Gwynedd Mercy University

About: Gwynedd Mercy University is a education organization based out in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Health care & Nurse education. The organization has 74 authors who have published 115 publications receiving 1431 citations.

Lessons learned from testing the quality cost model of Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) transitional care.

Abstract: Dramatic changes in health care have occurred over the past 2 decades resulting in merged health systems, shortened hospital stays, rapid growth of outpatient and home care services and changed systems of reimbursement (Lesser & Ginsburg, 2001). The goal is to provide the most effective health care services at the lowest cost. Examining the effectiveness of health care providers has accompanied these changes. Today’s data-driven health care systems require that provider practices are based on evidence and that provider time and number of patient contacts be justified (Delaney, Reed, & Clarke, 2000). In 1980, responding to changes occurring in health care, a team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania developed a model of transitional care delivered by advanced practice nurses (APNs) that could serve as a safety net for vulnerable patient groups being discharged early from hospitals; this approach might maintain quality care and reduce health care costs (Brooten, Brown et al., 1988). Since 1980 research with this model of care has been conducted in two phases. The first phase, which remains ongoing, focused on testing, refining, and modifying the model for use with different patient groups. Consistent success in improving patient outcomes and reducing health care costs in patient groups in which the model has been tested led to the second phase of research. This second phase is focused on delineating the reasons for the model’s success by linking patient outcomes and costs of care with the process of care. This ongoing research includes examination of patient problems that require more APN rime and contacts, profiles of individual patients who require more APN time and contacts, and APN interventions used in providing transitional care (Brooten, Youngblut, Deatrick, Naylor, & York, 1997–2001). The purpose of this article is to describe the development, testing, modification, and results of this model of APN transitional care on patient outcomes and health care costs, and to delineate what has been learned for nursing education, practice, and further research.

The early history of electrodermal research.

Abstract: The historical origins and early development of electrodermal research are reviewed in the light of a substantial number of previously unexamined sources. Relevant literature in electrophysio logy, neurology, electrodiagnosis, and electrotherapy is examined with regard to the technology and the context of ideas in science and medicine. The first reports of basal skin resistance (BSR) and stimulated skin resistance (GSR) change by Vigouroux and Fere, respectively, are related to their other research and that of other workers. Hermann's early work on the sudomotor system is seen as much more advanced than has been realized, providing a sound basis for theory which the French apparently never noticed. Several additional sources suggest that TarchanofE's work was performed with awareness of Fere's and was probably not an independent discovery. The growth of the field following "rediscovery" of the GSR by Mueller and Veraguth is seen as a product of interest in indexing "mental events." The earlier work is seen as conceptually closer to current interest in the phenomena as aspects of the arousal system. DESCRIPTORS: Electrodermal research, History of electrodermal research. Skin resistance, GSR, PGR, Electrophysiology, Electrotherap y, Magnetotherap y, Metallotherapy, Detection of emotions. (R. Blanton) The first observations of psychological factors in relation to electrodermal phenomena are generally attributed to Romain Vigouroux (1879). Yet intensive research in the area was not begun until twenty-five years later, when Veraguth and Jung performed the first experiments with word association. During that I)eriod, four other workers made reports, and two of these, Fere and Tarchanoff, did work of fundamental significance. The field has been extensively reviewed (Prideaux, 1920; Landis ct DeWick, 1929; Landis, 1932; McCleary, 1950), but as has been customary, these reviews were directed toward current questions of theory and method rather than the historical development of the ideas which This paper was supported in part by Grant i^RD-2552-S from the Rehabilitafion Services

Religious and spiritual issues in psychotherapy practice: Training the trainer.

Abstract: Psychology's interest in religion and spirituality has greatly increased over the past few decades, and it has inspired the development of substantial scholarship in these areas. However, there continues to be a paucity of efforts to integrate this emerging scholarship into training programs. The author explores the historical and ideological context of psychotherapists' reluctance to address religious and spiritual issues in their academic programs and clinical practices. The article also offers seasoned psychotherapists concrete suggestions regarding how to enhance their religious and spiritual competencies with the aim of facilitating both the training of emerging psychotherapists and the treatment of religious and spiritual clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

The Preventing Relational Aggression in Schools Everyday program: a preliminary evaluation of acceptability and impact

Abstract: Despite recent research suggesting that relationally aggressive behaviors occur frequently and may lead to physically aggressive actions within urban school settings, there has been little prior research to develop and evaluate relational aggression prevention efforts within the urban schools. The current article describes the development and preliminary evaluation of the Preventing Relational Aggression in Schools Everyday (PRAISE) Program. PRAISE is a 20-session classroom-based universal prevention program, designed to be appropriate and responsive to the needs of youth within the urban school context. Results suggest strong acceptability for the program and feasibility of implementation. Further, the program was especially beneficial for girls. For instance, girls in classrooms randomly assigned to the PRAISE Program demonstrated higher levels of knowledge for social information processing and anger management techniques and lower levels of relational aggression following treatment as compared to similar girls randomly assigned to a no-treatment control condition. Further, relationally aggressive girls exhibited similar benefits from the program (greater knowledge and lower levels of relational aggression) plus lower levels of overt aggression following treatment as compared to relationally aggressive girls within the control classrooms. In contrast, the program was not associated with improvements for boys across most measures. The significance and implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.

Quantitative research on critical thinking and predicting nursing students' NCLEX-RN performance.

Abstract: The concept of critical thinking has been influential in several disciplines. Both education and nursing in general have been attempting to define, teach, and measure this concept for decades. Nurse educators realize that critical thinking is the cornerstone of the objectives and goals for nursing students. The purpose of this article is to review and analyze quantitative research findings relevant to the measurement of critical thinking abilities and skills in undergraduate nursing students and the usefulness of critical thinking as a predictor of National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN) performance. The specific issues that this integrative review examined include assessment and analysis of the theoretical and operational definitions of critical thinking, theoretical frameworks used to guide the studies, instruments used to evaluate critical thinking skills and abilities, and the role of critical thinking as a predictor of NCLEX-RN outcomes. A list of key assumptions related to critical thinking was formulated. The limitations and gaps in the literature were identified, as well as the types of future research needed in this arena.