One Year Anniversary of Sladen’s ILLiad System for Document Services

We have had our document delivery system ILLiad up and running for an entire year now and judging from the statistics it has been a great success.

Current Customers—1161
Total Requests Processed—13,500

Statistics from 2008 to 2009

• Lending to Libraries—3007 to 4649 (increase of 54%)
• Borrowing from Libraries—4064 to 4471 (increase of 10%) 
• Document Delivery (articles from our library)—1108 to 1104 (decrease of .3%)

Our customers love this new system. Some of the advantages are that the turnaround time from ordering to receipt is faster and customers are able to manage their own requests. Each customer’s account keeps a history and shows the status of their orders. The ordering from our PubMed and Ovid databases is automated and easy to use.

The ILLiad system has proven to be cost-efficient and a time-saver for the library and its customers. – Barbara LeTarte, MLIS

Sladen Reaches Beyond the Library Walls

The Sladen Library recently provided outreach to two eighth grade classes from St. Isaac Jogues Middle School located in St. Clair Shores. Students were charged with writing research papers on a particular disease or health condition that included both consumer and professional level information.

First, librarians went to St. Isaac Jogues to instruct students on: 1) how to critically evaluate health information online, 2) navigating a popular consumer health resource called MedlinePlus.gov, and 3) utilization of PubMed MEDLINE. Students were exposed to various types of literature in order to be able to discriminate between consumer and professional literature, and how each can be of use when pursuing the research process.

A few weeks later, it was time for the students of St. Isaac Jogues to get the opportunity to visit a medical library and explore the research process even further! Each of the eighth grade classes visited Sladen where they broke into groups and worked with a designated librarian to explore our book collection, MedlinePlus.gov, and PubMed. This learning opportunity provided students a unique way to learn about the research process, explore different types of literature, and be able to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources of information. Providing this type of educational outreach is just one way in which Sladen Library is supporting the ‘Service’ Pillar of Excellence. – Nandita Mani, MLIS

Photo: System Libraries Director Gayle Williams assists the students with online searching.

From the Conrad R. Lam Archives

In 1925, the Henry Ford Hospital School of Nursing and Hygiene matriculated the first class of ninety students. After World War I, there was a nursing shortage, which prompted the Ford family and Dr. Frank Sladen to develop the program. The school, founded by Clara Ford, became an important component to the medical education at the hospital. The goal was to provide service to the community in the preservation and improvement of public health. Women came from the United States, Canada and Europe to attend the prestigious school, which had rotations in medicine, surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, neurology, psychology and the dispensary.

Clara Ford also felt that the school should have a luxurious environment and offer cultural activities in theatre, modern dance and music. In addition to the regulation starched white uniforms and spotless shoes, the students were expected to abide by the no smoking rule or face the administrative consequences. The hospital grounds became their home for three years and many felt comfortable to express their individuality. Elegant teas with the Ford family were a highlight, Jesse Bonstelle assisted theatrical classes and Mrs. Lovett instructed the women in ballroom dancing.

The school atmosphere changed in the early 1970's and many students were commuting to the campus, often with jobs and family obligations. The curriculum was changed to a two year program and affiliation with the University of Dearborn was established. In 1996, the school was closed and the last class graduated after seventy-one years of service. – Melanie Bazil, Senior Archivist

Photo top: Nursing students Mildred McQueen and Audrey Horn outside the Clara Ford building c.1930.

Photo bottom: HFH School of Nursing dancers c.1927. 

Introducing Micromedex 2.0

Micromedex is an evidence-based, point-of-care tool designed to efficiently meet the drug information needs of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and medical technicians. Many library users may already be frequent users and fans of the current Micromedex interface, now referred to as Micromedex 1.0. Recently, a newly designed interface called Micromedex 2.0 was made available to users. Both interfaces are currently available simultaneously. You can try out Micromedex 2.0 by clicking on the “Use Micromedex 2.0 now!” link located at the top of the screen in Micromedex 1.0. By the end of June 2010, Micromedex 2.0 will contain 100% of the content currently available in 1.0, but until then, 2.0 will not have toxicology information or content from Martindale.

The Micromedex 2.0 interface has been modeled after popular search engines providing a single search box on each page, relevancy ranked results, and clean, easy navigation. The search box supports single and multiple term searches, as well as natural language queries. For example, you can type in a simple question as you would normally ask it such as, “What are the non FDA approved uses for Botox?” Spelling help has also been incorporated into the new interface. If you are unsure how to spell a drug or disease, slowly begin typing the term and a suggestion list will appear below the search box.

Pictured: The 360° View Dashboard for Plavix as featured in Micromedex 2.0

A new feature of Micromedex 2.0 is the 360° View Dashboard which collects all of the results for a search in one easy to browse and navigate page. The 360° View Dashboard provides quick links to drug summary information through DrugPoint, as well as access to evidence-based, detailed evaluations from DrugDex. When applicable, the 360° View Dashboard provides an image of the drug along with links to related Drug Consults. Drug Consults are articles or reports written for Micromedex that provide information apart from the drug monographs. They are evidence-based and may address topics such as the recommended drug treatment guidelines for a specific condition, or even provide information such as a listing of alcohol free OTC medications. To view an alphabetical list of all the Drug Consults currently available, simply search “drug consults”.

Micromedex 2.0 has many helpful tools to assist in patient care. There is a Drug Identification component where you can search for the name of a drug by its imprint or physical description. The Drug Comparison module allows you to compare two drug monographs side by side. A number of Clinical Calculators that include dosing tools and laboratory values are also available. Speaking of laboratory values, Micromedex 2.0 includes evidence-based laboratory test information via Lab Advisor. Lab Advisor provides data such as a definition of the lab test, indications, collection/storage methods, and LOINC codes. It comes in handy when you need to brush up on the specifics of an unfamiliar or rarely used lab test. To access Lab Advisor, simply type the name of the test into the search box. Blackberry users on campus will also be pleased to learn that Micromedex provides mobile access. For instructions on how to connect from your mobile device please visit this link, or click on “Mobile” located at the top of each page in Micromedex.

Whether you are a longtime user of the Micromedex 1.0 interface or new to the database, now is the perfect time to give the new features of Micromedex 2.0 a try. If you love the new interface, let the library know and we can request to have it set as our default interface. If you have questions about Micromedex, or any of our pharmacology resources, please contact the library at 313-916-2550 or sladen@hfhs.org. – JoAnn Krzeminski, MLIS

Check Out Our New Nursing Books

These are some of the nursing titles recently added to our circulating collection. For a complete listing of new materials, visit the New Materials webpage.

Basic Nursing 7th ed, Patricia Ann Potter, 2011

Basic Steps in Planning Nursing Research: From Question to Proposal 7th ed, Marilynn J. Wood, 2011

Critical Care: Concepts, Role, and Practice for the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Mary M. Wyckoff, 2009

Evaluating Research for Evidence-Based Nursing Practice, Jacqueline Fawcett, 2009

Middle Range Theory for Nursing 2nd ed, Mary Jane Smith, 2008

Quality Caring in Nursing: Applying Theory to Clinical Practice, Education, and Leadership, Joanne R. Duffy, 2009

Spotlight on the Nursing Toolkit

The Sladen Library offers a plethora of resources to support nursing practice at HFHS. In addition to online databases, books, and journals, the librarians at the Sladen have created customized web pages referred to as toolkits. The toolkits focus on a professional group or topic. The Nursing Toolkit can be accessed by clicking on the Curricula, Toolkits, and More link located under the heading Specialty Pages on the left hand side of the Sladen Library homepage http://www.henryfordconnect.com/sladen. Or you can use the following URL: http://www.henryfordconnect.com/sladen.cfm?id=297. What you will find is a variety of online resources focusing on nursing. Some of the topics include Sladen Resources, HFHS resources, and web resources such as Nurse.com which is the online site for Nursing Spectrum / NurseWeek. There are also sections on Associations & Organizations and Career Information.

The Toolkits are a work in progress so if there is a site that you believe should be a part of the Nursing Toolkit, please do not hesitate to contact a librarian with your suggestion. You can contact the library by calling 313-916-2550, by email sladen@hfhs.org, or by using the Feedback form. The Feedback form can be accessed by clicking on Forms & Feedback on the left hand side of the Sladen homepage under the Services heading. –Gina Hug, MLIS

Announcements

Ovid to Update User Interface

Ovid plans on updating its interface on June 30, 2010. Included will be a new feature called My Workspace which requires a Personal Account. My Workspace is a dedicated area where users will be able to assemble and organize their research findings into projects and folders. Now is a great time to create a Personal Account and to test the new interface. To access the new interface open Ovid and then click on the “Try it now!” button at the top of the page.


AHRQ Releases a New Health Literacy Toolkit

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) has issued a new web-based “Health Literacy Universal Precautions” toolkit. Because you can’t tell a patient’s health literacy level just by looking at them, this toolkit introduces universal precautions that can be followed to ensure clear understanding and communication. Access the toolkit here: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/literacy/.