An essay in Sunday’s New York Times asks, “Do doctors grieve when their patients die?  In the medical profession, such grief is seldom discussed — except, perhaps, as an example of the sort of emotion that a skilled doctor avoids feeling.  But in a paper published on Tuesday in Archives of Internal Medicine (and in a forthcoming paper in the journal Death Studies), my colleagues and I report what we found in our research about oncologists and patient loss:  Not only do doctors experience grief, but the professional taboo on the emotion also has negative consequences for the doctors themselves, as well as for the quality of care they provide.”
http://tinyurl.com/6oulmgv
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1160665

To give users a virtual experience of its new exhibition, Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/index.html), NLM has created Native Voices iPad app.  The app presents video interviews with tribal elders, healers and other prominent people who practice traditional medicine, Western medicine or a combination of both.

From their unique experiences and perspectives, they weave a tapestry of stories of the vibrant and diverse cultures and medicine ways of Alaska Natives, Native Americans and Native Hawaiians.  Other video clips provide an exhibition overview and highlights of the 4,400-mile journey of the totem pole specially created for the exhibition.  The Native Voices app works on all iPads with iOS4.2 and higher.  To download the free app, go to the Apple iTunes store (www.apple.com/iTunes) and type in “NLM Native Voices.”

CLIR Releases Report about the Digging into Data Challenge and the Future of Humanities Research

One Culture: Computationally Intensive Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences:  A Report on the Experiences of First Respondents to the Digging Into Data Challenge

June 12, 2012. Today, at the Joint Conference on Digital Libraries in Washington, DC, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) released One Culture: Computationally Intensive Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences.  This report culminates two years of work by CLIR staff involving extensive interviews and site visits with scholars engaged in international research collaborations involving computational analysis of large data corpora. These scholars were the first recipients of grants through the Digging into Data program, led by the NEH, who partnered with JISC in the UK, SSHRC in Canada, and the NSF to fund the first eight initiatives. The report introduces the eight projects and discusses the importance of these cases as models for the future of research in the academy.

To read the full report, along with supplementary case studies of each project, please visit the CLIR website.

Start-Up Grant Program Encouraging Research that Studies Digital Culture

I’m pleased to say that we’ve just posted the new guidelines for our Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants program.  The deadline this year is September 25, 2012. Each year, we make small changes to our grant guidelines based on feedback and discussions with the field. This year, in the section where we list the types of things the program funds, we added a new bullet:

• scholarship that focuses on the history, criticism, and philosophy of digital culture and its impact on society;

We added this bullet to encourage more applicants whose research involves studying digital culture from a humanities perspective. Let me give you a bit of background on why:  Way back in 2005, when we were first thinking about a new Digital Humanities Initiative (the precursor to the Office of Digital Humanities), we framed “digital humanities” projects as typically falling into two large buckets:  projects that used (or built) digital technology to pursue traditional humanities scholarship; and projects that studied technology and its impact from a humanistic perspective.  But over the past seven years, we’ve seen far more grant applications from that first bucket than the second.

During the past year, we’ve been thinking a lot about how to encourage more applicants to consider that second bucket – to explore digital culture from a philosophical, historical, or critical perspective. We’ve recently had a number of very helpful conversations with scholars who do this kind of work and we decided to see if we couldn’t add some more explicit language to our guidelines. We also intend to talk it up more at conferences, grant workshops, and the like. Do please help us spread the word.

So if you do this kind of work and are in need of grant funding, please keep the Start-Up Grants program in mind. Obviously, the program still welcomes a wide range of projects (check out our videos about recently funded projects to get an overview).

Oh, and one other change we’ve made: We’ve modestly raised the amount of the grant. Previously, the Level I grant had a maximum of $25,000 and the Level II had a max of $50,000. We’ve raised them to $30,000 and $60,000, respectively. We made this change simply to keep up with inflation. The things that people typically use grant money for (paying graduate students, travel, salary, etc.) have all gone up over the past few years. So we raised the grant maximums to reflect that.

Check out the latest notices:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/mj12/mj12_pm_discovery_ads.html

The NIH unveiled last week new web content showing how vital NIH-supported biomedical research is to the nation’s economy, health, communities, and knowledge.  The Impact of NIH Research site provides tools and resources, which include factsheets, reports on the economic value of research, congressional testimony, videos, links to state-specific funding information, and news reports and commentaries.  The site also provides an NIH Impact PowerPoint set designed for use by researchers or research advocates.

Librarians with an interest in public health, make this the year you attend the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Stipends funded by The Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund for this purpose will be awarded to at least 11 librarians in 2012. This year’s APHA meeting will take place in San Francisco, CA from October 27 – 31, 2012. Its theme is Prevention and Wellness Across the Life Span.

Applications are now being accepted. The deadline for application is Friday July 27, 2012, 5pm EST. For more information and an application form, go to: http://www.phha.mlanet.org/blog/2012/sewell-stipend-2012

For more information on the 2012 APHA meeting, see: http://www.apha.org/meetings/highlights/
For more information on the Sewell Fund, see http://www.sewellfund.org/.

The mission of the Fund is to increase librarians’ identification with medical and health care professionals. Stipends have been awarded annually since 2001. Past participants testify to the value of attending APHA:

“Connecting with my fellow library and information professionals and public health colleagues was energizing…The spirit of true collaboration shone through the programs.” (Feili Tu)

“Many of the things I learned were not specific, as in tangible facts, more of an understanding of what Public Health is. I learned it covers just about everything…for Public Health you need to be knowledgeable about the issues, the potential impact of legislation, and knowledgeable about the ‘agendas’ of the interested parties…” (Kristin Kroger)

“Overall the conference really helped me to better understand the scope of public health as well as the latest development in the areas of public health that I am most likely to have to deal with as a librarian….It was an incredible learning experience.” (Manju Tanwar)

“The fact that I’m working on a Masters in Public Health was very interesting to her (public health colleague) because she didn’t realize that some librarians also have another graduate degree. I think this helped solidify the idea that librarians could be peers to teaching faculty.” (Amber Burtis)

“As a result of the meeting I gained a deeper understanding of my patrons’ needs” (Peggy Gross)

“I feel like I now have a cohort of people to whom to turn when I have questions about what I am doing as I move into supporting my institution’s public health program.” (Laure Zeigen)

This is a wonderful and unusual opportunity for librarians. As described on Sewell Fund website: “The purpose of the Learning Partnerships is to place experienced librarians and information professionals within leading health care or research organizations in order for both partners to gain a better understanding of how best information sciences can be effectively applied in each environment. The Fund believes that this experience will facilitate a bridging of cultures resulting in a more creative and effective application of information science in the health care arena. “

The MESH Coalition is an outstanding organization and has worked with NLM on disaster-related endeavors.

For more info:
Sewell Memorial Fund: http://www.sewellfund.org
Description of past partnerships: http://www.sewellfund.org/CompletedLearningPartnerships.htm
MESH Coalition: http://www.meshcoalition.org (not MeSH –Medical Subject Headings!)
Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund
Learning Partnership Fellowship
Unique fellowship in Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Medicine, and Out-of-Hospital Care available for Masters-trained Information Science or Informatics Professional
Length of Fellowship: 12 months; desired start date is early September 2012.
The Learning Partnership Fellowship has been organized as a joint partnership between:
• MESH Coalition (a disaster preparedness organization)
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Out-of-Hospital Care; and
• Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services
The purpose of the Fellowship is to provide an opportunity for an informationist to participate in, and become a contributing member of, the operational activities and research of the three organizations. These organizations work collaboratively providing opportunities to work with a range of professionals that are state and national leaders in disaster preparedness, emergency medicine, out-of-hospital care, pediatrics and public health.

An Advisory Group will guide the Learning Partnership Fellow and will be responsible for activity development, mentorship and oversight.
Responsibilities include:
• Actively participate in training and fieldwork in the three disciplines described above and develop an appreciation for the professionals working in these fields.
• Choose a particular area of interest in out-of-hospital care/disaster preparedness and develop research specialization in that area.
• Contribute to research and training conducted in disaster preparedness and out-of-hospital care.
• Study the fields of quality assurance and evidence-based medicine and work with colleagues to develop up-to-date, evidence-based medical protocols for out-of-hospital care.
Required: Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from an accredited institution. Strong interest in the health care field with a particular interest in a hands-on learning environment geared toward emergency care and disaster preparedness. Three to five years of experience in information science, informatics or library science. Prior experience in health care or research setting preferred, but not required.

Employer and Stipend: Indiana University School of Medicine; $55,000 without benefits.

Interested candidates may send a: 1) 1-2 page cover letter explaining their interest in the Sewell Fund Learning Partnership and how the fellowship will help further their career goals, 2) curriculum vitae and 3) 3 references by August 3, 2012 to SewellFellow@gmail.com.

We held our first sessions in the past couple of weeks.  If you missed them, please visit:

• Lunch with the RML Archives
• Boost Box Archives

Then mark your calendars for these upcoming sessions:

Lunch with the RML

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Noon – 1 pm

Where:  https://webmeeting.nih.gov/lunchrml/

Presenters:
Julia Sollenberger, Chair, Value Study Planning Group
Associate Vice President and Director, Medical Center Libraries and Technologies
University of Rochester Medical Center

Joanne Gard Marshall, Principal Investigator
Alumni Distinguished Professor
School of Information and Library Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Description:  Please join MAR on June 28 to hear the results and future directions of the Value of Library and Information Services in Patient Care Study.  The purpose of this study is to understand the value of the health library, information services and the librarian.  A community-based collaborative research process was used to design the survey data collection instruments and protocol. This study is expected to generate substantial evidence regarding the impact of the library on clinical decision making.

• Please log-in and allow Adobe Connect to call your phone, if possible.  But, just in case, the back-up phone number for is:

Conference Number(s):  1-888-450-5996
Participant Code:  888072

• If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before, test your connection: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm.

Boost Box

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Noon – 1 pm

Where:  https://webmeeting.nih.gov/boostbox/

Presenter:  Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, National Library of Medicine

Description:  Disaster resources.

• Please log-in and allow Adobe Connect to call your phone, if possible.  But, just in case, the back-up phone number for is:

Conference Number(s):  1-888-450-5996
Participant Code:  888072

• If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before, test your connection: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm.

Disaster Information Specialist Program (Free Course)

Register now for “US Response to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies,” to be held online on Wednesday, June 27, and Thursday, June 28, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m., central time, each day.

This is a required course for MLA’s Disaster Information Specialization Program and will be offered free of charge to MLA members and nonmembers.  Participants will be introduced to disaster/emergency planning and response as conducted in the United States, with an emphasis on medical response.  To find more information on the course and instructors and to register, see http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/us_response.html.

This project is funded by the National Library of Medicine, under contract HHS-N-276-2010-00782-P.

Teaching with Technology

Join the National Technology Center for an online class taught from July 23 – August 27, 2012: “Teaching with Technology: Tips, Techniques and Tools”!

In this class, you will learn about using technology tools for teaching distance learning courses.  We will discuss options and best practices for asynchronous and synchronous distance classes, as well as “blended” classes that offer both in-person and online options.  Adult learning principles will be reviewed.  We will examine and discuss examples of software and website tools in teaching.

The class is taught “asynchronously” using the Moodle course management system, so you can complete the classwork at a time convenient for you.  Allow approximately 2 hours per week for independent classwork.  There are 4 weeks of assignments, readings, and discussions, with the 5th week saved for a “catch-up” week.  Upon completion of the class you will receive 8 MLA CE credits.

The class is free and open to residents of the U.S.  Class enrollment is limited, so we do ask that you check your schedule to be sure you have time to complete the class.

To register: http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/schedule.html

PubMed for Experts

MAR’s Outreach Coordinator, Kate Flewelling will be offering PubMed for Experts.

Location:  University of Pittsburgh, Falk Library, 200 Scaife Hall, Conference Room B

Date:  August 9, 2012 from 9 am – Noon.

Registration:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/training/register.html?schedule_id=1745

About the class:  This hands-on class will highlight advanced PubMed techniques that can be used to conduct comprehensive searches.  Recent changes to PubMed will be highlighted.  Attendees are encouraged to contribute past and present difficult searches to discuss with the class.  Participants will receive 3 hours of continuing education credit awarded by the Medical Library Association.  Registration is free and limited to 20 participants.

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Disaster Response

Background:  Natural and manmade historical events such as Hurricane Katrina, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Tuskegee study have shaped present approaches to disaster ethics and law.  What are the ethical principles foundational to the development of disaster ethics guidance?  Where can librarians search for sources of ethics and legal information?

As part of MLA Disaster Information Specialization Program the Philadelphia Regional Chapter of the Medical Library Association will be hosting the course:  Ethical and Legal Aspects of Disaster Response

Description:  Incorporation of ethical principles and legal standards into all phases of the disaster cycle is fundamental to effective and fair disaster response, but the complex information landscape makes meeting this goal challenging.  This four hour class will provide an overview of the ethical principles and legal standards that have been applied to health care, public health and emergency management in disasters with recommendations for sources of this information.

Instructors

• Barbara Folb, Public Health Informationist, Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh
• Patti Reynolds, Director, Bishopric Medical Library, Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Location and Time

• Drexel University’s Hagerty Library
• August 21^st, 2012
• 1-4 pm

Continuing Education Credit

This class provides 4 MLA CE credits and is one of the required elements for the MLA Disaster Specialization certification.  There are no prerequisites for the class.  For more information regarding the specialization and a link to the free on demand course, Disaster Health Information Sources: The Basics see http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/  (Classes can be taken in any order)

Registration

Information about registration will be coming soon.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Jenny Pierce, MS
Public Services Librarian
UMDNJ-Health Science Library
One Medical Center Drive
Stratford NJ 08084
http://libraries.umdnj.edu/stlibweb

New Jersey Health Literacy Summit

We are pleased to share the news that registration for the NJ Health Literacy Summit on September 21 is now open.  Here’s the link for registration and the full agenda: http://www.njhealthliteracy.org/registration/

Cindy Jay

Executive Director, New Jersey Health Literacy Coalition

csjay@njhealthliteracy.org

Elissa Director

Health Literacy Specialist, New Jersey Health Literacy Coalition

ehdirector@njhealthliteracy.org

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Job opportunities at NLM, NIH
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/jobs/jobs.html

ADA and IHTSDO Agree to Licensing Arrangements

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/Snomed/ADA_USA_SNODENT_Release_052212.pdf

Connect with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/socialmedia/social_nnlm.html

MLA 2012: NLM Online Users’ Meeting: PowerPoint Presentations

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/mj12/mj12_mla_ss_ppt.html

MLA 2012: NLM Theatre Presentations

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/mj12/mj12_mla_theater_ppt.html

New Look, New Collections for National Library of Medicine’s IndexCat™ Database

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/indexcat_interface.html

New Topic on NIHSeniorHealth: Prescription and illicit drug abuse

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2012/nia-06.htm

NISO Seeks Public Comment on Draft Recommended Practice PIE-J: Presentation & Identification of E-Journals

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/ejournals_recommedned_practice.html

PubMed Discovery Tools

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/mj12/mj12_pm_discovery_ads.html

NLM DIRECTOR’S PODCASTS

An Actor, Pride, and Native Peoples’ Health

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/podcast/transcript061112.html

Diagnostic Codes & Misleading Clinical Assumptions

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/podcast/transcript052912.html

Stop PSA Screening?

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/podcast/transcript060412.html

NLM IN THE NEWS

2012 Spectrum Scholarship winners announced [including NLM’s Basheer Kareem]

http://www.ala.org/news/pr?id=10712

AAM Welcomes Eight NIH Scientists [including NLM’s Dr. Eugene Koonin]

http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2012/05_25_2012/story6.htm

Anna Schnitzer receives DeBakey Award

http://www.lib.umich.edu/announcements/anna-schnitzer-receives-debakey-award

Clinical Trials

http://www.diabetes.org/news-research/other-research-resources/clinical-trials/?loc=DropDownNR-trials

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Treatment (PDQ®): Complementary and alternative medicine – Patient Information [NCI]

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/complementary-and-alternative-medicine-in-cancer-treatment-pdq-complementary-and-alternative-medicine-patient-information-nci.aspx

Darwin Exhibit at Central Washington University [Ellensburg]

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2012/05/23/05-24-12-art

DOT RELEASES NEW EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDEBOOK

http://firegeezer.com/2012/06/02/dot-releases-new-emergency-response-guidebook/

Eastern Michigan’s [Ypsilanti] Halle Library exhibit highlights accomplishments of African-American surgeons, nurses during the Civil War

http://www.emich.edu/univcomm/releases/release.php?id=1338840608

GeoMedicine New Frontier In Medical Informatics

http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/mobile-wireless/240001727

In defense of frivolities and open-ended experiments [references NLM/NCBI’s ESearch API]

http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/06/experiments-learning-frivolities.html

Innovation at NIH: How MedlinePlus Connect Aids Health Care Providers

http://gov.aol.com/2012/06/11/innovation-at-nih-how-medlineplus-connect-aids-health-care-prov/

Keeping Up-to-Date: The Power of Research

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=55931

Keep the library open after graduation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/taxpayer-funded-research-should-be-available-for-all/2012/06/07/gJQAshkCMV_story.html

Looking for historical biomedical information? Try the redesigned IndexCat, a product of the US National Library of Medicine

http://jflahiff.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/looking-for-historical-biomedical-information-try-the-redesigned-indexcat-a-product-of-the-us-national-library-of-medicine/

May HIT Standards Meeting shows advanced structures for data exchange

http://medcitynews.com/2012/05/may-hit-standards-meeting-shows-advanced-structures-for-data-exchange/?edition=politics

Medical Heritage Library Awarded NEH Grant for Digitization of Historical Medical Journals

http://www.infodocket.com/2012/05/23/medical-heritage-library-awarded-neh-grant-for-digitization-of-historical-medical-journals/

Mobile REMM

http://android-apps.com/applications/medical/mobile-remm/

Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness [Georgia State University, Atlanta]

http://homer.gsu.edu/blogs/library/2012/06/05/native-voices-native-peoples%E2%80%99-concepts-of-health-and-illness/

NIH Radio interview with NLM’s Michael Sappol, editor of Hidden Treasure [beginning at 15:18]

http://ocplmedia.od.nih.gov/nihradio/20120601NIHpodcast_0160.mp3

NLM Director Dr. Donald Lindberg’s appearance on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” June 9

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/306514-5

NLM’s Browne Makes Exercise of Commute

http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/newsletters/2012/05_25_2012/story4.htm

ONC launches clinical decision support wiki

http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/onc-launches-clinical-decision-support-wiki/2012-06-08

Prescription and illicit drug abuse is timely new topic on NIHSeniorHealth.gov

http://www.pharmpro.com/News/Feeds/2012/06/agencies-and-organizations-national-institutes-of-health-(nih)-prescription-and-illicit-drug-abuse-is-timely-new-/

‘Of Course It’s True–I Read It on the Internet!’

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=of_course_its_truei_read_it_on_the_internet

Sir Isaac Newton, Hollywood Action Hero

http://blogs.artinfo.com/spotlight/2012/06/08/sir-isaac-newton-hollywood-action-hero/

Symcat uses data to battle ‘cyberchondria’

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/gigaom/articles/2012_06_05_symcat_uses_data_to_battle_cyberchondria.html

Treasures from the National Library of Medicine

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60931-3/fulltext?rss=yes

NEW OR UPDATED MEDLINEPLUS TOPICS/FEATURES

Diabetic Heart Disease

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diabeticheartdisease.html

MedlinePlus User Survey Results 2011

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/survey2011/index.html

Respiratory Failure
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/respiratoryfailure.html