Thursday 30 January 2014

Problems for NHFT staff accessing the Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures

There is currently a problem with access to the Royal Marsden Manual online for staff using NHFT (but not NGH) Athens accounts. We have informed the publisher who is working on a solution.

In the mean time, we do have printed copies of the manual at each site if you need to access it.

We apologise for the inconvenience and hope to have this issue resolved soon.

Friday 24 January 2014

QR codes, reading lists and ebooks

Catalogue
You may have seem these funny squares with a seemingly random black pattern on them (they often featuring on advertising posters). These are QR (Quick Response) codes. In effect they are a 2 dimensional barcode that provide a link directly to a web site, email address or other form of information (you can find out more here).

QR codes can be scanned by a smartphone but you will need an App for this if you don't have one installed. There are many free Apps available for Android, iPhones, Blackberry and Windows phones.

Podiatry Reading list
We have created a set of QR codes you can find in each of the libraries to enable you to find items from reading lists easily on your smartphone. Simply scan the QR code for your course module and you will be taken to a page on our library catalogue that displays all the stock we hold for that particular reading list. You can find the codes in a folder by our library catalogue PCs at each of the library sites.
Maudsley Guidelines

We have also created some additional codes for some of our electronic books. We have put this with the physical copies of the titles on the shelf. Again if you come across one you can scan it with your phone to be taken straight to the e-version. You will need to log in with your Athens password to access ebooks.

We hope you'll find this a quick and convenient way to access our stock via your smartphone, whether it is a reading list, e-book or a section of our web site.

Friday 17 January 2014

We have a new set of books for review

It's your duty to visit the library by Phil Bradley
It's your duty to visit the library by Phil Bradley on Flickr
Our Books on Approval scheme gives our users the chance to review a selection of newly published titles covering a broad variety of topics and recommend any for us to purchase.

Our current selections will be available at the Berrywood and Richmond libraries until Friday the 28th of February. Topics covered include:

  • Accident and emergency
  • Anaesthetics
  • CBT
  • Clinical psychology
  • Intensive care
  • Nursing
  • Physiotherapy
  • Psychiatry
  • ...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

Tuesday 14 January 2014

January 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 January issue you can find:
  • MRI in follow-up assessment of sciatica treatment
  • Antibiotics and community Clostridium difficile infection
  • Interventions to improve physical activity in socioeconomically disadvantaged women
  • Impact of smoke free legislation on population health
  • Effects of housing improvements on health
  • QIPP case study - Stratified cancer pathways: redesigning services for those living with cancer and beyond
  • Evidence update: Post-traumatic stress disorder
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.

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Almost a Doctor

http://almostadoctor.co.uk/
Almost a Doctor was developed by (then) medical student Tom Leach in 2009 who shared his notes online with other students from Manchester University.

Since then the site has grown and Tom (now a junior doctor) was recognised by the Health Service Journal as one of 2013's top innovators and has featured in The Independent.

The site, aimed at medical students (but useful for  junior doctors, nurses and other clinical professions), features revision notes covering all stages of medical school.

Almost a Doctor has over 12,000 pages of content featuring course notes, articles and blogs, all edited by doctors. You can browse for information using broad categories or use the search facility to find what you are looking for. As well as different specialties, disease processes and anatomy, you can find information on clinical skills, data interpretation, drugs, examinations and scoring systems.

There is also an App for Apple devices with an Android version promised in early 2014.

Almost a Doctor contains a wealth of useful information and is well worth a look.

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Web site of the month: Digitised Diseases


Digitised Diseases is a free to use resource featuring human bones that have been digitised using a variety of techniques including 3D laser and CT scanning.




The site aims to inform clinical practice by showing a wide range (over 1,600) of pathological specimens and the affect of trauma and chronic disease on the human skeleton. All the specimens are taken from archaeological and historical medical collections.

The images are high quality and photo-realistic and can be viewed on line or downloaded. They are fully 3D and can be manipulated and viewed from all angles.

The site has only just been launched and there will be more images added in the future.

There is also a blog for the project where you can keep up to date with new developments as well as the latest specimens to be added online. You can also find an article in the Guardian newspaper about the launch.

Digitised Diseases offers both a fascinating look into our past and a useful resource showing the affect of trauma and  disease on the human skeleton.