Question regarding nursing attitudes in L&D

[MaryEMT]

Hi all!

I'm currently a senior nursing student, in an accelerated program set to graduate in December. I have to do a project for my Capstone class involving a problem I see in nursing and developing some way to address it. The issue I am looking in to exploring a bit further is the attitudes of L&D nurses toward high risk and/or underprivileged moms/families and how that may affect patient perceptions and possibly outcomes. It was suggested to me that I compile information and present a brief overview to be published in a newsletter of a major nursing organization to highlight the issue. There is a lot of literature that would be helpful that I plan on using however, one major roadblock is that many major nursing newsletters require membership in order to consider an article or editorial piece for publication, unfortunately being a member of any let alone more than one organization is a bit cost prohibitive at the moment. My other thought is to develop an in-service talk/demonstration at a local hospital on the Maternity unit. I was just wondering whether the newsletter works out or the in-service, what would be the best way to approach this. I want to deliver the information, without being judgmental or belittling, and I am concerned on how anything would be taken coming from a nursing student and going out to experienced nurses. Any thoughts, suggestions, reactions or opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thank-you!

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

I'm a little bit confused about what your assignment is. Are you supposed to be researching peer-reviewed journals and information on the subject and compiling a paper based on the existing evidence? I ask because your topic seems extremely subjective. "Attitude" is a very general term and can mean many different things. Also, the information is not universal- that attitudes of one L&D unit are not the attitudes of another and thus the research cannot be applied to all units.

I also think you are going to have a really hard time finding verifiable research on the topic- again because your topic is so subjective. If your capstone project was anything like mine, you are going to need several legitimate research sources. This topic sounds like the author's opinion has a huge effect.

I would suggest refining your topic to something more specific and measurable. For example- Do women of low socioeconomic status experience poorer birth outcomes than women of higher socioeconomic status?

For your presentation- look into evidence based practice conferences in your area. I think you'll find several that encourage students to come and showcase what they have researched. Or speak to your local hospitals and see if they have any newsletters that you could publish in.

[MaryEMT]

Thanks for your response. I should clarify a bit. I have found several peer-reviewed journal articles supporting the finding that a nurses' feelings about a patient can impact their behavior. This is sometimes shown to lead to poor patient outcomes and to a perception by the patient of less qualitative treatment. There are a few related specifically to obstetrical nursing. Most of the research relates to different behavioral theories. So someway to present this information in a respectful but valuable way. At any rate I hadn't thought of hospital newsletters, so I most certainly appreciate your idea and will look into that possibility!