Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Capstone
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
College Granting Degree
Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Candy Wilson
Thesis/Dissertation Co-Chair
Natalie Murphy
Abstract
In February of 2024, eleven Florida Atlantic University (FAU) nurse practitioner (NP) students arrived in Guatemala to participate in a medical mission trip led by two clinical professors from the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing (CON) in conjunction with the non-profit organization, Nursing Heart Incorporated (NHI). The collaboration between NHI and FAU allows NP students to assess, evaluate, and treat residents living in rural and underserved communities outside of Antigua and to receive primary care and women’s health services. The conditions in these communities were austere. In previous mission trips to Guatemala, the NP students expressed interest in improving their proficiency at diagnosing common vaginal infections based on signs and symptoms with unaided visual inspection and improving their microscopy skills to help solidify their knowledge of common vaginal infections. Data were collected using a pre- and post- immersion survey and post-immersion reflective questionnaire. At the outset of the QI project, the objective was to have a 25% increase in confidence levels in pre- versus post-surveys; the results showed confidence improvement ranging from 8.33% to 39.39% in every aspect surveyed. The NP students noted a subjective increase in their confidence in their clinical and microscopy skills. The success of this QI project suggests increased practice in performing pelvic speculum exams, and the addition of education in microscopy evaluation improves NP students’ confidence in recognizing, diagnosing, and treating common vaginal infections. These skills are particularly valuable for NP practitioners who will be practicing in rural and low-resource settings. The quality improvement project aimed to improve the current program by enhancing the pre-mission PowerPoint presentation, visual aids, standardized specimen collection, and microscopy analysis training to increase the NP students' confidence level in visual assessments.
Extent
44 p.
Recommended Citation
Holtzclaw, Laurie, "Improving Nurse Practitioner Students’ Confidence in Assessment and Treatment Vaginal Infections in Low Resource Settings" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present. 1558.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general/1558
Identifier
faudnp000107