Melinda Hermanns

Bio: Melinda Hermanns is an academic researcher from University of Texas at Tyler. The author has contributed to research in topics: Nurse education & Mental health. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 50 publications receiving 524 citations. Previous affiliations of Melinda Hermanns include University of Texas at Austin.

Using an “Escape Room” toolbox approach to enhance pharmacology education

Abstract: Background: Faculty are encouraged to use a variety of teaching/learning strategies to engage nursing students. While simulation and games are now common, there were no reports in the nursing literature using an “escape room” concept. Escape rooms use an entertainment approach as teams engage in critical thinking to solve puzzles and find clues to escape a room. In the classroom setting, this concept is modified to solve a mystery by finding various objects through a series of puzzles to locate clues. Some of these games involve finding numerical clues to open locks on a box, such as a toolbox. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of a toolbox gaming strategy based on an escape room concept to help students learn about cardiovascular medications in a pharmacology course. Methods: This pilot study employed a descriptive qualitative method to investigate an approach to pharmacology education. The sample consisted of first semester nursing students. Results: Student responses to criteria-based questions resulted in three themes: engaging, teamwork, and frustration, related to using a toolbox scenario strategy as a pathway to learning. Conclusions: This descriptive study yielded mixed results from the students who were frustrated by time constraints but engaged in the learning experience. Lessons are offered for future improvements.

The invisible and visible stigmatization of Parkinson's disease.

Abstract: Purpose To discuss the visible and invisible stigma shared by seven men and seven women with Parkinson's disease (PD), a chronic, progressive, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by overt physical and covert psychological manifestations. Data sources An ethnographic approach using interview data, participant observations, and fieldwork was used. Field data were generated from a 2-year exposure to two PD support groups in east Texas. The question “what does it mean to you to have Parkinson's disease"? illuminated the experience of everyday life and the existential meaning of what it means to live with this disease. Conclusions The invisible stigma was that of a changing self, a self with PD, a form of disability, which attested to the stigma and mounting isolation. Feelings of isolation were exacerbated by both the stigmatization associated with being different, coupled with the realization that life would never be the same. Facial masking was identified as one of the visible features that were commonly reported by all participants. Implications for practice Healthcare professionals can be more attuned to the visible and invisible manifestations of PD that are associated with stigma through the incorporation of a holistic assessment to identify perceived stigma in persons living with the disease.

Community-based FitSTEPS for life exercise program for persons with cancer: 5-year evaluation.

Abstract: This research introduces the concept of a long-term community-based program of individualized exercise as a feasible and effective intervention to improve quality of life for persons with all stages of cancer.

Caregiving: A Qualitative Concept Analysis.

Abstract: The act of caregiving is not unfamiliar, but the term "caregiving" is relatively new, with the first recorded use of the word in 1966 (Caregiving, 2010). The etymology of the word "care" comes from the Old English term "wicim," meaning "mental suffering, mourning, sorrow, or trouble." "Give" is also Old English, from "5eo-, Siofan, Siaban," meaning "to bestow gratuitously" (Caregiving, 2010). When the two root meanings are assimilated, caregiving is the action/process of helping those who are suffering. Sixty-five million Americans, which comprise 29% of the United States (U.S.) population, have served as unpaid family caregivers to an adult or a child (Caregiving in the United States, 2009). Caregiving is multi-dimensional. For example, family caregiving, one dimension of caregiving, is on the rise with an estimated 14% of family caregivers (16.8 million) caring for a special needs child under the age of 18. Parental caregiving, another dimension of caregiving, refers to caring for one's parent(s). Fifty five percent of families are currently providing parental care, while caring for their own children (Caregiving in the United States, 2009). Caregiving estimates continue to escalate, and, as the population ages, the number of persons requiring care will subsequently increase. These estimates will no doubt have an unprecedented effect on the economy. Notably, the economic impact of informal caregivers was estimated to be $350 billion in 2006 (Arno, 2006). Hybrid Concept Analysis The development of the concept of caregiving for use in research lacks consistent conceptualization and operational definitions. The purpose of this manuscript is to report the results of our analysis of the concept of caregiving in an effort to promote conceptual clarity. This study employed a hybrid model of concept development which is based on three bodies of thought: philosophy of science, sociology of theory construction, and participant observation (Schwartz-Barcott & Kim, 1993). Both authors have extensive nursing experience as practicing RNs and current nurse educators as well as researchers studying chronic illness to advance the nursing profession. Additionally, the authors are caregivers and have a passion for further exploration of the concept of caregiving, hence the impetus for this concept analysis. From our experience, we have noted differences in how both caregivers and care recipients perceive caregiving. Beth stated, "This played a role for me in the inspiration to conduct this study. I remember a care recipient participant in a previous study who eloquently described different providers, those that engaged with him as an individual and those that sat in the corner reading a magazine, doing paperwork or talking on the phone." Melinda also shared a similar experience with a care recipient, stating that the caregiver who talked to her and saw her as a "person" and not a just "diagnosis" provided the best care. This led us to wonder: "What is caregiving?" Also, are there other concepts that more accurately represent a situation whereby one person is assisting another? We selected a qualitative inquiry using a hybrid model as the most appropriate level of inquiry in the exploration of caregiving because this process combines theoretical analysis with empirical observation which is helpful since few empirical definitions have been written about caregiving. This allows for "a focus on the essential aspects of definition and measurement, ... is applicable to applied sciences ... and is especially useful in studying significant and central phenomena in nursing" (Schwartz-Barcott & Kim, 1993, p. 108). This model consists of three phases: (a) theoretical, (b) fieldwork, and (c) analytical. In the initial theoretical phase, a concept is identified and the literature is reviewed for definitions, essential elements of the concept, as well as measurements related to the concept. …

Medscape

Abstract: Secret History: Return of the Black Death Channel 4, 7-8pm In 1348 the Black Death swept through London, killing people within days of the appearance of their first symptoms. Exactly how many died, and why, has long been a mystery. This Secret History documentary follows experts as they pick through the evidence and reveal why the plague killed on such a scale. And they ask, what might be coming next?

Childhood and Society.

Abstract: Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and

Reliability and validity

Abstract: Definition: To what extent does the study allow us to draw conclusions about a causal effect between two or more constructs? Issues: Selection, maturation, history, mortality, testing, regression towrd the mean, selection by maturation, treatment by mortality, treatment by testing, measured treatment variables Increase: Eliminate the threats, above all do experimental manipulations, random assignment, and counterbalancing.