Nursing doctoral student wins gastroenterology scholarship
A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student in The University of Texas at Arlington’s nursing program has received a scholarship recognizing her “extraordinary nursing practice (NP) leadership, outstanding academic achievements and excellence in caring for the gastroenterology patient.”
Jordan Dudley, a DNP student in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, received the Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation/Proctor & Gamble Gastroenterology Scholarship Award for her efforts, which include leading a pilot study focused on improving outcomes for colonoscopy patients. This scholarship is awarded once a year to an NP graduate student enrolled in a master’s, DNP, or Ph.D. program with clinical or research interests in the field of gastroenterology.
“It was validating to know that I’m on the right track with my pilot study,” Dudley said. “It let me know that I’m making a difference for my patients in the long run.”
Dudley, who works as an acute care nurse practitioner with gastrointestinal patients, noticed a large amount of delays for colonoscopy procedures. For patients, the delays caused longer lengths of stays, increased costs and increased risk.
Colonoscopy patients are typically required to abstain from eating solid foods for 24 hours before the procedure. In addition to a clear liquid diet, patients also ingest laxatives to clear the bowels. Through Dudley’s research, she discovered high rates of poor bowel preparation for in-patient colonoscopy procedures.
Dudley initially suspected that inpatient nurses were not adequately pushing the preparation, but quickly discovered that wasn’t the case.
“The nurses realized the significance of the preparation,” she said. “It’s just that you can’t force a patient to do it, no matter how much you push them. It’s uncomfortable; it’s not a pleasant experience. So they just don’t want to do it.”
Dudley plans to distribute an illustrated booklet to a new group of inpatients and measure its impact in her study. The booklet emphasizes the importance of bowel preparation and includes visuals to show patients what to expect.
- Written by Paul Bennett, College of Nursing and Health Innovation