Introduction to notification, deposition, and court testimony: A primer for the defendant physician.

Knowledge of legal mechanisms in a medical malpractice case is the defendant physician's power. Truth cannot be compromised; however, information can be displayed in the best light, which requires intense preparation, the best predictor of a successful case presentation.

Preparing for an ICU bedside computer.

Preparing the nursing staff is essential when implementing bedside computers. Realistically, all staff may not be trained before the clinical information system (CIS) goes "live," but resource personnel and the vendor can alleviate stressors associated with the change. Promoting the system early is vital to gain interest and support.

Selection and development of a critical care bedside computer.

A multidisciplinary approach was used to select a bedside computer in a tertiary medical center's medical intensive care unit. Three committees were formed both by the medical center and the vendor: selection, configuration and implementation. A similar committee structure also existed with the vendor.

Long-range alpha detector.

Historically, alpha-particle detectors have been limited by the very short range of alpha particles in air. This results in a number of problems inherent to alpha contamination detectors, such as relatively poor sensitivity, geometry limitations, and inefficient monitoring techniques. In this paper, we document tests of a new long-range alpha detector.