatste techniek werd gebruik gemaakt van een FTIR spectrometer om signalen in het middel-infrarood spectrum te kunnen bestuderen

POPULATION TRENDS AND TROPHIC ECOLOGY OF THE INVASIVE PEACOCK EEL (MACROGNATHUS SIAMENSIS) IN THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES

Invasive species threaten the ecological integrity of ecosystems worldwide, including the Florida Coastal Everglades. This study investigated the ecological role of the peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis) within this ecosystem, emphasizing its population trends and the environmental factors that affect its population performance, and the potential for interactions with native fish assemblages and coastal food webs. I used 19 years of electrofishing data to investigate the population trends of peacock eels at the marsh-mangrove ecotone of the Shark River Estuary, Everglades National Park (Florida, USA). I found that peacock eel populations have increased since their first detection in 2002, and their populations are strongly affected by hydroclimatic regimes—with warmer water temperatures and greater marsh inundation periods explaining greater abundance. I used stable isotope analysis of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur to provide insights into the basal resource contribution to peacock eels and to determine peacock eel niche size and overlap with native species using hypervolume analysis. With these analyses, I found that peacock eels have the potential to compete with native sunfishes (Lepomis spp.). The trophic niche of peacock eels, though significantly smaller in volume, overlaps 98.8% with that of native sunfishes. Competitive interactions between peacock eels and native sunfishes could disrupt the niche of sunfishes and subsequently alter marsh prey subsidies on which coastal fisheries rely. In recent years, the catch of peacock eels has outnumbered the catch of all species of native sunfish combined. Peacock eel populations are expected to increase as the climate continues to change and cold weather events that are currently limiting their population growth become less frequent

ENGINEERING SPORT SAFETY: A STUDY OF EQUESTRIAN CROSS COUNTRY EVENTING

The sport of equestrian cross country eventing has seen many serious and even fatal injuries due to rotational horse falls in recent years. The sport originally consisted of horse and rider teams jumping stationary, wood fences. However, in a move towards increasing safety for horses and riders, frangible and deformable safety devices have been emerging in the field. This thesis provides an overview of safety designs that are currently available and those that are on the horizon. Also, a path-finder method of evaluating and developing safety fence designs was outlined and applied to two distinct designs, a hinged gate and a collapsible table fence. A full size prototype of the hinged gate was constructed and tested in the field in two different locations. The collapsible table fence design was developed and then a ½ geometric scale prototype was constructed to demonstrate design feasibility and to analyze design development challenges