Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to determine if searchers' observing each others' search processes is an effective training method and if sharing through observation can strengthen search skills. METHOD: A shared email account was established among all public services librarians conducting literature searches at the Ehrman Medical Library. Three questionnaires were sent to the public services librarians soliciting input on the shared-search process. The results were analyzed for this study. RESULTS: The shared-search process has helped searchers become more effective in searching. Colleagues' viewing of the search results is a major factor influencing the searchers' performance. CONCLUSIONS: Easy to implement, the peer-training model is an effective way to train searchers as well as help keep skills up to date

Intrinsic to all models of evidence-based practice is the need for information literacy and the critical assessment of information. As part of a house-wide evidence-based practice initiative, the objective of this pilot project was to develop the information literacy skills of staff nurses to increase their ability to find and assess available electronic resources for clinical decision making. An intensive care unit was chosen to pilot a unit-based approach to educate staff nurses to perform patient care-related electronic literature searches. An additional goal was to determine the effectiveness of unit-based training sessions on the frequency and quality of electronic literature searches by participating nurses. In addition to the unit-based instruction, nursing and library staff collaborated to develop a Web-based tutorial to supplement and reinforce the content of the training sessions. A pretest-post-test design was used to evaluate the initiative and to assess the effect of the educational intervention over time. Among the lessons learned from this pilot study was that unit-based instruction presents significant obstacles for effective learning of new technological skills for staff nurses

Purpose: The safety and effects on hematocrit of recombinant human erythropoietin (epoetin alfa) were evaluated in men undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy. Materials and Methods: Between February 1, 1997 and November 2, 1998, 305 men with clinically localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy performed by a single surgeon (H. L.). Of these men 283 with a baseline hematocrit of less than 48% received 600 IU/kg. epoetin alfa 14 days (-14) and 7 days (-7) before radical retropubic prostatectomy. Hematocrit was measured at baseline on day -14, on day -7, just before anesthesia induction on day 0, immediately postoperatively and on the day of discharge home. The number of allogeneic units transfused, and all intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded, Results: Mean hematocrit at baseline on day -14 and at induction on day 0 was 42<9% and 45<8%, respectively (p = 0<0001). The frequency of hematocrit decreasing, showing no change or increasing 0<1 to 1<9, 2<0 to 3<9 or greater than 4<0 hematocrit points was 16<5%, 0<5%, 23%, 22% and 38%, respectively. Of the men 17% had no increase in hematocrit, A weak correlation existed between baseline hematocrit and the erythropoietic response to epoetin alfa (r(2) = 0<06). Mean change in hematocrit after treatment with epoetin alfa in the quartile baseline hematocrit groups 34<2 to 41<4, 41<5 to 43<2, 43<3 to 44<9 and 45<0 to 48<0 hematocrit points was 3<71, 2<45, 3<86 and 1<02 hematocrit points, respectively. Of the surgical candidates 22 (9<1%) achieved an induction hematocrit of greater than 51%. Of the 283 men receiving epoetin alfa 21 (7<4%) also received an allogeneic transfusion. The transfusion rate did not correlate with induction hematocrit. The only adverse cardiovascular event was an uncomplicated postoperative pulmonary embolus. Conclusions: Our prospective study demonstrates that epoetin alfa given preoperatively in 2 doses of 600 IU/kg. is safe for significantly increasing hematocrit in men before radical retropubic prostatectomy. It is intuitive that the significant increase in hematocrit decreases the requirement for allogeneic blood transfusion

Few health sciences libraries maintain databases and produce bibliographies of the publications of their institution's faculty. By offering such services, libraries can provide faculty members with a qualitative analysis of where and how their research is cited and its impact in the fields of biomedicine and related health sciences. Journal Citation Reports (JCR), produced by the Institute for Scientific Information, is a powerful tool that provides information on citations appearing in the largest, most frequently used, most cited, and highest-impact journals. This paper discusses the role libraries play in providing information about faculty publications, reviews how JCR is used by libraries, discusses how the Ehrman Medical Library of the New York University Medical Center uses JCR, and makes recommendations for the use of JCR to strengthen the librarian's role in providing information to faculty about the value of their research