A little help choosing a topic?

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I have the opportunity to apply for an undergraduate research project of my own. I *think* I have it narrowed down to two topics and kind of wanted to talk it out to solidify my idea before I reach out to potential mentors.

I'm leaning towards seeking employment in the ED, and eventually getting SANE certified. So I thought it might be interesting to research the outcomes of assaults (patient coping, follow up care, reporting, prosecution, etc) with and without a SANE nurse present. I haven't fleshed the idea out fully, but it's something that may impact my future and I feel like there's not a ton of good data on it yet.

The other is something I think impacts all nurses - that's the customer satisfaction survey. I want to look at how it's impacting nurses - their practice, their satisfaction - stuff like that. I think a lot of focus is on the scores, but the voice of the care providers are getting lost in the shuffle. Again, not fully fleshed out.

So, do you have any ideas or feedback for me? I'm in the VERY beginning stages of my pitch - I have to get everything prepared and secure a mentor before I can even apply and even then the program is highly competitive with a small amount of spots.

I'd love to know what you think about these topics and what important things I might need to consider. I'm NOT looking for anyone to do my work for me, I'm looking for the ins and outs of things I don't know much about yet as a student. That will help me focus and give me foothold to start my research on.

Thanks so much!

Jen

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My only thoughts are those are very big projects. You'll need to narrow it down. I would imagine there is already some evidence on SANE nurse outcomes. Is there anything missing in literature (like, what outcomes aren't studied?). Would you have a particular theoretical model in mind? Typically, I find that even if there is literature, the studies don't employ a model consistently (eg a theoretical model for coping). Your school is probably pretty big on theory, so they might like that.

Personally, I'd stay far away from knocking patient satisfaction surveys. Patient-centered everything is just too big of an agenda for every major regulatory and reimbursement body out there. It's a valid concern but yeah... wouldn't advise to base a project on it.

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My only thoughts are those are very big projects. You'll need to narrow it down. I would imagine there is already some evidence on SANE nurse outcomes. Is there anything missing in literature (like, what outcomes aren't studied?). Would you have a particular theoretical model in mind? Typically, I find that even if there is literature, the studies don't employ a model consistently (eg a theoretical model for coping). Your school is probably pretty big on theory, so they might like that.

Personally, I'd stay far away from knocking patient satisfaction surveys. Patient-centered everything is just too big of an agenda for every major regulatory and reimbursement body out there. It's a valid concern but yeah... wouldn't advise to base a project on it.

Thanks for the feedback!

I do need to narrow it down quite a bit. I'm torn between focusing on community outcomes and consistent post-rape care.

The only theory we've touched on is Roy - so I guess I need to research the research ;)

You make a good point about the patient satisfaction surveys. I'm letting that one simmer some.

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