Woods Scholars

Woods Scholars is the institutional repository of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, managed by the Rooney Library. It is a digital archive of works created by College students, faculty, and staff, with an emphasis on graduate student projects and theses. Woods Scholars offers an online mechanism for depositing, maintaining, disseminating, and preserving the research and scholarship of the SMWC community.

Recent Submissions

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    Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: A Descriptive, Cross-Sectional Study of Former Music Therapists’ Workplace Attitudes
    (2023) Langenberger, Sara
    Understanding why music therapists are leaving the profession has largely gone unstudied and there is minimal research on career longevity within the field of music therapy. However, between the years 2020 and 2021 almost 300 music therapists left the field out of 9,594 total music therapists (CBMT, 2022), although 788 new music therapists joined the field. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine workplace attitudes of former music therapists. Understanding workplace attitudes may help those in the music therapy profession at large understand the reasons music therapists- specifically new professionals- may leave the field. One hundred former music therapists participated in the survey, which was an adapted version of the COPSOQ III (Burr et al., 2019). Following the completion of the study, six main themes summarizing reasons behind why people may leave the music therapy profession were compiled: lack of safety in the workplace, lack of community and support, role ambiguity, high rates of demand, little possibility for development, and high rates of burnout. Prioritizing safety and support within clinical practice would help to address all six areas of concern. Additional research into what professions former music therapists pursue following their departure from the field, and similar analyses of related fields (social work, child life, etc.) is recommended to continue the understanding of this nuanced and challenging issue.
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    Art Therapy for Emotional Containment in Adult Populations with Substance Use Disorder
    (2023) Guada, Sara
    This is a quantitative pilot study with participants self-identified as having a history with substance use disorder (SUD). The purpose of this study is to explore therapeutic benefits for symptoms of anxiety and depression, using art interventions, in populations dealing with SUD. Art interventions are centered around a theoretical lens based in mindfulness. Containing emotions is part of a mindfulness practice, is an important aspect in relapse prevention and is discussed within the context of how self-care and mindfulness can be interrelated. Other theoretical lens used are Solution-Focused Therapy and Existentialism. This study is a quantitative, arts-based research. The research sample is 29 people who identify as being in recovery from SUD. The session begins with demographics and assessments, followed by a guided meditation, two art directives, a discussion, and then post-session assessments and questions. The guided meditation and art directives are designed to give participants tools for self-regulate. The control group will not have art interventions and will be offered the art interventions post-session. Their sessions were wrapped up by reflecting on their experience, repeating the assessments, and completing a questionnaire. They are then invited to participate in the art directives. This study was done in group sessions and was be facilitated at a community center.
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    Reducing Ventilator Associated Pneumonia
    (2020-12) Gadlage, Caroline; Renfro, Gwyneth; Wells, Ashley; Young, Erin
    A poster exploring decreasing the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia.
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    Long-Term Care Return Protocol for COVID-19
    (2020-12) Allen, Alexis; Augustus, Lauren; Brown, Lori; Turner, Jacob
    A poster exploring how to ensure the safety of yourself and others from COVID-19; self-screening imposes an increase risk of infecting others and is not as effective as other forms of screening.
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    Prevention of Medical Device Related Pressure Ulcers
    (2020-12) Bailey, Allie; Banister, Christie; Hudgens, Mikayla
    A poster exploring how to reduce the incidence of medical device related pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients.