- Part I: Summary Knowledge Check (14 points)
For the following clinical inquiry questions, identify the most appropriate analytic method:
You can provide rationale in the answer box if you like. Please indicate the independent and dependent variable to guide your answers.
The options for analytic methods include
A. One way Chi Square F. Dependent or paired t test
B. Two way Chi Square G. One Way ANOVA
C. Spearman Rank Order H. Two Way ANOVA
D. Pearson r correlation – PPMC I. MANOVA
E. Independent t test J. Repeated Measures ANOVA
Clinical Inquiry Question or Hypothesis
Appropriate Analytic Method
1. Does level of interest in going to college differ among children/teens by age groups? Specifically does the level of interest in going to college differ between those ages 10-12 years, those ages 13-15 and those ages16-18 years?
IV:
DV:
Test:
2. Is there a difference in Hemoglobin A1c values in teenage type 1 diabetics who get a daily text reminder to check their blood glucose compared to those who do not receive the text message?
IV:
DV:
Test:
3. Is age at first intercourse related to number of sexual partners among young adults aged 18 to 35 years?
IV:
DV:
Test:
4. The community health nurse developed and implemented an internet safety class for fifth graders. She measured their level of internet safety knowledge at the beginning and end of the program.
IV:
DV:
Test:
5. Is there a difference in interest in DNP education between CNS, CRNA and NP providers?
IV:
DV:
Test:
6. The NP in the teen clinic (ages 16-19) wants to compare the chlamydia rates in her clinic to the national rates for chlamydia in teens ages 16-19.
IV:
DV:
Test:
7. The APRN wants to test the impact of gender and diet treatment on quality of sleep (measured on a sleep scale) in a group of patients aged 30-50 years. What test would you recommend?
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DV:
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8. Do hospital based registered nurses who complete certification in their practice specialty (such as ER, critical care, childbirth educator) have higher satisfaction scores with nursing practice?
IV:
DV:
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9. Is there an independent association between numbers of chocolate bars eaten and hours slept the night before a final exam?
IV:
DV:
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10. A UDM faculty member is interest in evaluating the relationship between the use of technology in the delivery of nursing care (yes or no) with the level of oral communication skills (measured via a Likert scale) in pre-licensure nursing students?
IV:
DV:
Test:
11. A nurse manager provided an instructional intervention in June to improve RN knowledge regarding the policy for fall assessment at the time of admission to the nursing unit. She has baseline data from the test she gave. The manager plans to repeat the test every 2 months for the rest of the year. What test would you recommend?
IV:
DV:
Test:
12. What is the effect of 20 minutes of daily yoga on A1c, stress levels and total cholesterol levels in a sample of overweight adults ages 18-40 years?
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DV:
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13. Is there an association between gender and like or dislike for wine?
IV:
DV:
Test:
14. A nurse educator want to evaluate if new nurses to the ICU with less than 5 years nursing experience perform better than new nurses to the ICU who have more than 5 years of experience. Performance is measured using a standardized tool that has a maximum score of 30 points.
IV:
DV:
Test:
Part 2: Quality Improvement
1. Review the paper by Seidl and Newhouse (2012) that discusses the intersection of evidence based practice and quality improvement methods. Describe how Quality Improvement activities in the clinical arena provide evidence to inform nursing practice. In your answer, highlight how one of the models that you think contributes the most to promoting evidence based practice.
2 points
2. For the following clinical scenarios, select the QI methodology that might be the best choice to guide the analysis of the improvement issue or process 4 points
A. Plan-Do-Study-Act
B. LEAN
C. Six Sigma
D. Failure Modes Effect Analysis
E. Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
Scenario 1
A community based hospital plans to admit medical/surgical pediatric patients to their adult ICU. Policies, procedures and processes need to be developed.
Model Choice:
Scenario 2
The process for getting informed consent in the OR has been well established and compliance has been adequate for 3 years. The OR manager has noted that recent changes in the staffing of the pre-op area has been lower than usual and the data for the past 6 months shows a decline in the rate of compliance.
Model Choice:
Scenario 3
The RNs in the Observation Unit have noted that largest number of patients are admitted consistently after 8pm when the kitchen is closed and there is difficulty getting meals for patients. They decide to track the numbers of patients admitted after 8pm to 8am and the time it takes to get a tray for the patient (measuring the time in minutes from the time the electronic message is sent to the kitchen to the time the meal was delivered) for a 2 week period.
Model Choice:
Scenario 4
An 80 year old man received a surgical procedure that was scheduled for the patient in the next bed.
Model Choice:
Bonus Question: 2 points. No points lost if you try it.
Max score on the homework assignment is 20 points total.
Select a research question that is quantitative or qualitative or a quality improvement activity that you would like to do in your current practice setting or one you would like to do in your new role as a MSN prepared nurse. Pick something that you are interested in. Briefly describe the idea and what brought it to your attention and why it needs to be investigated or improved. Then think about how you would study this issue – specifically what data would you need to answer the question or improve the process and what outcome measure (DV) are you trying to improve. Identify the independent and dependent variables and their level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio). Lastly describe what analytic method/ statistical tests you would use to analyze the data.
