Date of Conferral
2-17-2025
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Stacy Lourie
Abstract
This capstone project is an educational improvement intervention for medical assistants (MAs), in the transitions clinic for heart failure patients. This capstone was designed to assess baseline heart failure (HF) knowledge of the MA and provide education on HF sign symptoms and urgency of provider notification as well as a postintervention assessment of knowledge. The terminal outcome was to improve the recognition of urgent symptoms that should be reported to providers so that providers can intervene early to prevent a possible exacerbation of heart failure. In order to assess the improvement in education of the MAs before and after the intervention, a pretest was administered before the education and a posttest administered immediately following the intervention. After completion of the intervention, involving four participants, it was shown that there was an improvement in posttest scores (however, it was not statistically significant due to the small sample size). Generalized recommendations cannot be made because the results were not statistically significant and the sample size was small; nonetheless, the results of the project has created interest to see if there is a decrease in HF emergency room visits. By improving HF treatment early, patients can enjoy an improved quality of life, length of life, and preservation of heart function.
Recommended Citation
Kirk, Kelly S., "Heart Failure Education for Medical Assistants in a Transitions Clinic" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 17364.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/17364