The Value of Library and Information Services in Nursing and Patient Care

Libraries are a primary resource for evidence-based practice. This study, using a critical incident survey administered to 6,788 nurses at 118 hospitals, sought to explore the influence of nurses’ use of library resources on both nursing and patient outcomes...The authors discuss the study limitations and conclude that the availability and use of library and information resources and services had a positive impact on nursing and patient outcomes, and that nurse managers play an important role both by encouraging nurses to use evidence-based library resources and services and by supporting the availability of these resources in healthcare settings.
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The Final Stretch

Well, it’s finally happened. I'm on the final stretch. In just under five months time, I should be qualified. Put another way, I have one semester, one assignment, and one placement before ditching the lacklustre white for those symbolic ‘blues
View post from Florence Nursingtales (Student Nurse Blog in UK)

Should patients in A&E who are drunk or have taken drugs be charged for treatment?

The #NScomment chat from Thursday August 14

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A new vaccine that will make a big difference to the people of Africa – and practice nurses in the UK

Ebola is in the headlines and scare stories abound. The virus is transmitted through contact with the bodily fluid of an infected person.  But what transforms it into such a devastating problem are social and economic conditions – and the panic that surrounds it. And though my work-related fundraising efforts at the moment are entirely focussed on supporting colleagues through the current ebola crisis, it would be easy to forget that this is not West Africa’s biggest killer; that dubious honour goes to malaria.
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My Health Experience: ‘Get checked up: health can change in the blink of an eye’

Gerry Quinlan has always been fairly fit and during his 52 years has completed 10 marathons. But two years ago the Dubliner, who is married to Louise and has three grown-up children, was shocked to discover he had major heart problems. This was followed by a stroke and a diagnosis of severe osteoporosis
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WeNurses blog

Do you have something to say, something to share, some value to add to the tweeting community of nurses?
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I’ts okay not to feel okay. And it’s okay to talk about it

We all have our dark times. Times when we feel as if even our shadow has abandoned us. But these moments define who we are as human beings and it is at moments that we must decide whether we will let life make or break us.
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Breastfeeding mothers less likely to suffer depression, study finds

Breastfeeding is beneficial not only to babies but also to their mothers’ wellbeing, according to a new UK study. It found that mothers who had planned, and went on, to breastfeed were half as likely to become depressed following birth as those who had planned not to, and did not, breastfeed
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Mental Health Reform Ireland

Established in 2006, Mental Health Reform is the national coalition promoting improved mental health services and social inclusion of people with mental health conditions.  We work towards achieving a system of good health and social care that is available to everyone no matter where they live or what their income is.

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Just four questions can identify which ER patients need prompt care

A simple formula can help physicians identify which emergency room patients with vague complaints need rapid treatment.

Physicians at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland asked psychologist Mirjam Jenny of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin to develop the diagnostic tool. The physicians had identified 88 signs of serious illness in 1,278 ER patients who had described nebulous problems

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True Hope for Bipolar Disorder Sufferers?

NaturalNews) A new supplement from Truehope Nutritional Support, Ltd. may hold promise for people suffering from bipolar and other mood disorders. EMPowerplus is a supplement sporting a blend of 36 vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and it's making waves in the Canadian and American psychiatric communities. To its critics it is an unproven treatment that could prove dangerous, but to those who claim to have been helped by the supplement it is nothing short of a scientific breakthrough in the treatment of mood disorders.

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See also article 'Effective Mood Stabilization with a chelated mineral supplement: an open label trial in bipolar disorder (Journal of clinical Psychiatry 2001: 62:936-944)

Genetic tests may help bipolar disorder patients

Scientists have identified a group of patients with a genetic predisposition to mental illness, opening up for the first time the prospect of personalised medicine in psychiatry.
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