Gaye L Ray and Jane H Lasseter, Nursing, and Jonathan Wisco, Neuroscience

1. Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met and description of the results/findings of the project.

   We studied the impact on student nurse mentors who volunteered to teach an anatomy based childhood obesity prevention program in area elementary schools. Student nurse mentors’ self-perceived communication, teaching and collaboration skills were measured at pre-and post-participation in the AA program. From the quantitative data collected, descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS versions 21 (IBM Corp, 2012). Data were reviewed for outliers and data entry errors using descriptive statistics, histograms, and box plots. None were identified. Means and standard deviations for individual items and the instrument overall at pre-test and post-test are reported in Table 1. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s (DeVellis, 2003) alpha. Pre-test alpha was .84 and post-test alpha was .74 both falling within the range that is considered generally acceptable (DeVellis, 2003).

   A paired t-test was conducted to assess changes in overall self-assessment scores from pre-test to post-test (Green & Salkind, 2008). The test was significant t (13) = -12.4, p < .001, d = 3.3. The mean (sd) pre-test score was 15.9 (3.0) and the mean (sd) post-test score was 21.1 (2.2). The 95% confidence interval for the mean difference was [-6.1, -4.3]. Student self-assessment scores rose significantly from pre-test to post-test. Cohen’s d indicated a very large effect. In summary, these results show that student nurse mentors volunteering in the AA program improved their self-perceived abilities to:

   1. Adapt health related communication to the developmental stage of the audience
   2. Communicate basic physiological concepts to individuals and groups
   3. Engage with students in age appropriate activities to reinforce health related concepts
   4. Teach the link between physiological concepts and healthy behaviors, such as physical activity, good nutrition, and maintenance of a healthy BMI
   5. Collaborate with community organizations (schools) to work toward a common goal
   6. Empower children toward healthy decisions

   Because of the positive outcome for AA mentors, we have had many student nurse volunteers for the AA program, student nurses continue to volunteer to mentor in the program because they believe volunteering in AA has positive outcomes for the participants as well as for the mentors.

   By participating in this project, undergraduate student nurse research assistants developed skills in the following areas:

   1. Identify and adhere to the principles and process of protection of research subjects
   2. Administer pre and post intervention measurement tools
   3. Collect and analyze research data
   4. Clean and check data entry
   5. Interpret results of statistical analyses
   6. Evaluate effectiveness of an intervention
   7. Disseminate findings through podium presentations and manuscript submission

2. Evaluation of the Mentoring Environment

   As we worked closely with the research assistants they became integral to the IRB proposal process and became conversant in methods to protect human participants during research and in appropriate research conduct. As we met on a weekly basis there was a great deal of creative energy, RAs became more engaged in the research process and grew in their ability to see implications from the findings. Overtime, the RAs became independent in their ability to collect data, enter data and evaluate the findings. We have developed personal and professional relationships with the RAs, the student nurse mentors and student nurse coordinators in AA. We were able to mentor the nursing students as they learned to collaborate with organizations toward a common goal, effectively communicate and organize volunteers, and carry out new responsibilities. Again, as time progressed these nursing students mastered these concepts and were able to independently manage entire teams of fellow BYU student volunteers while implementing the AA program in area elementary schools.

   It has been a rewarding experience for all involved. This experience has contributed to a desire for lifelong learning. Many of our nursing student mentors and RAs are choosing to further their education in graduate school. Having the opportunity to work on this interdisciplinary research opportunity has broadened their horizons and given them a mentoring experience they would not have in standard course work. As faculty, we continue to write letters of recommendation for RAs and AA mentors for graduate school admission and serve as informal mentors for these individuals as they navigate their future education and careers. It is readily apparent that the ability of these student nurses to organize, teach, and collaborate will improve their effectiveness as nurses, enhance their personal lives and prepare them to serve with greater skill within the church organization.

   Additionally, AA is closely linked to the Word of Wisdom; thus, there is a natural integration between what we studied and taught in the intervention and basic gospel principles. It was moving to discuss with the nursing students the relationship between what we taught the children and the Word of Wisdom and the spiritual application to their own lives and practice.

   As we worked with the RAs to develop abstracts for dissemination of our findings at presentations at professional nursing conferences, we were able to have great discussions on the meaning of the statistical analysis, the successes and shortcomings of our intervention, and opportunities for improvement.

3. List of students who participated and what academic deliverables they have produced or it is anticipated they will produce

   1. Maribelle Buris
   2. Jessie Valentine
   3. Janeen Williamson
   4. Elise Otteson
   5. Talicee Lindsay
   6. Beckstrand, Aislynn Autumn
   7. Ellertson, Anna Marie
   8. Ford, Lauren Lindsey (Wallace)
   9. Larson, Kayli
   10. Jordan Cook
   11. Andrea Jacobs
   12. Kaci McNeil
   13. Mallory Merrill
   14. Danielle Richards
   15. Heidi Carlson
   16. Tauna Woodward
   17. Wilkerson, Danielle
   18. Fitt, Lauren
   19. Watts, Megan
   20. Matt wood
   21. Jones, Ashley
   22. Carrasquillo, Camille
   23. Murri, Melinda
   24. Jocelyn Kimball
   25. Emily Louder
   26. Madalyn Rodney
   27. Courtney Davies
   28. Aislynn Collier
   29. Danielle Wilkerson
   30. Lauren Fitt
   31. Megan Watts
   32. Cheyenne Jones
   33. Janica Shmuch
   34. Melinda Murri
   35. Jocelyn Kimball Parkinson
   36. Haley Burns
   37. Braidee Adams
   38. Tiffani Petersen
   39. David Speth
   40. McKenna Hughes
   41. Katherine Arbon
   42. Kelsie Pied
   43. Chelsea Rouse
   44. Talicee Lindsay
   45. Anna Mocke
   46. Whitney Bunker
   47. Kalene Mears
   48. Jake Ferrin
   49. Mary Raymer
   50. Meghan Walquist
   51. Lindsay Larsen
   52. Sophie Wilson
   • Wood, M., Ray, G. (February, 2014). Anatomy academy: The impact on Student nurse mentors. The 2014 Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research. Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
   • Wood, M., Ray, G. (October, 2013). Anatomy Academy: The positive impact on student nurses. Scholarly Works and Contribution to the Discipline Conference, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
   • Ray, G., Lassetter, J., Wisco, J., & Wood, M., (2014). Anatomy Academy: A study on nursing students’ self-perceived abilities. Communicating Nursing Research Conference Proceedings, 47, Portland, OR: Western Institute of Nursing,
   • Ray, G., Lassetter, J., & Wisco, J., (2014). Anatomy Academy: The impact on student nurses. Sigma Theta Tau International and National League of Nursing, Nursing Education Research Conference 2014, Indianapolis, ID, available on line through the Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library http://www.nursinglibrary.org/vhl/

   Together with Alison Hatch RA, we are polishing a manuscript for submission to the Journal of Nursing Education. We anticipate submitting the final draft in first quarter 2015.

   Haley Burns RA is preparing to analyze the themes from AA participant’s reflective journals. We anticipate submitting abstracts with these finding to the 2015 or 2016 Western Institute of Nursing Conference and the Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research

4. Description of how the budget was spent

   The following is a list of approximately how much in each major category was spent using the MEG funds awarded:

   1. $3021 supplies, food for training workshops, and copies
   2. $7500 salaries for mentors and RAs (not complete yet)
   3. $3200 Dissemination fees/travel/posters
   4. Projected Salaries for remainder of project ~$3000
   5. Projected editing and statistical help ~$300.00
   6. Future dissemination costs for student travel to present qualitative findings ~2900+

   Total $19, 921+