STUDY PROTOCOL Convenience Sample:

The convenience sample will consist of at least 300 registered nurses in North Carolina who are participants of an intervention workshop in Southeast North Carolina. Data collection will take place at the workshop and at 6 weeks after the workshop. The project coordinator will explain the nature of the study in writing and administer the brief survey.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Registered Nurses who participate in the leadership workshop

The Survey Instrument:

The paper and pencil survey tool includes: demographic information and the Nurse Survey. The investigator will assign a code number to each survey to ensure that the survey data is only applicable to one participant. The questions are based on a review of the literature and resources available to nurses in North Carolina to improve communication and conflict management.

The follow-up data will be collected using Survey Monkey. A link to the survey will be emailed to participants of the initial Nurse Survey.

Data Collection Procedure:

On the day of data collection the investigator will provide a brief written description of the study to include in the participant’s workshop toolkit. The Nurse Survey will be collected by the investigator and members of the Nursing Research Council at the conclusion of the workshop at the time CEUs are awarded. A follow-up survey will be emailed to participants after six (6) weeks.

• Provide a brief introduction to the purpose of the research.

“My name is Molly Patton. I am a doctoral nursing student at the Universality of South Carolina. I am collecting data as part of my Doctor of Nursing Practice Research

Utilization Project with the University of South Carolina’s (USC) College of Nursing. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a free workshop offering CEUs to nurses practicing in North Carolina in developing communication and conflict management skills. The survey will examine your opinion about how you and your co- workers communicate and manage conflict. The survey will also examine leadership activities in which you have engaged to improve your own or your teams’ ability to communicate and manage conflict. In addition the survey will ask you about your interest in further developing your communication and conflict management skills and

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your willingness to improve the workplace environment. You may feel uncomfortable answering some of the questions. You do not have to answer any questions that you do not wish to answer. Your participation in this study is voluntary. You may withdraw from the study at any time. There will be no penalty to you if you decide not to participate.

Although you may not benefit directly from this study, others may benefit in the future, because this study will assist nurses and other health professionals to design programs and resources to improve communication and conflict management in the healthcare environment. About 300 nurses will be in the study. Completion of the survey will take about 15 minutes.

You will be contacted by email to complete a six (6) week follow-up survey. The follow- up survey will take about 5 minutes to complete.

To be eligible to participate, you must:

o Participate in the workshop on October 29, 2012

If you decide to participate in this study, please complete the brief survey given to you with an envelope at the registration desk. When you are done, please place the survey in the envelope provided, seal it, and place materials back in the packet and bring the packet to the registration desk in the commons area at the conclusion of the workshop. In six (6) weeks you will receive an email with a link to a short follow-up survey. ”

The survey describes some basic characteristics such as your age, gender, and

education. In addition, you will complete the Nurse Survey. The surveys will take less than 15 minutes to complete. The follow-up survey will be emailed to you and will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Your participation in the study is completely

anonymous, which means your name will not appear on any of the research forms. We will use data obtained in this study in future publications and/or professional meetings. By completing the surveys, you are giving consent to participate in the study.

We will be happy to answer any questions you have about the study. You may contact me by phone at 704-403-1755 and by email at [email protected] or my faculty advisors, Dr. Beverly Baliko by phone 803-777-2292 and by email

[email protected] or Dr. Joan Culley, by phone at 803-777-1257 and by email at [email protected]. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the Office of Research Compliance at the University of South Carolina at 803-777-7095.

Thank you for your consideration.

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The investigator will develop a code book of each participant’s name and contact information separate from the survey. The code book information will contain contact information from the participant for a one-time 6 week follow-up survey. The survey will be assigned a number and the number will be tracked in the code book containing contact information. At no time will the surveys and codebook be stored in the same location. The participant’s information and surveys will be secured and protected in the investigators office in a locked cabinet at the completion of the study. The data will be stored on password protected laptops accessible to Dr. Tavakoli and the investigator. No names will be solicited or included on any forms and all data will be

reported only in aggregate form. The survey and participant information will be destroyed at the completion of the study. The student investigator will enter the data into an Excel spreadsheet and SAS will be used to analyze the data.

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APPENDIX L. FORMATIVE PROGRAM EVALUATION

Workshop Evaluation

Transforming the Healthcare Environment