Senior nursing students complete research projects

Spencer Hospital’s December newsletter featured research projects conducted by 16 Northwestern College senior nursing students. The research was done as part of the requirements for the class Nursing Research and Informatics.

Maddie Godfredsen, Mariah Kleinwolterink, Kelsey Den Hartog and Eden Burch studied the benefits of using weighted blankets for patients with anxiety-related symptoms.

Elizabeth Glover, Allie Helmink, Allison Koehlmoos and Ellie Beeker evaluated a new product, the PureWick External Female Catheter, and determined it helped decrease the number of catheter days, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and skin breakdowns.

Another medical device researched by NWC nursing students was 3M’s Curos caps for I.V. needleless connectors, or hubs. Betsy Bolt, Cherish Shuka, Kassidy De Jong and Megan Young concluded that use of the caps was more effective for decreasing central line bloodstream infections than the common practice of disinfecting the hub with alcohol wipes.

And finally, research by Karli Hofer, Courtney Riley, Madeline Swift and Abigail Wanninger showed that supportive measures are significant factors in protecting nurses against compassion fatigue and burnout.