For those of you working the death investigation field, RTI has several online courses available, including Death Investigation in the Elderly (PDF). I am particularly interested in this one because it includes a section on the physiology of aging, which I think is useful for those outside the death investigation field, as well.
The course is free and provides CMEs (sorry, no nursing CEs). Registration is required.
I hope everyone had a peaceful holiday (or at least enjoyed a few days off if you don’t celebrate). Today I want to round out some continuing education sources for those of you in need of finishing the year with a few extra in hand (see here for Part I). All are available for nursing CEs; CME credits are available as indicated.
Time once again for this month’s Articles of Note, a review of some of what has caught my eye from the recently published peer-reviewed literature. Please keep in mind this is not exhaustive, just some of what I am currently reading this month. You’ll note that there are several free full-text articles in this month’s review. For those of you who want a word doc, feel free to contact me. Otherwise the Scribd doc is embedded, followed by the list of articles with links.
If you were in Puerto Rico last month, you may have heard Jennifer Pierce-Weeks’ excellent session on expanding SANE practice. If not, you’re in luck–she’s repeating it via webinar for IAFN’s next online offering. The session will be November 29th at noon, ET. The cost is $15 ($30 for non-members) and will net you 1 CEU. Trust me–it’s worth it.
Happily, my trip to Japan has been cancelled (I remember a time that would be devastating news–now it is an absolute gift); this means I can catch up on a few things, like an Articles of Note post for instance. What follows are articles that have caught my eye from the late September/ October/ November new publications. All links lead to PubMed abstracts unless otherwise indicated. As always, contact me if you want the full list in a word doc with hyperlinks.
How is it possible I went most of the summer without posting one of these? Embarrassing. What follows is what’s caught my eye from the August/September/October journals (with a couple of late July articles tossed in for good measure). As always, this is not an exhaustive list, but I do have to say, it’s a pretty good one. There’s a lot of great looking research among this group of pubs.
I’m such a big fan of science–but of course, you know this. I will always post resources and tools that are grounded in solid science. That is, science that’s been shown to be valid and reliable. Science I cite when I teach and when I testify.
Here’s what I love–1.) this month’s Articles of Note is full of amazing stuff to choose from; and 2.) there are many forensic nurses (and subscribers to this site from both the US and Canada) among the authors of the articles listed this month. And one more thing about point #2: not all of those forensic nurses have PhDs. So for those of you who feel like you can’t write because you didn’t go to graduate school, I would like to point out that this isn’t true–the literature needs our PhD’d research colleagues, and *also* the expert clinicians, whatever their educational credentials, contributing to the science (see this editorial for a good example of what you might consider writing). So once again, it’s time for our monthly roundup of articles that have caught my attention. Remember, this is not an exhaustive list of what’s new in the literature, but it should give you a good place to start. Links lead to abstracts unless full-text is noted.
June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). Several activities (of which I am aware) are going on to commemorate the day. Click through for more information.
Time once again for Articles of Note, a tad late this month I realize. These are a selection from the late April/May/June new releases, and it’s a pretty varied bunch. As usual, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list, just the grouping that have caught my eye. All but one link lead to abstracts (the full-text article is marked), and from there you can decide what seems relevant and worth it to you.
The Disability and Abuse Project is asking people to complete their survey. From their call for participants:
This is the first national survey of its kind — one that focuses on incidents of, response to, and attitudes about, abuse or crime victimization of children and adults with disabilities.
(Click through to read more about the survey)
I receive a lot of questions about determining the age of bruises. Although the research has shown that determining the age of bruising by clinicians based on color provides consistently inaccurate results, with poor interrater reliability, I still find that some are loathe to turn their backs on this highly unreliable assessment technique. So I have provided an overview of the literature below, with articles split into 2 categories: those that address the attempt to age bruises based on color in a routine clinical environment (Clinical Assessment of Bruises) and those that have a much more high-tech approach (Laboratory Assessment of Bruises). These articles address aging bruises using equipment and mathematical models not typically seen in our routine clinical practices. It’s important to note that studies in the latter category found greater success at determining the age of bruises, which further emphasizes the unreliability of visual assessment alone.
So yesterday I participated in NSVRC’s #TweetAboutIt Tuesday. The topic was older adults and healthy sexuality. And here’s what I love about participating in something like this. Within a minute (literally) of posting a question, I had in my (virtual) hands this fabulous document– Exploring the Sexual Rights of Older Adults: Toward Healthy Sexuality and Freedom From Victimization in Later Life (PDF). Hat tip to Benje Douglas at NSVRC who sent it my way.
Time once again for Articles of Note. This month’s is basically stuff from the 1st quarter. I included a couple of January articles I missed in earlier editions, so you’ll see articles as far back as the beginning of the year. There is so much good stuff on this list. I know I say that a lot, but this month I feel like people took a look at the “I wish people would research ___” section of my Moleskine (and yes, that really is one of the sections because as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a HUGE NERD), and said, “meh, why not?”.
This month’s edition has my inner nerd all aquiver–so much good stuff in the research (particularly if you take care of sexual assault patients). What can I tell you–get on over to your medical library, or fire up your online access and start reading. It’s *that* good this month (and also, I like seeing my friends’ names in print, and there’s some of that, too). As always, this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive overview of what’s out there; just the stuff that caught my eye from the late January, February and early March journals and previews.
ACOG has released their Committee Opinion on Intimate Partner Violence (abstract only), and Medscape has an overview with accompanying CME (editorial note: Come on, Medscape, no nursing CEUs for this one?). The American Academy of Neurology has also released a position statement this month, although on the broader topic of abuse and violence. You can read the full text here.
The Ash Center’s Government Innovator’s Network has a webinar coming up: Building a Risk Assessment Tool for the NH Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services. It will be held January 31st from 2-4pm ET. The session will specifically look at researcher-practitioner partnerships, which is always of interest to me (and I know many of you have been on the practitioner end of these partnerships., as well). You can register for the webinar here.
Tuesday, January 17th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is offering the next in their Grand Rounds series: The Science Base for the Prevention of Injury and Violence. The live webcast will also be archived for 48 hours after the event. And if you’re interested in CEs, you can register for them here.
It’s time once again for Articles of Note. These are a selection from the late December and January peer-reviewed journals that have caught my attention. Remember, it’s in no way a comprehensive or exhaustive list, but it’s an excellent place to start. The majority of the links will take you to PubMed. There are also a couple free full-text article in here. I’ve tried to add in a few more non-North American studies at the request of a few of my readers.
With it being a slow time of year for educational offerings, I’m thrilled the research journals hold some amazing treasures. This month feels particularly useful, especially if you’re a pediatrics person. As always, this is not a comprehensive overview of what’s newly out, but it is a good selection of late November and December articles you might want to check out. Even if you don’t fancy yourself a journal person, there’s some really clinically applicable material here on everything from STI testing in kids, to emergency contraception and implantation, to evaluating digital photography.