Top 5 reasons not to use the library

1. We’re cheap
Everyone knows, you get what you pay for. As an LSUHSC member, all of our resources are available to you for free – from articles to books to exam preparation. Who cares if our interlibrary loan service can get you that $35 article you found online for free. If you want to refinance your condo to pay for that Kaplan prep course instead of exploring ExamMaster or USMLEasy, that’s your call. It’s your money: spend it on what you want.

2. We’re too nice
We hear it all the time. We’re so nice, so helpful, so timely. We understand that if you’re used to pulling teeth and dealing with attitude to get a service to which you are entitled, it’s hard to deal with friendly, helpful people. Here’s a kleenex, it’ll be okay.

3. It’s all online
Actually, we’re surprised to even see you in here. With over 12,000 journals and 400 books available to you online, for free, through our library catalog , and more than 400 specialty databases as well, it’s flattering to us that you even made the trip.

4. You’ve adjusted to mediocrity.
Why settle for excellence when you just need to pass? It doesn’t matter that your sloppy references in that paper cost you an entire letter grade. Who cares that you could have let RefWorks do that bibliography for you, in APA style like you needed, in about 2 seconds. It’s fine, really, that you searched Google for those drug interaction references instead of something authoritative like MicroMedex. It’s not like you’re going to hurt anybody…yet.

5. No one likes a smarty-pants
We understand. We know too much. Whether it’s who to talk to about your transcripts, where to start researching your dissertation, or how to set up your mobile phone for campus wireless access, it’s hard to ask a question when you feel you should know the answer. If you can swallow your pride, we’d be happy to help (see point #2). You can even ask us online, if face-to-face interaction is too cringeworthy for you.

So there you have it. 5 reasons why you SHOULDN’T use our library. Can you think of any more?

USMLE/NBDE Preparation Resources

The semester is almost over, but some students aren’t planning their summer vacations just yet. If you’re planning to take the USMLE Step 1, 2 or 3 or the NBDE soon, take a look at EXAM MASTER, a medical exam preparation and review resource that is available for FREE to LSUHSC students.

EXAM MASTER FEATURES

• Over 7,700 questions, answers, and explanations covering the USMLE Step 1 Exam.
• 3,100 clinical vignette type questions
• Questions created by physicians and medical educators
• Exam customization – Select questions by integrated outline, medical subjects, keywords, or take a pre-made practice exam
• Images and tables are associated with many questions.
• Scoring feature – track user performance and get the analysis necessary for concentrated study efforts.

More information on Exam Master

Students need to create an Exam Master username & password to use this resource. Off campus access requires log-in with library barcode & PIN, then login with your Exam Master info.

New Orleans curbside recycling survey – now online!

The City of New Orleans has finally put the survey about reinstatement of curbside recycling online. Please take a minute to fill it out if you are interested in the return of curbside recycling.

http://www.cityofno.com/pg-123-7-sanitation–survey.aspx

Getting the Material you Need

What happens if the LSUHSC Libraries doesn’t own what you need to conduct your research or write a paper? You can borrow it through the Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan Service, ILLiad.

ILLiad allows electronic submission, tracking, and notification. It’s easy, so set up your account today!

Chocolate cures cough, but will it help the smoking pigs?

Researchers at the Imperial College London found that theobromine, a chemical commonly found in cocoa, may help patients with a persistent cough. Theobromine works by suppressing vagus nerve activity, which is responsible for causing coughing. A 2004 study in FASEB journal found that the concentration of capsaicin (a chemical a substance used in clinical research to cause coughing) required to produce a cough in those people given theobromine was around one third higher when compared with the group receiving a placebo.

The team also discovered that unlike standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no adverse effects on either the cardiovascular or central nervous systems.

This is great news for us humans, but I wonder, is it in time to help the smoking pigs?

Happy April Fool’s day, everyone.

Nintendo makes you skinny. April Fools.. no, wait, really.

No, I’m not talking about the Wii. This summer Nintendo will introduce a new program for the DS system. My Weight Loss Coach comes with a pedometer, mini quizzes and challenges designed to motivate and reward users for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Legibility, an Important Issue?

The legibility of doctor’s handwriting has been an established source of humor . According to the Annals of Improbable Research, there have been 4 studies on physician handwriting in the last 30 years (really there have been many more). They even go so far as to recommend a penmanship book from 1843. However, according to Quality & Safety in Health Care, physician’s handwriting is as good (or bad) as anyone else’s.

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Anatomy got you down?

Get a leg up on your classmates and check out www.getbodysmart.com. Created by an anatomy teacher, this website is a great resource for learning about the skeletal system, muscle tissue physiology and the nervous system among other subjects. The animated drawings, diagrams and interactive quizzes will help you ace your next exam.

One Year Later

The Libraries’ News Blog will be one year old tomorrow. And this post will be number 194 which adds up to a post about every 2 days. The bloggers have strived to find interesting and pertinent information for the LSUHSC community. Please let us know if there is something you would like to see more of. We’ll see you in year 2, next week.

A perversion named desire

Today is Tennessee Williams birthday. Unlikely as it seems, one of Louisiana’s greatest playwrights appears seven times in a search for “Tennessee Williams” in PubMed! Check out the articles here, and if you’re in New Orleans this weekend, check out the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival’s annual STELLA! Shouting contest this Sunday in Jackson Square.

Wriggle your way through medical news with MedWorm

Here’s nifty tool that can help you stay current on medical news and topics. MedWorm is a web-based program that takes thousands of RSS feeds from medical journals, websites, blogs, and more, and sorts them into categories so you can quickly get up to date news on the topic of your choice.

Whether you want to know the latest on Alzeheimers or need to stay up to date with consumer health news, MedWorm wriggles its way through the internet to bring you a comprehensive and current snapshot. You can even subscribe to it through your RSS reader. Now that’s a parasite I don’t mind having on my computer.

LINKS:
MedWorm: http://www.medworm.com/

Today is Match Day

Good luck everyone!

National Resident Matching Program: http://www.nrmp.org/

Bouquets to Dr. Charles Brown

Dr. Charles Brown, a medical doctor and professor in the school of Public Health, was featured in the Gambit Weekly’s “Bouquets & Brickbats” column this week. He has been presented with the 2007 St. George National Award, the highest honor the American Cancer Society gives to volunteers, for his work with ?óÔé¼?ôCoalition for Tobacco Free Louisiana?óÔé¼?Ø.

Congrats Dr Brown!

Easter Hours in the Library

The Library will be open regular hours today and tomorrow (Wednesday, March 19th & Thursday, March 20th from 8 a.m. until 12 midnight) and will be closed on Friday, March 21st, Saturday, March 22nd, and Sunday, March 23rd.

Recycle your old cellphone or PDA for free!

Are you the new owner of a shiny new iPhone or other handheld device? Before you chuck your old phone or PDA in the garbage consider Palm’s Take Back and Recycling Program.

The Palm Take Back and Recycling Program strives to keep Palm Handhelds and Treo smartphones out of landfills- and they gladly take other companies’ devices and all related accessories.

Just place your handhelds, mobile phones and related accessories (chargers, headsets, memory cards) into a box large enough for you to safely send in all your retired mobile devices, apply the postage-paid mailing label, and put it in a mailbox or bring it to the post office. It’s free and a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.

LINK TO: Palm site & postage free mailing label