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Electrosurgical in the Operating Room

September 12, 2014 - 8:37am by Andy Hickner

(Post authored by Terry Dagradi) Cushing operating at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Photo by Dr. Walter Willard Boyd 1928-32 On October 1, 1926 at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvey Cushing performed an operation—removal of a mass from a patient’s head -- using the first commercial electrosurgical generator developed by to William T. Bovie [1], an engineer employed at Harvard University. The Bovie unit passed high frequency alternating current into the body, allowing the current to cut or coagulate. The device drastically reduced the complications of bleeding during intracranial operations, further reducing the mortality rates during brain surgery. After 88 years this basic device remains a fundamental tool in the practice of surgery. When Cushing began his surgical career in the early 1900s, brain tumors were considered to be inoperable. At that time the mortality rate for a surgical procedure involving the opening of the skull was around 90%. Cushing dramatically reduced the mortality rate for neurosurgery to less than 10%, and by the time of his retirement from the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in 1932, he had successfully removed more than 2,000 tumors.[2] [1] Bovie, WT; Cushing, H (1928). "Electrosurgery as an aid to the removal of intracranial tumors with a preliminary note on a new surgical-current generator". Surg Gynecol Obstet 47: 751–84. [2] http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/980.html https://www.mjhlifesciences.com/ http://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-electrosurgery

Tips for new students: Booking study rooms, off-campus access, computing help

August 25, 2014 - 8:31am by Andy Hickner

This week the library welcomes incoming students of the YSM class of 2018.  We felt it was a good time to highlight a couple of pages with useful information for new students: Booking group study or meeting rooms Off-campus access to online library resources like articles and databases Student computing help Welcome, and stay tuned for more helpful tips.

Staff Updates: New Biomedical Sciences Research Support Librarian

April 30, 2014 - 10:25am by Andy Hickner

The Cushing/Whitney Medical Library welcomes Rolando Garcia Milian as the Library's Biomedical Sciences Research Support Librarian. In this role, Rolando will serve as the primary liaison between the Medical Library and research departments, laboratories, and individual scientists across the Medical Center.Rolando brings to this position some wonderful expertise that we are really excited to bring on board at the Medical Library. Since graduating from SCSU with an MLS in 2010, Rolando has worked at the University of Florida's Health Science Center Libraries as a Basic Biomedical Sciences Librarian. In this role he has delivered biomedical information, data, and bioinformatics support, and most recently has co-taught a for credit bioinformatics course to UFL students. Prior to entering librarianship, Rolando was a molecular biologist for the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, Cuba. Rolando previously worked at Yale University Library from 2008 to 2010, both at the Library Shelving Facility and then as a Cataloging Assistant at the Sterling Memorial Library.Monday, May 5th will be Rolando's first day. He may be reached by email at rolando.milian@yale.edu, by phone at (203)785-6194, and his desk is located at SHM L 111 here at the Medical Library.

Staff Updates: New Evening/Weekend Supervisor & Reference Librarian

April 30, 2014 - 10:18am by Andy Hickner

Cushing/Whitney Medical Library welcomes Melissa Funaro as the Library's new Evening/Weekend Supervisor & Reference Librarian.Melissa has worked in the Collection Development and Management Department at the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library for 7 years. She’s been active in the Connecticut Library Association, Connecticut Association of Health Sciences Librarians and recently presented at the New England Technical Services Librarians’ annual conference.This position is a shared position between Access and Delivery Services (ADS) and Curriculum and Research Support (CRS).  While supervising the evening and weekend ADS staff,  Melissa will also support CRS by teaching classes and providing advanced reference service in the evenings and on Sundays.  Melissa received her Master of Library Science degree from Southern Connecticut State University in 2009.  She also holds a Master of Science, Horticulture degree from West Virginia University.She will assume her new job responsibilities on May 1, 2014.

Staff changes at Medical Library

April 30, 2014 - 9:59am by Andy Hickner

The Medical Library is undergoing a number of key personnel changes over the next week.  These include the retirement of Director & Associate University Librarian R. Kenny Marone; Associate Director John Gallagher assuming the position of Interim Director; current Library staff member Melissa Funaro assuming the position of Evening/Weekend Supervisor and Reference Librarian; and the arrival of Rolando Garcia-Milian in the newly created position of Biomedical Sciences Research Support Librarian.  Stay tuned for more detailed posts on each of these events over the coming week.

Medical Library Annual Report published online

April 24, 2014 - 10:08am by Andy Hickner

The Medical Library’s 2012-2013 report is now available online.   The report highlights a number of recent projects, including: Integrating library resources and services with those of the Hospital of St. Raphael (HSR) after its acquisition by  Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH); Helping Yale researchers comply with the requirements of NIH Public Access policy; Training YNHH nurses in evidence-based practice, thereby helping YNHH attain ANCC Magnet Recognition Program status; and Tailoring classes to help meet ACGME core competencies. Browse the Annual Report to learn more about these and other initiatives.

Happy 145th Birthday Harvey Cushing!

April 8, 2014 - 1:07pm by Andy Hickner

Happy 145th Birthday Harvey Cushing!  Harvey Cushing, born on April 8th in Cleveland in 1869, was the last of ten children of Henry Kirke and Betsey Maria Cushing and descended from a long line of Cushing doctors. A brief list of his accomplishments include:  He considerably improved the survival of patients after difficult brain operations for intracranial tumors. In clinical medicine, he was an early advocate of x-ray and blood pressure determination. He developed techniques to control bleeding from the scalp and promoted decompression for relief of pain in cases of inoperative brain tumors. Cushing was an early adopter of electrosurgery, playing a role in the development of Bovie electrocautery tool with physicist W. T. Bovie. He was the world's leading teacher of neurosurgeons in the first decades of the 20th century. For Cushing’s 70th birthday in April of 1939, The Harvey Cushing Society, formed in 1932 by younger neurosurgeons in Cushing’s honor, met in New Haven Ct. for a celebration.     At the formal dinner Louise Eisenstadt, MD, colleague and collaborator of the Curator of the Brain Tumor Registry presented Cushing with the gift of Bibliography of the Writings of Harvey Cushing, prepared by the Harvey Cushing Society and published by Charles C Thomas. To learn more about Cushing’s life and accomplishments, visit the Cushing Center.

The Cushing Center: “Insightfully beautiful”

February 24, 2014 - 2:10pm by Andy Hickner

Since its opening in June 2010, the Cushing Center has become a destination of interest to many visitors including students from area schools, members of the Yale University and the New Haven community, medical students, physicians, and writers worldwide.   As of page 126 of the guest book, visitors have come from at least 33 US states and 46 countries including places as far away as Tasmania and Madagascar. Last year we provided guided tours to over 2,300 visitors, while many others ventured into the center on their own.The center is open to all: Sunday:  9:30am-8:00pm Monday-Friday:  8:00am-8:00pm Saturday:  10:00am-7:00pm If you don’t have a Yale ID you’ll need to show a picture ID at the library circulation desk to borrow a proxy ID. Tours are offered: Thursday: 2:00pm & Friday: 11:00am & 2:00pm.   Guests meet in front of the library circulation desk. For tours beyond these hours, contact terry.dagradi@yale.edu The Cushing Center is located in the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library at 333 Cedar St.  From the library entrance, walk straight down the hallway to the Information Room.  Take the stairway on the right and walk down two flights.  The center entrance is on the right.

Finn's Schedule

February 7, 2014 - 9:45am by Andy Hickner

Finn the Therapy Dog - the newest member of the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library's staff - was officially introduced to the Yale community at a coffee hour on Friday, January 24th at 10am. Finn, a certified therapy dog, attended the event with his friend, Krista Knudson.  Finn will be here every Friday EXCEPT: February 7 April 4 April 11 The library will provide coffee and snacks.
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