On May 4, retinal specialist Dr. Sanjay Sharma will receive an achievement award from the OMA to honour his innovation in the field of ophthalmology.

Among the valuable online platforms Dr. Sharma has created over the last decade is Medskool2.0—used in more than 20 medical schools in North America—which utilizes short-form video to teach medical students how to diagnose and treat eye conditions.

Research evaluating its effectiveness was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, demonstrating that medical students learning how to diagnose and treat acute visual loss through watching video content performed better than their counterparts who learned the material through traditional methods. Most importantly, they learned their lessons in only a quarter of the time—good news for time-crunched medical students.

A professor of ophthalmology and epidemiology at Queen's University, Dr. Sharma has also received grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to develop and evaluate patient education platforms that provide online information about medical conditions ranging from diabetes to heart attack to influenza. This content is accessible through Insidermedicine.com, which reaches more than 5 million people annually through partnerships with Google News, Apple and the NIH's Medline Plus.

"To receive this award is really an honour," he says. "I think it validates the concept of using digital content to educate patients and doctors, as well as the need for innovative technology platforms to disseminate medical information.

“While my name is on the award, it’s important to acknowledge the hard work of our dedicated research team, and the support of forward-thinking institutions such as Hotel Dieu and Queen's."

International study examines pharmaceutical controversy

The scenario stems from worldwide controversy around two drugs used to treat age related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in high-income countries. Dr. Campbell is lead author of an international study examining the scenario that was published online May 3 in the British Medical Journal.

One of two drugs involved costs almost $2,000 a dose and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. for use against AMD. The other drug is much less expensive but hasn’t been approved to fight AMD and the maker of both drugs is actively discouraging its use. A 2011 study funded by the U.S.-based National Institutes of Health found the two drugs produce similar results.

Such a scenario highlights gaps in the drug approval process in the United States, Canada and England, says Dr. Campbell.

“A drug company discouraging the use of one of its drugs is a unique situation. It’s something that hasn’t happened before,” says Dr. Campbell, a Queen’s University ophthalmology professor and acting deputy head of ophthalmology at Hotel Dieu and Kingston General Hospital.

Drug companies usually cover the costs of obtaining approval from regulators including the FDA and Health Canada, and then apply to have their drug covered by payers such as the Ontario Drug Benefit Program.

Because Genentech (now part of Roche), the maker of both drugs involved in the research study, wants neither regulatory approval nor public drug plan coverage of their cheaper drug, the Ontario public is missing out on an inexpensive drug that could save the health care system millions of dollars a year.

The study looks at policies and procedures in the United States, Canada and England to see how each country is handling the unique situation. The study finds that Americans are much more likely to get access to the cheaper drug than Canadians, providing valuable lessons that can be used to shape pharmaceutical policy.

Queen’s researcher Sudeep Gill (School of Medicine) and the University of Toronto’s Irfan Dhalla and Chaim Bell also contributed to the study. Dr. Campbell also works with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

Stigma and mental illness: problems and solutions

On Friday, May 11, the new Bell Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research Chair at Queen’s University will be talking at Hotel Dieu Hospital as part of Mental Health Week (May 7-13). Her presentation takes place 12-1 pm, in the hospital’s auditorium.**

Dr. Stuart’s main research and work in public health pertains to reducing the negative stigma associated with mental illness, which can lead to negative stereotyping and discrimination by others and a reluctance on the part those living with a mental illness to seek help.

A professor of community health and epidemiology at Queen’s, Dr. Stuart is the world's first Bell Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research Chair at Queen’s. She has worked extensively with the World Psychiatric Association’s global anti-stigma program and is the Chair and co-founder of the World Psychiatric Association’s Scientific Section on Stigma and Mental Disorders. She has also been working with the Mental Health Commission with respect to anti-stigma activities and is currently collaborating with Statistics Canada.

** DETOUR to Hotel Dieu auditorium: From the main lobby, go through red fire door just beyond the Gift Shop booth. Pass through second red door to outside and cross over the vehicle ramp to glass door opposite. Proceed through the door and down the stairs. Turn left, proceed to end of the corridor and take stairs up. Auditorium signage along this corridor will assist visitors.

Special year for graduates of St. Joseph’s School of Nursing

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the St. Joseph’s School of Nursing at Hotel Dieu, founded by Sister St. Charles (Louise O’Connor). When it first opened its doors a century ago, the School offered training in modern nursing science and grounded that instruction in the Catholic healing tradition pioneered by the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph (RHSJ).

“2012 is a significant year for us,” says Carol Hazell, president of the St. Joseph’s School of Nursing Alumnae. “It’s the 100th anniversary of the St. Joseph’s School of Nursing at Hotel Dieu and the 90th anniversary of our Alumnae’s founding. These are wonderful milestones to celebrate as we mark National Nursing Week (May 7-13).”

The School started off small, with just three graduates receiving their diploma in 1914, but it grew quickly grew, graduating nearly 1700 nurses over its entire history. Its doors closed in 1973, with the Class of 1974 finishing their second year at St. Lawrence College.

To mark the history of Canada’s women religious orders and Catholic hospitals, the Museum of Health Care is hosting a free public lecture by historian Brigitte Violette at 7 pm, Friday, May 4 at Etherington Auditorium (94 Stuart St, Queen’s University).

The presentation will explore how the orders contributed to health care in Canada. A highlight of the event will be a presentation about the origins of the St. Joseph's School of Nursing at Hotel Dieu by Rodney Carter, Archivist for the RHSJ St. Joseph Region; it will be followed by a reception at the Museum of Health Care (32 George Street).

For details please visit www.museumofhealthcare.ca/nursing or call 613-548-2419. The Museum of Health Care's galleries will be open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm during National Nursing Week.

50 years and counting: Two HDH nurses look back

Year graduated from St. Joseph’s School of Nursing?
Tina: 1962
Fran: 1962. (I later took an 11-year hiatus to raise children.)

Reason for becoming a nurse?
Tina: I had planned to be a home economist but my mother had a small stroke when I was 17 years old. I cared for her at home, bathing and feeding her. That’s when I knew I wanted to do the same for others. I had found a vocation.
Fran: In those days you had two options—teaching and nursing. I chose nursing.

Hardest part of your training?
Tina: The psychiatry rotation because there wasn’t much progress being made in mental health care at that time. Much has improved now.
Fran: Living in the nursing residence and being away from home at such a young age. Working on the medical floor was hard, too. It was an early rotation for me and it was very trying to see people so sick and sometimes dying.

Favourite part of your training?
Tina: Emergency medicine. I loved the rapid pace, challenges and variety of patients. Always interesting.
Fran: The Operating Room. I loved the activity, the challenge and the technology.

Best memory of St. Joseph’s School of Nursing?
Tina: Having curfews of 10:30 pm and sometimes midnight. What freedom! I had come from a very strict boarding school so staying out late was wonderful. And we could have coffee and snacks on our floor in the Jeanne Mance residence.
Fran: Making new friends was the best part.

Scariest moment on the job?
Tina: One early morning—about 1 am—in the winter of 1982. I was the only nurse in the ER when a patient arrived with severe burns who needed an IV and an airway started. I managed to start the IV and quickly had him transferred to the ICU.
Fran: Getting called into the OR for burn cases. I found them hard.

Biggest change you’ve seen in nursing over 50 years?
Tina: Nurses are expected to know more, and there’s more emphasis on accountability and documentation. Those things are important but we need to maintain emphasis on direct patient care and comfort measures.
Fran: When I started nurses were expected to stand up and give their seat to a physician when he came on the unit as a show of respect. Not anymore.

Best advice to a nurse graduating in 2012?
Tina: Be respectful and listen to your patients and their families. Communicate their needs to the patient care team. Respect confidentiality.
Fran: Stick with it. It’s a good profession.

Would you enter nursing again?
Tina: In a heartbeat. There’s not a day I regret being a nurse.
Fran: Yes. Nursing has been very good to me.

Why continue after 50 years?
Tina: I love nursing. It’s a lifelong vocation for me, not a career.
Fran: I like the contact with the staff and patients.

Your biggest reward from nursing?
Tina: Being a positive influence in someone’s hospital stay.
Fran: Being able to help people.

Smart eating on the menu at Hotel Dieu

The Eat Smart Nutrition standards require us to offer a variety of nutritious choices including whole grains, a selection of vegetables and fruit and lower-fat substitutions to create healthier food choices, explains Eugene Littlejohn, Manager of Food Services Operations.

“Customers who want to make healthy food choices can be sure we offer products to meet that choice. In our Café, the healthy choice is the easy choice,” he says.

Eat Smart! is a program supported by the Nutrition Resource Centre of Ontario, an initiative of the Ontario Public Health Association, and is run by local public health units across Ontario.

Check the kids into the hospital this summer

Your child will get to rub shoulders with health care professionals, tour hospital clinics and participate in learning workshops at Hotel Dieu, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care. It’s a great chance to hone communication and leadership skills and to log 40-plus hours of hands-on practical experience. It all wraps up with a Certificate of Achievement and letter of completion.

Applications are due Friday, May 25, 2012. For details and an application form click HERE. You can contact Volunteer Resources at 613-544-3400, ext. 2311 or hdh_volunteer@hdh.kari.net

Don’t delay…nominate today!

During the Community Celebration UHKF will be awarding the prestigious Davies Award for Philanthropic Leadership along with the Ian Wilson Award for Volunteerism and Fundraising.

We invite you to put forth nominations for these awards. Nominations must be received by May 22, 2012 at 4 pm to be considered.

Full details about the awards are available by clicking HERE.