Implementation and outcomes of an evidence-based precepting program for burn nurses.

Introduction: There is significant nationwide interest in transitioning new and new-to-specialty nurses into practice, especially in burn care. Lack of a structured transition program in our Burn Center was recognized as a contributing factor for nursing dissatisfaction and increased turnover compared to other hospital units. Employee evaluations exposed a need for more didactic instruction, hands-on learning, and preceptor support.

Is the relationship between your hospital and your medical staff sustainable?

Issues in the macro-environment are affecting the historic relationships that have existed between hospitals and their medical staffs over the last half century. Rising healthcare costs, deteriorating relationships, unexplained variations in clinical outcomes, transparency in healthcare outcomes, medical tourism, competition between hospitals and physicians, and reluctance by hospitals and physicians to change are among the issues challenging the sustainability of the current business model. This article highlights barriers to maintaining traditional relationships and concludes with strategies to preserve and strengthen relationships between physicians and hospitals.

Design of a superconducting volume coil for magnetic resonance microscopy of the mouse brain.

We present the design process of a superconducting volume coil for magnetic resonance microscopy of the mouse brain at 9.4T. The yttrium barium copper oxide coil has been designed through an iterative process of three-dimensional finite-element simulations and validation against room temperature copper coils.

Fatigue estimation using voice analysis.

In the present article, we present a means to remotely and transparently estimate an individual's level of fatigue by quantifying changes in his or her voice characteristics. Using Voice analysis to estimate fatigue is unique from established cognitive measures in a number of ways: (1) speaking is a natural activity requiring no initial training or learning curve, (2) voice recording is a unobtrusive operation allowing the speakers to go about their normal work activities, (3) using telecommunication infrastructure (radio, telephone, etc.) a diffuse set of remote populations can be monitored at a central location, and (4) often, previously recorded voice data are available for post hoc analysis.

Real-time detection of precise EMG onset for synchronisation of an EEG averager.

The decision making process by a human observer during visual observation of an EMG waveform has been modelled by electronic methods. EMG onset times were detected with greater precision than is possible with simple threshold voltage comparison, since the threshold voltage detection levels can be set below peak background and artefact amplitudes. The increase in the correlation of each EMG with the corresponding cortical events results in a more accurate synchronisation pulse in average movement potential analysis than has been previously available.

Comparison of interwave latencies of brain stem auditory evoked responses in narcoleptics, primary insomniacs and normal controls.

A study of brain stem auditory evoked responses (BAER) was carried out in 10 narcoleptics, 10 primary insomniacs and 10 normal controls to determine if a neurophysiologic abnormality could be detected in these primary sleep disorders. The mean interpeak conduction times of Wave I-III, III-V and Iv were compared between the following groups: normal controls awake and in monitored sleep; narcoleptics awake and in monitored sleep, normal controls awake and narcoleptics awake; normal controls awake and insomniacs awake; narcoleptics awake and insomniacs awake; narcoleptics with cataplexy (n = 6) awake and narcoleptics without cataplexy (n = 4) awake. No significant differences were found which suggests that these sleep disorders represent dysfunctions which do not involve brain stem structures subserving the BAER.

Behavioral asymmetries following olfactory tubercle lesions in cats.

13 of 17 cats which received unilateral olfactory tubercle lesions exhibited contralateral sensory inattention and ipsilateral circling and hyperresponsiveness. The possible neural substrates involved in these asymmetries are discussed, including ascending amine systems and ascending and descending connections with the orbital cortex.

Bilateral sensory neglect following midsagittal reticular formation lesions in cats.

We have observed that midsagittal reticular formation lesions in cats produce bilateral deficits in attention to and localization of various sensory modalities. To correlate these changes with previously reported changes following lesions in other areas of the brain, we propose the existence of two interdependent inhibitory pathways which originate in the frontal lobes.