Pam Kress-Dunn, medical librarian at Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque,Iowa, answers that question beautifully! In this latest installment article published online in the magazine
'Pulse', the reader is afforded an authentic glympse into the daily challenges of the hospital librarian, that largely stealth pillar and support of evidence-based medical practice.
'Pulse: Voices from the heart of medicine' delivers compelling, powerful first-person stories about health care written by patients and doctors, caregivers and nurses, mental health professionals and students. Real-life health care is captured in a way that is honest, intimate and unique; opening a window into the world of medicine. For more
'voices' from the
'heart of medicine' tune in weekly to
Pulse Magazine .
Labels: culture of healthcare, healthcare workers, hospital librarian, hospital services, Hospitals, medical librarian, medical library, Mercy Medical Center, narratives, stories of healthcare
The
New York Times weighs in on the recent
Institute of Medicine's landmark report,
“The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” [ Doctor and Patient: Nurses’ Role in the Future of Health Care, Pauline Chen, M.D., November 18, 2010. Click title for NYT article.] "In all the discussions about adjusting the number of medical schools and training slots, rearranging physician payment schedules and reorganizing practice models, one group of providers has been conspicuously missing. The nurses."
"The expert panel is scheduled to convene again at the end of this month, this time to discuss implementing their recommendations. They will have their work cut out for them. Critics like the American Medical Association ...warns that “with a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage.” "
The Times article notes...
“When the ship seems to be going down, you’ve got to get all hands on deck.”Labels: AMA, healthcare reform, healthcare workers, IOM, nursing shortage, physician shortage, role of nurse, role of physician, trends in healthcare
New Zealand's healthcare system is facing an increasing challenge to meet current demands while anticipating demand to still double in the next ten years. Yet...
"The Government has funding for 154 general practice trainees; only two-thirds of the places have been filled." Meanwhile..."We have been told by the World Health Organisation that our reliance on importing health workers is unsustainable. About 70 per cent of psychiatrists, 40 per cent of all doctors and midwives, and 25 per cent of nurses and dentists working in New Zealand were trained overseas."
"Things must be done differently (says Des Gorman) and Health Workforce NZ has the task of facilitating this reform. Ironically, this includes a return to the past for both medicine and nursing."
How so?
Click title to read more from The Dominion Post [Jan 6, 2010] ...also new reports were released in Aug 2009 addressing the education and training of New Zealand's healthcare workforce.
Des Gorman is head of
Auckland University School of Medicine and chairman of
Health Workforce New Zealand.
Labels: health workforce, healthcare reform, healthcare workers, medical education, New Zealand, nursing education
