November 18th, 2009 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Checking References, Emergency Medicine, Evaluation, Hiring, Interpersonal Skills, Nursing, Personnel, References, Residency
2 Comments »
In a comment on my last post, faithful reader and frequent commenter Anonymous asked, “How do you get a good reading on interpersonal skills in a brief interview?”
That’s a good question. I suppose the simplest answer is, you don’t, at least not in any sort of comprehensive way. In some cases you can — a person who is warm, engaging, and able to hold up their end of a lively conversation in an interview setting is always going to be near the top of my list. But I make a lot of allowances for people in their interviews — they are nervous, know they are being watched and judged, it is a high-stakes encounter for them, and most people are a lot more constrained in an interview than they are in their day-to-day lives. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
November 17th, 2009 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, News, Research
Tags: Analysis, Audio, Cold, COPD, Cough, Flu, Infectious Disease, Pulmonology, Sound, STAR Analytical Services, Technology
1 Comment »
DiscoveryNews is reporting on a Bedford, Massachusetts company developing software that can detect the difference between a typical cough and one caused by a cold, flu, COPD, or a number of other respiratory diseases. STAR Analytical Services is working with a database of pre-recorded coughs to determine signatures that point to underlying conditions.
The final 100 to 150 milliseconds of the cough contains the distinctive sounds that could help doctors and nurses remotely diagnose a cough as the common cold or more serious pneumonia.
Even with a limited amount of data, scientists can distinguish between a healthy, voluntary cough and the involuntary cough of a sick person. Healthy people have slightly louder coughs, about 2 percent louder than a sick person. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
November 17th, 2009 by Emergiblog in Better Health Network, Opinion
Tags: Domestic Violence, Emergency Medicine, Nursing, Screening, Women
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Browsing through my October ENA Connection the other day, I noticed the theme was “Government and Advocacy”. Came across an article on domestic violence. It’s a short article, written by Carrie Norman, RN, CEN, member of the Government Affairs Committee. The quotes below are taken from Carrie’s article.
“The CDC estimates that 37 percent of women who sought emergency department care were victims of domestic violence.”
What? 37 out of every 100 women I have triaged?
Seriously?
“Domestic violence victims are more likely to seek treatment for chronic and psychological conditions.”
Okay. But no way have I been taking care of victims of domestic abuse – I mean, hello, wouldn’t it be obvious? The hovering, overbearing abuser who answers all the questions for the patient? The bruises that aren’t explained by the story? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
November 17th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, News
Tags: Accutane, Acne, Dermatology, Discontinued, Emotional Scars, FDA, Internal Medicine, Nodular, Pediatrics, scars, Severe, Side Effects, teens
1 Comment »
The physical scars will be nothing compared to the emotional scars that will haunt the children. I recently read that the effective acne treatment Accutane was pulled off the market this summer quietly ending access to an excellent and effective acne treatment for millions of self conscious teens and young adults. Accutane, or isotretinoin as it’s known, was used to treat severe nodular acne.
It turns out that Accutane was linked to inflammatory bowel disease, and other side effects resulting in thousands of lawsuits. It spent twenty five years on the market embroiled in controversy.
Approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982, Accutane has been the subject of controversy for years. It first garnered attention in the late eighties for causing severe birth defects. It has also been known to cause psychiatric problems, and has been linked to hundreds of cases of suicide in the United States. Accutane has also been associated with problems of the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, and pancreas, as well as the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and auto-immune systems.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
November 17th, 2009 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Expert Interviews
Tags: Flu, H1N1, Nursing, Pregnancy, Primary Care, Safety, Vaccine
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Information on the H1N1 swine flu vaccine continues to mount, and questions linger.
In a recent post, H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Fears Addressed – Single vs. Multi-Dose, Adjuvants, Thimerosal and More, Bruce B. Dan, MD, a specialist in infectious diseases, answered a series of questions related to the H1N1 flu vaccine.
Our readers have a couple additional questions and our expert, Dr. Bruce B. Dan answers them to help alleviate your fears.
Our Reader, Arly Helm writes:
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
