HIFA Voices Database - launched 12 August 2014

The HIFA Voices database will bring together the experiential knowledge of HIFA members: more than 12,000 professionals from over 2500 organisations in 170 countries, ranging from senior executives at the World Health Organization in Geneva to community health workers in rural Gambia. Our common vision is a world where every person and every health professional has access to the information they need to protect their own health and the health of those for whom they are responsible. HIFA Voices will be launched on 12 August 2014.

HIFA Voices harnesses the practical expertise of providers and users of healthcare information, together with relevant health information sciences literature. This helps us to understand the healthcare information needs of different users in different contexts and how these needs can be more effectively addressed. Further information about HIFA Voices.

Read the blog about HIFA Voices on the ElsevierConnect website, and the press release from mPowering Frontline Health Workers and Intel Corporation.

We are currently seeking further financial and technical support to enable us to develop HIFA Voices through 2015 and beyond. Please contact us for details.

My source: HIFA2015 list.

Book: The Empathy Exams & Michel Serres Institute

individual
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

group

	The Natural Sciences
Local, Society & Socio-	-Economic

As recent posts reveal I'm overwhelmed with reading at present. Material that is essential for the TEL course and reading more tangential and yet potentially enjoyable titles. It will be a busy summer as all this is brought together(!?). Especially as I've a literature search in mind as a module submission - progress permitting.

The publication of Jamison's book this (N) spring sits well after the findings last year about the benefits of reading fiction in increasing empathy.

Since 2008-2009 I've lost touch with the work of Michel Serres:

Jones, Peter, Exploring Serres’ Atlas, Hodges’ Knowledge Domains and the Fusion of Informatics and Cultural Horizons (Aug 15, 2007). SOCIAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONNECTING SOCIETY AND CULTURAL ISSUES. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1842504 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1842504

- having only just found the Institute. I only scratched the surface of Serres' oeuvre in the above paper and must recharge my reflective capacity.

Book cover image: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20800427,00.html

My source: The Empathy Exams
FT Weekend, June 7-8, 2014.

L-earning a Living with McLuhan

individual
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

group

In 1964, Marshall McLuhan predicted that the future of work would involve -

"learning a living"... .	production
communities of practice	earning a living

Source:
Parchoma, G. (2006). A proposed e-learning policy field for the Academy. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 18(3), 230-40. (p.232).
Reading for module 2.

BCS, UKCHIP and IHRIM announce a new vision for the health informatics profession at HC2014

19 March 2014

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, the UK Council of Health Informatics Professions (UKCHIP) and the Institute of Health Records and Information Management (IHRIM) are working collaboratively to create a new federation for the Informatics profession. The three autonomous bodies will work closely together in a federation to ensure that UK health informatics is recognised as a valued profession. 

Justin Whatling, Chair of BCS Health, part of the Chartered Institute for IT, explains: “This is a very exciting moment for health informatics. Today technology has an immense and profound impact on the health and wellbeing of people. Therefore it’s time for the profession to mature to meet the increasing demand on our skills and capability. We want health to be an attractive place for informatics professionals from other sectors to come and work, and we want to provide a clear career path and professional development opportunities to retain those already working in health. The federation will help us to achieve this.”

The initiative comes as the NHS is under increasing pressure to find and implement new models of health and social care that will provide services closer to people’s homes. This requires health professionals to share accurate information securely and confidentially. In addition, the Caldicott 2 Review has introduced a Duty of Care to Share health information. Both of these things have happened at a time when public trust in the NHS’ ability to handle personal health information has taken a hit.

The federation will be open to all other informatics professional bodies, the private sector, the home countries and lay representation. It will provide leadership of the overall profession with a single professional register and point of entry for professionals, oversee an agreed regulatory framework with a common code of ethical practice and coordinate access to resources providing a unified set of capabilities for all professional areas of practice.

Read more

HCA training: Knock, knock, knocking on the political domain's door

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

individual

emotional care	physical care
social care	FRANCIS - a year on:  How much training do healthcare assistants have before their first shift on a ward? 25% = none

group - population

Although that 25% sits nicely in the POLITICAL domain, what is the impact of this finding across the domains overall? Whether or not the impact is equally shared across the interpersonal, sciences and social domain, upon which domain will it end up knocking?

Calkin, S. (2014) Francis impacts on culture and patient safety, HSJ, 7 February. 124, 6376, 4-5.

'Intellectual brutalisation' and the saving grace and power of poetry

BBC Radio 4 Today: An eminent cardiologist has organised and funded a poetry competition for his medical students to stop them becoming, in his words, intellectually brutalised.
Gabrielle Gascoigne, pictured, is a previous winner.
The BBC’s Jane Dreaper discovers more.

Listen to ‘Poetry competition for 'intellectually brutalised' medics’ on Audioboo

PBS: For these medical students, poetry nurtures the soul

Here's (source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03s6mdp/live ) the full version of Mastectomy - For His Wife, by Gabrielle Ruth Gascoigne:

It will be an honour
to bathe the scars.
Don’t think my tears imply
an ounce of sorrow -
only joy
could fill my eyes.

It will be a pleasure
to hold you close.
Know this – your precious flesh
calls the bluff on gold
and silver -
makes me a king.

It will be a delight
to talk with you
into the night we thought
stolen, clean away -
until day
renews our hope.

It would be too heartless
if all this love,
these sinner’s prayers and more
should fall to nothing
more than rain
on empty streets.

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES
humanistic ------------------------------------------- mechanistic
SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

individual

subjectivity insight, rapport, empathy emotional control, detachment, engagement risk of burnout	objectivity anatomy, physiology          physicality, processes, mechanistic intellectual brutalisation
humanistic communication, relationships (medic) poetry	funding, crowded curricula hidden curriculum

group - population

Positioning Nursing in a Digital World. RCN eHealth Survey 2012 Report

Abstract:

Commissioned by the RCN, this eHealth survey explores the knowledge and experiences of nursing staff in relation to current eHealth developments, together with their attitudes to new and emerging uses of technology in health and social care. The aims of the 2012 survey were to identify the readiness of nursing staff to participate in eHealth, to understand the barriers that prevent nursing staff from benefiting from information and communications technology, and to ascertain what progress has been made since the previous RCN eHealth survey in 2010. 

Image source: http://www.gerrybolger.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/image1.jpg

Arts: "Reflection on a sofa" Hodges' model as a 'memory palace' I

Prior to the New Dynamics in Ageing Showcase this Monday (a great event) I travelled down to London on Sunday morning. I wasn't 100% that morning, nothing specific.

I arrived at noon dropped the bags at the B&B and then took the nine stops from Kings Cross to South Kensington. A few minutes walk brought me to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I was early to collect my timed ticket for the Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace exhibition.

After queuing for ten minutes (we Brits eh!) at the proper sign to be told I just had to approach the entrance at the allotted time. I went to check the cafe. This was very nice, on the pricey side and rather busy. It's not easy to find a seat, do self-service and be secure. Anyway it was time for a walk, find somewhere else. Before doing so I went to shop and bought the exhibition book, not a huge tome and quite interesting.

Not far away around the corner I found the Brompton cafe. There were seats here. I ordered a cappucinno. There was a large communal table so I sat there. I was ok for about twenty minutes and then came over all hot and increasingly dizzy. I realised I had to move and quickly so took my jumper off and walked around to the right where there was a bookshop.

It was empty and there was sofa with 'LOVE' emblazoned on it - three times - if I registered this correctly. I could hear the cafe and just see one table through the passage way. At that moment I'd had enough of the individual-group axis and the humanistic-mechanistic took over as I went semi-horizontal.

After a couple of minutes I recovered myself and was able to get up - yes the gyro functions - and carry on my way. I am really grateful for that little space and rest. I was still determined to visit the exhibition and attend the showcase. This was fortunate timing with Sunday the 20th the last day of the exhibition and I wanted to keep it that way.

In the post-apocalyptic world of British author Hari Kunzru’s specially commissioned 10,000 word novella, London has been ravaged by a magnetic storm; all memory, art, writing, and recording has been banned. As one man attempts to remember, alone in his cell, the narrative unfolds.
Zoe Pilger, The Independent - Art review.

“misremembered” ambulance by London-based illustration collective Le Gun

“Once there were great palaces called Hospitals.” In contrast to a dystopian future when the NHS and indeed all medical knowledge has been erased, the idea of basic public services appears miraculous. “It was a time of great wonder,” he writes, referring to the present. This fragment of text is accompanied by a fabulous sculpture of a “misremembered” ambulance by London-based illustration collective Le Gun. A ghoulish figure brandishes a whip and pulls a cart filled with potions that promise ad-hoc, alchemical healing.
Zoe Pilger, The Independent - Art review and image

See page 18-19 of Kunzru’s book.

I started in a memory palace, a book shop. I left to visit another, carrying my own memory palace in my mind.

Hodges' model is a memory palace, vacant, awaiting occupancy by patient, client, or carer. The model acts as a great prompt past, future and the here and now.

Health, Art and The Reith Lectures 2013 (and the search for the perpetual umbilicus)

This week sees the start of The Reith Lectures on BBC Radio 4 by Grayson Perry.

The question is: who decides on what makes art good?

Perry writes in the Financial Times Weekend:

Clement Greenberg, a famous art critic in the 1950s, said that art will always be tied to money by an umbilical cord of gold, either state money or market money. I'm pragmatic about it: one of my favourite quotes is you'll never have a good art career unless your work fits into the elevator of a New York apartment block.

Once born into the world, the umbilical cord that transfers and imbues life and sustenance no longer matters physically. It is the social ties that bind, according to the lyrics and life experience.

In health and social care we need to find a perpetual umbilical cord that makes well-being and health not just something to take for granted. Not some thing that is only noticed when the piece of art won't fit into the elevator any longer.

This is the challenge in health care. A challenge that will see art movements and markets come and go. The solutions will rely on science, technology and art.

@science @technology @art 

each brings its own engineering.

We need tools that facilitate self-care when needed. Cognitive engineering that people can call upon by virtue of the combined literacies they possess. Self-care that is delayed due to self-knowledge.

Cognitive tools people can take anywhere; from elevators in New York and doors to apartments, yurts in Mongolia, the multitude of tents in Jordan to the terraced houses near Wigan Pier ...


Financial Times, Grayson Perry’s Reith Lectures: Who decides what makes art good? October 11, 2013 7:16 pm

1st Mental Health and Well-Being Conference of Ghana “Understanding, inclusion and stigma reduction”

For text please see the conference website: http://www.mhfgh.org/

Dementia care related (and other) courses, northern England

C/o of a former colleague now at Huddersfield University and the MHHE mailing list respectively, I've been aware of two learning opportunities ("up North") for quite some time and thought I would share these here:

Today there was a masterclass on Mindfulness, Compassion, Life Story Work and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and the Older Person
http://www.hud.ac.uk/hsc/cpd/studysessionsandevents/mindfulnesscompassionlifestoryworkandcbtandtheolderpersonmasterclass/

Whilst this is too late, it should be repeated and the combination of CBT, older adults, long term conditions and pain are key knowledge themes to pass on - as needed - to the residential and nursing home care sectors. There are many other CPD courses including:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Older People - January 2014, 30 Master's level credits 
http://www.hud.ac.uk/hsc/cpd/cpdcourses/hmh2007/

Bradford Dementia Group is now recruiting for a part-time PG Cert in Dementia Studies available by open and distance learning.

Special Features

• Our courses are part-time, flexible and delivered by distance learning, addressing the needs of adult learners who are combining study with busy work and home life.
• Our Experts by Experience panel (Individuals and families affected by dementia) are involved in teaching, assessment and programme management.
• Learning materials are developed in house by members of the course team; all of whom are research active and in regular contact with individuals and organisations committed to improving the quality of life for people affected by dementia.
• We recognise that our learners are adults with a wealth of practical experience and skills to bring to the field of dementia studies
• Building on the work of the founder of Bradford Dementia Group, Professor Tom Kitwood, our courses continue to promote a holistic, person-centred and bio-psycho-social model of dementia.

www.bradford.ac.uk/health/dementia

2013 Year of Piri Reis & Navigating the world of nursing care - in Jordan

The conference in Jordan is over it has been an intense and excellent two days, with a free day tomorrow. It has been a brilliant opportunity to share and learn not just about nursing, but travel, culture and some of the people that make up the global nursing community.

I am truly grateful to the Jordanian Nursing Council for accepting my abstract. The welcome and hospitality has been truly amazing.

In the flight magazine on the way here there was an article about Piri Reis, which reminded me of Paul Cunliffe's book about Pytheas.

From the UNESCO website:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has agreed to declare 2013 the year of Piri Reis on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of a map he drew up that included seven continents, reported the Anatolia news agency. 

“This map marks a significant event in the history of the country and has enabled its collective knowledge to be transmitted through generations. As a rare world map from the 15th and 16th centuries, Piri Reis World Map is an invaluable piece of the world's documentary heritage as it provides insight on the history of its time. It is therefore part of the Memory of the World and should be made better known,” stated UNESCO.

The world-renowned Ottoman captain and cartographer Reis is best known for world maps and charts collected in his “Kitab-ı Bahriye” (Book of Navigation).

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=294065

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_Reis_map

I have written before about Hodges' model as a map -

a cognitive periplus 

- for navigation through the complex world(s) of health and social care.

Would a new mariner take to the sea without a clear sky, a compass, map, or satnav? What then of our students?


Additional link: Please see the entry for Iran -

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/anniversaries-celebrated-by-member-states/2013/

Jordanian Nursing Council 4th International Nursing Conference “The Tipping Point: Creative Solutions to Health and Nursing Challenges”

Well, I arrived in Amman for this conference at midnight and have not been this far east before. It is certainly different and there is much to look forward to.

I panicked slightly in Istanbul briefly reading the boarding time on my e-ticket as the flight time. So, I was looking for 1920, but the flight was 2020 and not yet displayed.

The hotel Le Meridien is excellent, my driver last night and the staff are very friendly. I was told on the 35 minute trip from airport to hotel that events nearby have impacted on tourism. People have had to seek other work as many tourist offices have closed. At breakfast it does give you pause to wonder about what is happening not all that far away.

I've not checked the conference venue yet. There's a reception this evening and workshops ongoing through today. I opted for:

4

15:00-18:00

Nicola McHugh, MSc, MA, RN

Understanding and Using Research in clinical Nursing Practice

In preparation we've been asked to read:

Seers, K. et al., (2008). A randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a single session of nurse administered massage for short term relief of chronic non-malignant pain. BMC Nursing, 7:10 doi:10.1186/1472-6955-7-10. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6955/7/10

Two workshops are recorded - an approach to consider for the future - as with using Skype.

Although only two days long there are a great range of concurrent sessions, amongst them:

• Differences in Perception Between Nurses and Patients Related to Patients’ Health Locus of Control Ayman M. Hamdan-Mansour
• Fostering Global Citizenship in Nursing Education: The Role of the United Nations Mary E. Norton 
• Aptitude Towards Nursing: Is it Measurable? Maxie Andrade 
• Comparison of Structure, Process, and Outcomes of Healthcare Service Provision between Advanced Community Nurse Practitioner and General Nurse Practitioner Noppawan Piaseu
• Development of a Multimedia Computer -Assisted Learning with Integrated Content of Anatomy and Physiology for Enhancing Nursing Students’ Skills on Physical Examination in Adult: Head and Neck Examination Chularuk Kaveevivitchai
• Assessment of Nursing Students' of Azad Islamic University of Saveh' Perception about Importance of Caring Behaviors Based on Caring Model of Watson Lida Nikfarid

My presentation is tomorrow afternoon and on Wednesday I'm chairing a session.

More to follow on this and some reading ...

"The Deprofessionals" BBC radio4: nursing, teaching and social work

Driving to Milton Keynes late afternoon for DTMD2013 Mon-Weds, I listened to a BBC radio 4 programme about the political assault on several public professions - The Deprofessionals

What does it mean to be a professional today, at a time when the public services are in a state of turmoil?
Time was when a professional was easily recognised for what he or she did by virtue of their qualifications and experience, when their competence could be measured against ...

It should be available for the next week.

When I think about community mental health nursing since 1985 I can identify with many of the points raised. How the role has changed, the former therapeutic skills focus, the change in skill mix, the advent of Agenda for Change and the existence of staff who may miss being clinically 'banded' altogether.

The Willis Commission on Nursing Education: Recommendations

Here are the recommendations from this commission (the full report is also available):

• Patient centred care should be at the heart of all pre-registration nursing education and continuing professional development.
• There were no shortcomings found in nursing education that could be directly responsible for poor standards of care or a decline in care standards.
• Nurses and their organisations must stand up to be counted on the challenge of poor care and loss of public confidence in order to restore professional pride.
• Nursing education needs to imbed patient safety and dignity as a top priority.
• Better evaluation of and research into nursing education programmes is necessary to ensure a programme that is fit for purpose.
• The future nursing workforce requires nurses to work in a variety of settings.
• Recruitment campaigns need to widen their diversity in order to encourage the widest, best possible range of applicants.
• Health care service providers must fully support nursing education.
• Universities need to recognise nursing as a practice and research discipline.
• Attention needs to be paid to developing a strategic understanding of the nursing workforce as a whole and as a UK-wide resource.

My source: RCN and others

New patient chart to save 6,000 lives a year in the UK

The purpose of NEWS - National Early Warning Score is to standardise the assessment of acute-illness severity in the NHS and in doing so: save lives.

For me in the late 70s early 80s there was great emphasis placed on doing the charts, on 'obs' and the art and skill of observation. As a student nurse, you were finally nursing. From my mental health base, I've noticed new students today retain this enthusiasm to do the TPR and BP. To sign-off this essential competency. I mentioned art and skill above to highlight the intuitive side, not to diminish the underlying knowledge. Recognition is essential to prompt action, critical in acute-illness.

I notice some comments in response to NEWS express concern about finding agreements on units and how standards might stifle innovation. Against this though, Nursing Times reported an acute problem with the quality of nursing observation skills in 2009.

It goes without saying that the elements in NEWS are physical: respiratory rate, blood oxygen level, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and level of consciousness. It will be fascinating to follow the results and not just in England.

In terms of integrated and holistic care - other measures will be needed.

My source: The Independent (27 July 2012).
Laurence, J. (2012, July 27). New patient chart to save 6,000 lives a year in the UK, The Independent. p.12