1. What does Sigma Eta Rho Membership mean to you?

Throughout the years, I have found membership in the Sigma Theta Tau to be very meaningful. I joined the Alpha chapter as a graduate student in 1994 but struggled to participate much. In 2019, I was invited to join the Eta Rho Chapter by a current board member, and I jumped at the opportunity to become involved. What fun it has been! While we work hard, we always make time to connect and support one another.

2. What opportunities have you had being a member of Sigma Eta Rho?

Sigma Theta Tau membership has provided me with many opportunities. The networking with other professionals, free online continuing development courses, and access to research journals help to further my personal and professional goals. The Eta Rho chapter itself inspires me to continue my growth and development as an educator and nurse. The chapter’s strong focus on supporting nursing and those who practice it makes me very proud to be a member! This year, I plan to attend the Biennial Conference in Indianapolis, IN.

3. What are your future aspirations in serving on the Eta Rho Board?

I’m not sure where the future will lead me, but I am eager to see where that path may go. I hope to continue serving in a meaningful way that benefits our board, chapter members, and the community at large.

4. What are your future professional plans?

As an educator who loves what she does, my future professional plans will continue to center around the provision of a quality educational experience. As I teach primarily online courses, I will continue to focus on ways to strengthen the delivery of content using innovative technology and strong educational strategies. In addition, I plan to continue to serve in a leadership position within Sigma Theta Tau.

5. Would you like to share your personal, academic, and/or professional accomplishments with the Eta Rho members?

My undergraduate degree (BSN) was obtained through the University of Michigan in 1990. Early on in my career, I realized how much I enjoyed educating others, so I decided to return to school. In 1995, I graduated with a master’s degree in Nursing from Indiana University. During that year, I also earned my most treasured job title…Mom! Through the years, I have practiced in many different clinical areas ranging from home health care to critical care. In addition to bedside nursing, I have taught at the university level for the past 26 years, both in the traditional classroom and online. Since 2008, I have been teaching solely online. My love of learning and passion for teaching is unchanged even after all these years!

1. What does Sigma Eta Rho Membership mean to you?

I love being involved with Sigma Eta Rho chapter because it allows me to meet and network with a completely different group of nurses than the groups I work with. We are able to discuss, create and build programs that benefit nurses in our chapter and in our community. Supporting and developing nursing excellence is exciting and rewarding in our chapter.

2. What opportunities have you had being a member of Sigma Eta Rho?

I have had the opportunity to be a chair of many types as well as president for 2 terms. I have enjoyed working in all of these capacities and I have learned new things that inspire me in my work setting.

3. What are your future aspirations in serving on the Eta Rho Theta Board?

I hope to help build the chapter for success for many years to come. We have a chapter with many nurses new to the profession and it is so rewarding to see them grow.

4. What are your future professional plans?

I hope to continue to work in my hospital setting with the ability to work with sites across the country.

5. Would you like to share your personal, academic, and/or professional accomplishments with the Eta Rho members?

I am the Regional Director of Nursing Education and Research for Saint Joseph Mercy Health System in Michigan. I have been fortunate to work and grow within St Joes for over 35 years. I have lead multiple EMR installations, multiple new hospital builds, early developer of an internal nurse residency program that has grown and evolved over 20 years. My team and I have developed great working relationships with our local schools and partnered on many educational and professional growth programs. I was part of the state of Michigan Preceptor Development academy as well as research partners with many studies with our local nurse researchers. COVID has brought many unique challenges to educate and redeploy staff to many areas as well as to develop vaccine clinics. I am currently working to support and develop our nurses with our state wide hospital educators!

Midwest Nursing 45th Annual Research Conference

March 24-27, 2021

Title

Effects of Integrating Mindfulness in Nursing Student Education: A Synthesis of the Literature

Author

Vicki L. Washington, MSN, RN, APRN, ACNS-BC

Problem

Careers in the healthcare profession of nursing are highly challenging and physically, emotionally, and intellectually demanding. During training, nursing students are exposed to similar demands and challenges that result in significant levels of stress and anxiety. The nursing students’ psychological distress affects well-being, academic and clinical practice outcomes, and is carried into the practice setting directly affecting patient-centered care.

Purpose

The objective of this inquiry was to explore coping strategies that decrease psychological distress and promote well-being in nursing students. One such strategy that has gained momentum is the practice of mindfulness.

Search Strategy

A synthesis review of the literature was conducted utilizing electronic databases that included Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and PsycINFO. Reviews were limited to scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles specific to mindfulness and mindfulness education in nursing students. Inclusion criteria included articles published in the English language from January 2015 through February 2020.

Results of Literature Search

Eight articles were included for analysis in this evaluation of the synthesis. Records identified through database searching (n = 225)CINHAL, PubMed, Psyc

Info Additional records identified through other sources (n = 8)

Records after duplicates removed (n = 188)

Records screened title/abstract (n = 188)

Records excluded irrelevant publications (n = 147)

Full-text articles assessed for eligibility (n = 41)

Full-text articles excluded not meeting inclusion criteria (n = 33)

Full-text articles included for literature synthesis (n = 8)

The LOE was rated using the Synthesis: Levels of Evidence from Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2019).

Level II = three articles; Level III = two articles; Level IV = one article; Level VI = two articles.

Synthesis of Evidence

Anxiety: Diminished post-intervention.

Stress: Diminished stress scores post-intervention.

Depression: Diminished post intervention.

Mindfulness: Demonstrated statistically significant positive effects on mindfulness attention awareness levels post-intervention.

Implications for Practice

This synthesis has resulted in the identification that more research needs to be done regarding the integration of mindfulness-based interventions in nursing curricula. Studies could follow nursing students longitudinally (throughout their education and beyond) to assess the benefits of mindfulness- based interventions on the students’ health, well-being, and academic and clinical performance.

Keywords: Mindfulness, Nursing Students

Healing After Gender-based Violence: A Qualitative Metasynthesis Using Meta-

Ethnography

Hughesdon, K. & Sinko, L.

Midwest Nursing 45th Annual Research Conference

March 24-27, 2021

Purpose: Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global health issue and is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including mental health disorders and chronic pain syndromes. Although previous research has focused on improving these negative outcomes, little is known about the holistic healing process from the survivor perspective. The purpose of this project is to report on findings from a qualitative metasynthesis on the nature of healing from GBV through the lens of female identifying survivors.

Learning Objective: The purpose of this session is to enable the learner to understand relevant survivor GBV healing goals and nurses’ role in the healing process.

Questions/ Hypothesis: What GBV healing themes are identified in previous qualitative

studies? What limitations and gaps exist in this literature? How can the findings influence

interventions and practice?

Theoretical Framework/ Rationale: The concepts of resilience and post-traumatic growth are

frequently referenced in trauma recovery literature. Although there are differences between these two concepts, they both reflect positive growth following a traumatic event. These two concepts were used to help guide the review, but the purpose of this review was to create a new foundation for future theory building to specifically understand healing after GBV.

Methods: The Sandelowski and Barroso (2007) guidelines for qualitative metasynthesis were

used. In addition, meta-ethnography techniques (Noblit & Hare, 1998) were used to integrate healing themes. The research team included two nurse researchers and a health sciences librarian. Three health sciences databases were searched with key words to find relevant articles. Inclusion and exclusion screening criteria were applied to abstracts and then to full-text articles.

Results: A total of 1,200 articles were identified in the initial search which was narrowed down to 47 articles for full-text review. A total of 25 articles were included in the review.

Findings indicated that the recovery journey was a non-linear process. Healing was composed of 1) trauma processing and reexamination, 2) managing negative states, 3) rebuilding the self, 4) connecting with others, and 5) regaining hope and power. Turning points were also identified that facilitated active engagement the healing process.

Conclusions: Nurses need to understand the GBV healing process beyond the alleviation of

negative symptoms and implement interventions to promote active recovery.

Topics to be Covered: Gender-based violence, healing, and qualitative meta-synthesis.