BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:EventsCalendar PRODID:-//hacksw/handcal//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York LAST-MODIFIED:20240422T053451Z TZURL:https://www.tzurl.org/zoneinfo-outlook/America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:EDT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:EST TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Nursing and Health Sciences,Lectures and Seminars,The sis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Title: An Evidence-Based Training Program to Improve Communicat ion and De-escalation Skills in Medical-Surgical Nurses Student: David Hee ps, BS, ADN, RN Faculty Mentor: Mark Adelung, PhD, RN, CPH Committee Membe r: Michelle Glowny, PhD, RN, CNE Clinical Site Mentor: Carolyn Harding, DN P, RN Date: April 29, 2026 Time: 10:00AM Zoom: Please contact dhoffman@ umassd.edu for link. Abstract Background: Medical-surgical nurses frequ ently care for patients with mental health conditions yet often feel unpre pared to manage escalating behaviors, which can contribute to decreased co nfidence, increased workplace violence, and poorer patient outcomes. The p urpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to implement a nd evaluate a brief, evidence-based educational intervention focused on co mmunication and verbal de-escalation skills to improve nurses’ mental he alth knowledge and perceived competence in managing escalating behavioral health events. Methods: This project used a quantitative, quasi-experiment al one-group pretest–posttest design with a qualitative component. Medic al-surgical nurses (N = 11) participated in an online, asynchronous, narra ted PowerPoint training module. Outcomes were measured using the validated Behavioral Health Care Competency (BHCC) survey before and after the inte rvention. Data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and effect sizes . Results: Results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall BHCC scores, with a 16.7% increase from pretest to posttest (p = .005) and a large effect size (d = 1.10). Significant improvements were al so observed across all four subscales, with the greatest improvement in pr actice/intervention competency (d = 1.24). Qualitative feedback supported these findings, with participants reporting increased confidence, improved ability to recognize early signs of agitation, and greater use of de-esca lation strategies. Participants also identified ongoing educational needs, particularly related to psychotropic medications and managing delirium. C onclusions: Despite limitations such as a small sample size, single-site d esign, and short-term evaluation, findings suggest that a brief educationa l intervention can meaningfully improve nurses’ behavioral health knowle dge and confidence. This project supports integrating structured communica tion and de-escalation training into orientation and ongoing education for medical-surgical nurses to support safer patient care and reduce workplac e risk.\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/college-of-nursing- and-health-sciences-dnp--defense---david-heeps-bs-adn-rn.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Title: An Evidence-Based Traini ng Program to Improve Communication and De-escalation Skills in Medical-Su rgical Nurses

Student: David Heeps\, BS\, ADN\, RN

Faculty Mentor: Mark Adelung\, PhD\, RN\, CPH

Committee Member: Michelle Glowny\, PhD\, RN\, CNE

Clinical Site Mentor: Carolyn Harding\, DN P\, RN

Date: April 29\, 2026

Time: 10:00AM

\ n

Zoom: Please contact dhoff man@umassd.edu for link.

Abstract

Backgroun d: Medical-surgical nurses frequently care for patients with mental health conditions yet often feel unprepared to manage escalating behaviors\, whi ch can contribute to decreased confidence\, increased workplace violence\, and poorer patient outcomes. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practi ce (DNP) project was to implement and evaluate a brief\, evidence-based ed ucational intervention focused on communication and verbal de-escalation s kills to improve nurses’ mental health knowledge and perceived competenc e in managing escalating behavioral health events.

Methods: This p roject used a quantitative\, quasi-experimental one-group pretest–postte st design with a qualitative component. Medical-surgical nurses (N = 11) p articipated in an online\, asynchronous\, narrated PowerPoint training mod ule. Outcomes were measured using the validated Behavioral Health Care Com petency (BHCC) survey before and after the intervention. Data were analyze d using paired samples t-tests and effect sizes.

Results: Results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall BHCC score s\, with a 16.7% increase from pretest to posttest (p = .005) and a large effect size (d = 1.10). Significant improvements were also observed across all four subscales\, with the greatest improvement in practice/interventi on competency (d = 1.24). Qualitative feedback supported these findings\, with participants reporting increased confidence\, improved ability to rec ognize early signs of agitation\, and greater use of de-escalation strateg ies. Participants also identified ongoing educational needs\, particularly related to psychotropic medications and managing delirium.

Conclu sions: Despite limitations such as a small sample size\, single-site desig n\, and short-term evaluation\, findings suggest that a brief educational intervention can meaningfully improve nurses’ behavioral health knowledg e and confidence. This project supports integrating structured communicati on and de-escalation training into orientation and ongoing education for m edical-surgical nurses to support safer patient care and reduce workplace risk.

Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences-d np--defense---david-heeps-bs-adn-rn.php

DTSTAMP:20260417T162741 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T110000 LOCATION:Zoom SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:College of Nursing and Health Sciences DNP Defense - David Heeps, BS, ADN, RN UID:c847986b02ee1353b2d1ddf8696671fb@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR