Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Self-care practices of rural nurses in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2013) Conner, Jeanne Randale; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Susan LuparellNurses have an ethical obligation to maintain competence and to continue personal and professional growth. Promotion of self-care encourages the nurse's personal and professional development. Review of the literature indicates little is known about the self-care practices of rural nurses. The demanding nature of professional nursing practice coupled with an ongoing nursing shortage in the United States challenge nurses' efforts to maintain adequate self-care for personal and professional development. This study was a replication, extension nursing research study intended to collect data about and explore the self-care practices of rural nurses in Montana. The study used a mailed, paper survey tool to collect information directly from a sample of rural nurses practicing in Montana. In July 2011, a total of 360 surveys were mailed to actively licensed registered nurses in eight rural counties in Montana; 194 surveys were completed and returned yielding a response rate of 53.8%. A significant portion of the study's respondents were over fifty years of age and reported living with chronic health problems. Social support, workplace accommodations for chronic health problems, increased opportunities for physical activity and support for optimal nutritional choices are among the recommendations for practice discussed. Formal validation of the survey tool and replication with other populations is recommended.Item Lessons learned from piloting an internet survey to nurse practitioners in Montana on alcohol abuse and education(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2012) Skordal, Amy Jo; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Susan LuparellThis purpose of this research study was to explore the perceptions of rural providers about alcohol misuse services and related formal education. A web-based self-report survey was developed and piloted to NPs in Montana about how important it is for rural NPs to be proficient in providing care clients with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) and alcohol detoxification needs, their proficiency in providing related services, and formal education received in these areas. An invitational email with a hyperlink to the web-based survey was sent to 412 NPs in Montana through the use of a private marketing company over six launches. A total of five respondents started the survey and three completed it. Though the response rate was too small to reach significance, findings suggested that large scale future research replicating this survey would likely reveal important new information about rural health care that could inform policy and educational curriculum. Perceptions of proficiency were generally low yet all respondents agreed that rural NPs need to be proficient in providing AUD services and alcohol detoxification. Until this point, alcohol detoxification has been considered a specialty function. This appears to be new information that could impact policy and graduate nursing education curriculum for rural states. In addition, concerns for future research using internet surveys were discussed in the context of a low response for the survey administered in this study.