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December 22, 2005
Selected New Books in the Library
DIFFICULT CONVERSATONS IN MEDICINE. Elisabeth Macdonald, editor. Oxford : Oxford University Press, c2004. W 62 D569 2004
Aimed at doctors and other health professionals in the early years of their medical practice, this work shows how to develop good communication skills and avoid anxiety in conversations of a sensitive nature with patients and their families. It gives a theoretical basis for good communication, as well as a simple formula that can be adapted to a variety of patients and situations. It offers examples of what to say when dealing with strong emotions, difficult personalities, people from different cultures, or with children, adolescents, or the elderly. It includes sample conversations on such specific topics such as: the relapse of cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, dying patients, unexpected death, handling a difference of opinion over treatment, and making apologies when things go wrong.
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THE RENEWAL OF GENEROSITY: Illness, Medicine, and How to Live. Arthur W. Frank, author. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2004.
W 62 F828r 2004
This work illustrates how contemporary health care often lacks what the author terms "generosity of spirit", as experienced by both patients who are left unhappy about how they are treated and medical professionals who feel estranged from their calling. He calls for a return to medicine as a face-to-face encounter, between people who are suffering bodily ills and other people who have the skills to relieve this suffering. Medical generosity lies in having the grace to welcome those who suffer and to offer them consolation, in addition to diagnostics, drugs, and surgeries. This will be to the mutual benefit of both and can transform a demoralized system of medicine into caring relationships.
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PATIENT SAFETY: Principles and Practice. Jacqueline Fowler Byers, Susan V. White, editors. New York : Springer Publishing, c2004. WX 153 P297 2004
Combining theory with evidence-based strategies, this book addresses medical error in clinical settings and provides clinicians and administrators with skills and information to develop safe patient practices. Topics include best practices, human factors, risk management, and innovative uses of technology such as computerized clinical decision support systems and bar-coding medications.
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TO DO NO HARM: Ensuring Patient Safety in Health Care Organizations. Julianne M. Morath, Joanne E. Turnbull, authors. San Francisco : JosseyBass, c2005. WX 153 M653t 2005
This work focuses on two of the lessons revealed by the 1999 Institute of Medicine's report "To Err is Human". Those lessons are: "It's a systems problem" and "We need to create a culture of safety." This book examines those issues, declaring patient safety urgent and a priority, and calling for executive responsibility, a blameless reporting system, assigning accountability, and accelerating change.
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THE SECRET LIFE OF GERMS: Observations and Lessons from a Microbe Hunter. Philip Tierno, author. New York : Pocket Books, c2001. QW 4 T564s 2001
Provides an inside view of the fascinating and elegantly-ordered world of microorganisms - from the common cold, E. coli, and Lyme disease to encephalitis, mad cow disease, and flesh-eating bacteria. Protective response strategies are offered, including health and hygiene tips, advice on food safety, and pointers on human contact and its role in disease tranmission.
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PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED DYING: The Case for Palliative Care and Patient Choice. Timoth E. Quill, Margaret P. Battin, editors. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, c2004. W 50 P578a 2004
A group of physicians, ethicists, lawyers, and activists presents the case for the legalization of physician-asisted dying for terminally ill patients who voluntarily request it. They state that, according to studies of physician practice in the United States, it already is practiced to some degree, whether legal or not. The moral, legal, political and personal dilemmas confronting such end of life situations are discussed, along with empirical data from Oregon and the Netherlands. As a whole the essays advocate the ethical acceptance and legal recognition of the practice of physician-assisted dying as a last resort, not as an alternative to palliative care, but as an option for patients who seek it.
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DEATH, DYING, AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCES. David Oliviere, Barbara Monroe, editors. Oxford : Oxford University Press, c2004. WB 310 D285 2004.
This work addesses the social context of the care of dying people of varying social circumstances and communities. It focuses on "the disadvantaged dying" - those locked out of access to the best care by virtue of their disease, their ethnicity, where they live, or some other form of discrimination or social exclusion. It speaks about best practices that can balance the inequalities in society's structure and provide good end of life care for all, including those who have disabilities, have psychiatric illnesses, are refugees, are subject to abuse or who are in prisons. It suggests appropriate responses and offers a key to optimizing the human dignity of dying people and those they leave behind.
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THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE. Leonard A. Wisneski, Lucy Anderson, authors. Boca Raton : CRC Press, c2005. WB 880 W815s 2005
Combining Eastern and Western medicine, this work lays out the scientific underpinnings for the mind-body connection, documenting the interactions of the endocrine, immune, nervous, and stress systems that impact human functioning. It presents a theory of the physiology of spirituality, which is a theory of how subtle energy impacts physical and mental/emotional functioning. It presents the pineal as the master gland because of its function of translating environmental messages into neuroendocrine signals, and shows how the body's organs and cells are not isolated systems, but work together in an integrated fashion to maintain health.
Compiled by Helen Madden, MLS
Catalog Librarian
Posted by Robert at 09:39 AM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2005
PsychiatryOnline for UCONN library users.
The library’s ongoing online subscriptions to several journals from American Psychiatric Publishing has been expanded to now include the new product called : PsychiatryOnline http://psychiatryonline.com.
PsychiatryOnline is a powerful website that features DSM-IV-TR® and The American Journal of Psychiatry as the cornerstones of a collection of psychiatric references, including books, journals, and self-assessment tools. Much more than individual titles, PsychiatryOnline features sophisticated searching and indexing tools that enable you to quickly target all the information you need.
PsychiatryOnline is an integral component of everyday psychiatric practice. Resources are provided to assist with
· Diagnosis
· Treatment
· The latest research and news in the field
· Professional development
· Certification, recertification, and CME support
Searchable resources included in PsychiatryOnline include :
Online Texts
DSM-IV-TR Library
-DSM-IV-TR
-DSM-IV-TR Handbook of Differential Diagnosis
-Cases
APA Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders
The APA Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry
Journals
American Journal of Psychiatry
Psychiatric Services
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences
Psychosomatics
Academic Psychiatry
Psychiatric News
Book of the Month
Library users get access to a free PDF version of a featured book EVERY MONTH from the APPI bookstore.
My PsychiatryOnline
Personal registration at PsychiatryOnline to create “My PsychiatryOnline”, allows users to download some specific content to a PDA, save searches, and bookmark topic pages and e-mail to a colleague.
PDA eBooks
The library subscription does not include access to the eBook Library. Please see the details on the website for more information on purchasing eBooks individually.
PDA eBook: Quick Reference to the DSM-IV-TR® Diagnostic Criteria.....$29.00[Size: 187K]
PDA eBook: DSM-IV-TR® Handbook of Differential Diagnosis.....$46.95[Size: 193K]
PDA eBook: Quick Reference to the APA Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders.....$39.95[Size: 143K]
Posted by Robert at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
Changes in UpToDate
UpToDate has made changes in their Table of Contents. The Table of Contents will still appear, but the topic reviews within the Table of Contents will no longer be live links. This change will not affect the usability of UpToDate, as all of its content is still easily accessible via the main search box. The change started Monday, December 5th.
The following are a few search tips that will help you view topic reviews previously accessible through the Table of Contents.
Patient Information:
To view patient information handouts, type in the words "patient info" in the main search box and you will see all of the patient information topics available. To narrow your search, use the "narrow search results" button and type in the disease or condition.
Drug Information:
To view information on a medication, type in the name of the medication, either brand name or generic in the main search box. For each medication you will see a number of drug information topics including adult information, pediatric information, and patient level information. UpToDate also offers international, as well as natural drug information.
Posted by Robert at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2005
Did you Know?
Pre-recorded webcasts of surgical procedures are now available in MedlinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/surgeryvideos.html). These are actual operations performed at medical centers in the United States since January 2004. The videos last an hour.You will need RealPlayer to view the programs. If you do not have Real Player, you will be prompted to obtain a free download of the software before you view the presentation.
Posted by Robert at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)