Thursday 31 July 2014

July Eyes on Evidence from Nice

Eyes on Evidence is a free monthly bulletin from NICE Evidence Services which reviews significant new evidence as it emerges and what this might mean for current practice.

In the July issue you can find:
  • Antipyretic therapy for children with fever
  • School environments and student health
  • Physiotherapy in Parkinson's disease
  • Cognitive behaviour therapy for health anxiety
You can find all the previous issues of Eyes on Evidence or subscribe to receive the bulletin by email on the NICE Evidence Services site.

There are also two new Evidence Updates highlighting new information worth considering along side current guidance:

Wednesday 23 July 2014

New collection of electronic journals available

We have bought a new collection of electronic journals. The Emerald Health and Social Care collection gives us access to over 30 titles covering topics such as mental health, learning disabilities, offending and health care management

Titles available include:
  • Advances in Dual Diagnosis
  • Advances in Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities
  • Clinical Governance
  • International Journal of Healthcare Quality Assurance
  • Journal of Adult Protection
  • Journal of Forensic Practice
  • Journal of Health Organisation & Management
  • Journal of Integrated Care
  • Leadership in Health Services
  • Mental Health Review
  • Tizard Learning Disability Review
  • Working with Older People
  • ...and many more
The journals are all available via your OpenAthens account, and you can access them via the My Journals service on the NICE Evidence Services site (you'll also find the titles appearing if you search the databases). There is a handy guide to accessing journals on our web site if you need any help. 

If you don't already have an Open Athens account you can register for one here.

Friday 18 July 2014

About to start studying? Our course for people about to start a course is back

Our Pre-Course Course is back! Designed for NHS staff about to start (or who may have already started) a programme of study, the Pre-Course Course can help equip you with the skills you need to make finding information for your studies as painless as possible.

Whether it is a module, short course, degree or masters, is freely available to NHFT and NGH staff.

You may already be confident in using the library and finding the information you need, but if you think Athens is a good holiday destination rather than your gateway to online resources this may be the course for you. Whether it is a module, short course, degree or masters the Pre-Course Course can help.

In this 3 hour session we will you set you up to:
  • tackle reading lists and find the books you need
  • use databases
  • identify good quality information
  • search for evidence and guidelines
  • access full text electronic journal articles
  • make best use of the support the Library Service can offer you throughout your studies
There will also be an opportunity to join the library and apply for an Athens account to access online journals and databases if you haven't already.

Find the course dates on our web site here.

Friday 11 July 2014

Need help with literature searching? We have created some new videos on how to use HDAS more effectively

We have added some new titles to our YouTube channel. The videos show how to get the most out of the NICE Evidence Services Healthcare Databases (HDAS) such as Medline or the British Nursing Index by using subject headings to improve the speed and accuracy of your searching.

There is a play list called Literature searching: using the subject headings so you can watch all 4 videos in sequence to understand the whole process (a total of less than 7 minutes).

Alternatively you can watch the individual videos:
You can also find other videos that take you through the whole process of conducting a basic literature search from selecting the best database to find what you want, through to selecting and saving you results and even setting up an automated alert to let you know when new material in your area of interest is published.

Our videos are short and detailed enough to take you through the process of literature searching in a methodical, step-by-step manner. Don't forget, you can also book on a training session with the Library Service if you want a more human touch!


Wednesday 9 July 2014

Understanding the new NHS: A guide for everyone working or training in the NHS

The guide from NHS England
NHS England have produced a new guide to the systems, structures, functions and processes that constitute the NHS under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

The guide covers the commissioning, monitoring and delivery of NHS services as well as working in the NHS, leadership, quality and innovation. It also covers the NHS in the rest of the United Kingdom and the differences between the services.

Although written by junior doctors and aimed at clinicians in training, the guide is a highly accessible and practical read for anyone wanting to have a better understanding of the complexities of the new NHS.

Friday 4 July 2014

New books - you can try before we buy

We are very keen to ensure that the books we buy are the books you want to read. We review catalogues, look at publicity from publishers, scan reading lists and peruse different web sites to try and find titles we think you might need.

What we like best though, is recommendations from our users. Our Books on Approval scheme means we have a collection of new publications sent directly from our supplier which are available for you to review.

Our current selections will be available at the Berrywood and Richmond libraries until Friday the 15th of August. Topics covered include:
  • Diagnostics
  • Health services
  • Medical study/revision aids
  • Paediatrics
  • Psychology
  • Psychiatry / psychiatric nursing / mental health
  • ...and many more
Of course we are always happy to have recommendations for new stock on any health related topic.

You can also find a list of titles we have recently purchased (including previous On Approvals) on our web site and all of our stock via the library catalogue

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Disruption to OpenAthens access Thursday 3rd of July

EduServ are undertaking some essential maintenance to the OpenAthens system on July 3rd between 7:00 am and 11:00 am.

During this time there are likely to be periods of disruption and you may find you are unable to register for an OpenAthens account, or use your account to access databases and journals online.

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Web site of the month: TRIP

Here at the Library Service we have been fans of the TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) database for many years.

TRIP is a UK clinical search engine designed to allow clinicians to find the best evidence to answer their clinical questions.

TRIP has an easy to use simple search, but also offers two other ways to search in a more sophisticated way.

The advanced search option is very similar to the same feature in Google and allows you to combine search terms in different ways to find the information you want (including phrase searching, limiting by year and excluding words).

The PICO (Patient/Population Intervention Comparison Outcome) interface allows you easily break your search down into its most important elements which is really useful when answering a clinical question.

TRIP's PICO search 

Once you have found your results TRIP offers different filters so you can further narrow down your results by type of evidence (systematic reviews, guidelines, primary research etc).

As well as searching for evidence, TRIP searches other sorts of content which is displayed in your results including images, videos, education/CPD material, information for patients and news items. Each is displayed on its own tab, again allowing easy filtering of your results.

TRIP is free to use and doesn't require any passwords, but there are some  advantages to logging in to it (which you can do via Facebook or Twitter, as well as setting up your own account manually).

If you add Northamptonshire Healthcare or Northampton General Hospital as your organisation when you set up your account, you will be able to click through any links to journal articles and see if you can access them via the Library Service's electronic holdings (you will still need to log in with your Open Athens account to access the actual article).

Once you have signed in, TRIP will create a timeline of your activity on the site so you can easily revisit any searches you have previously undertaken. You can even export your timeline as a .PDF file to use it as evidence of CPD.

TRIP is a great resource, easy to use, accurate, fast and much more flexible than the NICE Evidence Services site, offering more sophisticated searching and better personalisation.

You can find TRIP at www.tripdatabase.com