NORFOLK, Neb. — A team of four Northeast Community College students partnered with Franciscan Healthcare in West Point to study inpatient hypoglycemia for a project they completed last month.
The students were one of several teams of second-year nursing students who presented their Quality Improvement Projects (QIP) via a poster presentation on April 29.
The students were Audrey Coufal, Howells; Brooklyn Notling, Bancroft; Emma Labenz, Leigh; and Nayely Martinez, Yankton, S.D. Guests to the College of Nursing on April 29 were able to visit with the students, including asking them questions about their findings.
Each of the student teams collaborated with a healthcare facility in the region to identify a concern or topic that the healthcare institution wanted to improve upon. The students then completed a literature review, looked at practical solutions, and made recommendations.
Each team presented its QIP findings to the healthcare organization, with some facilities planning to make changes to practice.
Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can occur for many reasons for patients, even if they are not diabetic. One of the things the Northeast students found was that the scale for insulin at the West Point hospital for diabetics was at a lower number than a comparable hospital in the region (150 for starting the sliding scale compared to 180 in Columbus).
If blood sugar gets too low, such as below 70, it can cause major problems, including death if not treated. Too high is not healthy either, but high numbers can be normal for some people. Diabetics tend to have higher blood sugar levels, with some people having levels as high as 300 or even higher.
The teams of students worked on their projects during the second semester. This group of students, for example, estimated they put in about 100 hours during the semester, including all the writing and making of posters. The students also made a PowerPoint presentation.
