Nursing

2010 America’s Health Rankings

ahrLogo
America’s Health Rankings?« has been tracking the state of our nation’s health for over 20 years. This analysis provides a comprehensive perspective on our national health issues, state by state.

America’s Health Rankings?«-2010 Edition shows Vermont at the top of the list of healthiest states again this year. Massachusetts is ranked second this year, an improvement from ranking third last year. New Hampshire is number three, followed by Connecticut and Hawaii. However, although Mississippi is 50th and the least healthy state, Louisiana is 49th. Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma complete the bottom five states.

Louisiana dropped two spots from last year due to several factors including a high rate of obesity and smoking. On the positive side, Louisiana has a high ranking for access to prenatal care and childhood immunizations. Stay Healthy, Louisiana has a great summary of the state’s ranking.

Healthy People 2020 Launched

Healthy People 2020 logo

Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. For 3 decades, Healthy People has established benchmarks and monitored progress over time in order to encourage collaborations across sectors, guide individuals toward making informed health decisions, and measure the impact of prevention activities.

Healthy People 2020 continues in this tradition with the launch on December 2, 2010 of its ambitious, yet achievable, 10-year agenda for improving the NationÔÇÖs health. Healthy People 2020 is the result of a multiyear process that reflects input from a diverse group of individuals and organizations.

New topic areas for 2020 include:
Adolescent Health
Blood Disorders and Blood Safety
Dementias, Including AlzheimerÔÇÖs Disease
Early and Middle Childhood
Genomics
Global Health
Healthcare-Associated Infections
Health-Related Quality of Life and Well-Being
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health
Older Adults
Preparedness
Sleep Health
Social Determinants of Health

Stay connected to Healthy People 2020 by signing up for e-mail, following on Twitter, connecting on LinkedIn, or joining the Consortium to stay up-to-date with the latest Healthy People information and events.

Preparing Students for Best Jobs

Money Magazine came out with it’s list The 50 Best Jobs in America in the November issue. LSUHSC New Orleans is preparing its students for many of these.
#4 Physical Therapist
#12 Dentist
#13 Nurse Anesthetist
#19 Occupational Therapist
#25 Emergency Room Physician
#27 Director of Nursing
#29 Psychiatrist
#34 Primary Care Physician
#44 Speech-Language Pathologist
#46 Physical Therapy Director

Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries

African American surgeons, nurses and hospital staff have often been slighted in recognition of providing care for soldiers and civilians during the Civil War. Despite the challenges they faced due to race and gender, they simply downplayed the prejudices?áand carried out their duties as healers and caregivers.?á?áIn hopes to change that, a 6-banner traveling exhibit is making its way around different cities in the U.S. The fight for freedom seemed to be a family affair as some nurses served alongside their relatives. While the war showed opportunity for some, those who received a stipend, others were sent into the field by their owners who kept the money for themselves. One notable mention in the exhibit is Susie King Taylor, who served as a caregiver on the battlefield, yet didnÔÇÖt receive any compensation for her work.

To find a location near you, check out the traveling exhibition. If none are offered locally explore the exhibition online through the educational resources.

Flu Shots

Flu shots will be offered to LSUHSC New Orleans faculty, staff and students during the first week of October, brought to you by the School of Nursing. This year the flu shot will be administered in one dose and will help protect you and others against H3N2, influenza B, and the H1N1 viruses.

Those who should avoid vaccinations are:

  • Infants under 6 months of age
  • People with egg allergies
  • People who have had a severe reaction to a flu vaccine in the past
  • People with a mild to severe illness
  • People who have developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome within 6 weeks of getting the flu vaccine

What: Flu Shots
When: October 6th, 7th & 8th b/w 9am ÔÇô 2:30pm
Where: School of Nursing ÔÇô Room 5B12 (5th floor)
Cost: $15.00 for faculty & staff; payable to LSUHSC-NO by check or money order (Cost is free for students)

Nursing school starts today

Welcome (& welcome back), School of Nursing students! Here are some library tips as you (re)orient yourself to campus:

1. The RegistrarÔÇÖs office is on the fourth floor of the library. Students get their IDs here. After getting your ID, stop by the Circulation desk for a library barcode.

2. You need a library barcode for off campus access.

3. Your ID can also store money for printing, books and food purchases. Get it formatted in the LSUHSC Bookstore on the 2nd floor of the Resource Center Building to access this feature. More info about PayPaw.

4. Computers are available in the Library Commons and the open access lab on the libraryÔÇÖs 4th floor. Simply log in with your lsuhsc user id and password.

5. Wireless access and laptop ports are available throughout campus. Wireless instructions.

6. More questions? The library is here to help.

Pathophysiology Resources

It seems like only yesterday we were writing about pathophys resources for nursing, but another semester brings another round of students scurrying to gather and regurgitate the pathology, physiology and pharmacology of a motley crew of diseases.

Whether its Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm to Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome, these resources should have you covered:

CURRENT Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2010
A single-source reference for practitioners in both hospital and ambulatory settings. Annually updated, this book emphasizes the practical features of clinical diagnosis and patient management in all fields of internal medicine and in specialties of interest to primary care practitioners.

EbschoHOST ÔÇô CINAHLplus with Full text
Database of journal articles in nursing. try a key word search of your topic (i.e.: Necrotizing fasciitis and pathophysiology) Limit to full text under ÔÇ£search optionsÔÇØ on the right side of the screen.

StatRef
Online textbooks in nursing. Search many textbooks at once for your topic.

Nursing Consult
Search 30 nursing books and journal articles from MEDLINE/PubMed.

MEDLINEplus
Simple overviews on health topics from authoritative sources on the web.

Genetics Home Reference
Free access to consumer-friendly information on medical genetics and disorders, with references to scientific journal articles

Off campus access instructions

Patient Safety Awareness

Sure, we all know it is important for doctors to provide safe and effective health care, but did you know patients play a part in safety as well?

March 7-13th is Patient Safety Awareness Week (PSAW) which is a national campaign for bettering patient care on a personal level. The National Patient Safety Foundation provides information and materials on how to be the best patient you can be. The first step? Asking the right questions.

Find out more!

Historical Images

In need of an historical image to jazz up a presentation? Check out the Images from the History of Medicine Collection from the National Library of Medicine.

NLM does not own the copyright to the images in the database, nor do we charge access or permission fees for their use. We do request, however, that published images include the credit line “Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.”

Dental Clinical at Camp Livingston, Louisiana. 1943

Dental Clinical at Camp Livingston, Louisiana. 1943

2010 County Health Rankings

The County Health Rankings ÔÇö the first time researchers have examined the multiple factors that affect health in each county in all 50 states ÔÇö a collaborative effort by the University of WisconsinÔÇÖs Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The 50 state reports help public health and community leaders, policy-makers, consumers and others to see how healthy their county is, compare it with others within their state and find ways to improve the health of their community.

Louisiana Summary report is available at
http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/CHR2010_LA.pdf

PubMed?« Revisions in February

Changes coming to PubMed in early February include:

  • Advanced search page streamlined
  • link to Clipboard will be added to the homepage, if applicable
  • new Limits page with additional limits for dates and search field tags
  • Pathophysiology resources

    ATTN Nursing students! Freaking out about that pathophysiology paper between bites of turkey? Check out these online resources to get some work done at home. Remember, we’re closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

    EbschoHOST – CINAHLplus with Full text
    Database of journal articles in nursing. Limit to full text under “search options” on the right side of the screen.

    StatRef
    Online textbooks in nursing. Search many textbooks at once for your topic.

    Nursing Consult
    Search nursing books and journal articles from MEDLINE/PubMed.

    MEDLINEplus
    Simple overviews on health topics from authoritative sources on the web.
    Genetics Home Reference
    Free access to consumer-friendly information on medical genetics and disorders, with references to scientific journal articles

    Off campus access instructions

    Fast Help for E-Resources

    The LSUHSC Libraries have access to almost 200 databases so how do you decide which one to start searching in? The Reference Librarians have created 6 E-Resources at a Glance sheets for each of the school of LSUHSC.
    Electronic Resources at a Glance: Allied Health
    Electronic Resources at a Glance: Dentistry
    Electronic Resources at a Glance: Graduate Studies
    Electronic Resources at a Glance: Medicine
    Electronic Resources at a Glance: Nursing
    Electronic Resources at a Glance: Public Health
    Let us know what you think.

    APA style update

    APA style was developed by social and behavioral scientists to standardize scientific writing. Here at LSU, the School of Nursing and some departments in the School of Allied Health use APA style to cite references in their papers.

    Why is standardized scientific writing necessary, anyway? A big reason is to enable others who read your paper to find the references that you used. Scientific research is built upon the ideas and experimentation of others, and it is critical to credit the shoulders of giants on which you stand.

    APA style can be confusing if you’ve never written a paper before. Luckily, there is a great tutorial on http://www.apastyle.org/ that is the perfect introduction to citing books and journals, both in a paper and on your reference page.

    If you don’t have time to view the 20 minute tutorial, check out these slide numbers for quick reference:
    Link to APA style tutorial: http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm

    Slides 14, 15, 16: Citing references in text
    Slide 15 includes a handy table of in-text citation styles depending on the number of authors
    Slide 18: Components of a citation
    Slide 21: Formatting references to journal articles
    Slide 22: Formatting a reference to an entire journal issue
    Slide 23: Formatting a reference to a book chapter in an edited book
    Slide 24: Formatting a reference to an entire book

    There’s also a tutorial on What’s new in APA style, 6th edition, if you’re used to using the 5th.

    Happy citing!

    Nursing journals upgrade at 9AM today

    Nursing journals we subscribe to through Ovid will be undergoing an upgrade today at 9AM. If you are in an OvidSP or Nursing@Ovid session at that time, your session will continue uninterrupted until you log out or your session times out.

    Please let us know if you encounter any problems with access.

    More info.