HSLIC News

July 3rd is National Stay Out of the Sun Day. Staying out of the sun seems a difficult task in Albuquerque, where we experience around 310 days of sunshine every year! Luckily, there are ways to observe Stay Out of the Sun Day while still enjoying the beautiful outdoors that we are so lucky to have.

First celebrated in 2005, Stay Out of the Sun Day encourages sun safety and avoiding the harmful impacts of the sun’s UV rays. There are so many ways to protect yourself! One of the most important; sunscreen!

UNM SOM Dermatology has partnered with UNM HSC Wellness to install five sunscreen dispensers on the HSC Campus. They are located in:

• Domenici North Atrium
• Happy Heart Bistro
• HSLIC
• Colleges of Pharmacy and Nursing Building
• Fitz Hall

The best part? The are easily accessible, and totally free!

Here are some more tips for sun safety:

• Avoid being outdoors during midday hours; UV exposure is much higher during this time
• Seek shaded areas while spending time outdoors
• Utilize protective clothing and accessories; such as hats, sunglasses, and long sleeve tops
• Reapply sunscreen frequently
• Follow @UNMDermatology on Instagram to learn more about skin safety

Have a great Stay Out of the Sun Day, and stay cool!

Patient Safety Awareness Week is March 10-16; it's an opportunity to encourage learning about health care safety. Patient safety is the concern of everyone on the health care team, and that includes librarians.

Some ways in which librarians and libraries contribute to patient safety:

• Provide authoritative point-of-care resources for quick retrieval of information at the time of need
• Participate in clinical rounds to understand the context of questions as they arise and respond with relevant information from quality resources
• Serve on safety committees and institutional review boards
• Conduct literature searches for current guidelines, best practices
• Provide 24/7 access to databases that contain current information about drugs, interactions, therapeutics, and peer-reviewed full-text articles
• Educate health care personnel in the efficient use of resources

Physicians, residents, and nurses at 118 hospitals (16,122 respondents to a survey) considered a recent patient care situation and reported changes in "advice given to the patient (48%), diagnosis (25%), and choice of drugs (33%), other treatment (31%), and tests (23%)" based on information provided by the librarian or library." They indicated that the "information allowed them to avoid the following adverse events: patient misunderstanding of the disease (23%), additional tests (19%), misdiagnosis (13%), adverse drug reactions (13%), medication errors (12%), and patient mortality (6%)." [1]

When you have a question, or are making a health care decision, our goal at HSLIC is to deliver current, accurate, and evidence-based information.

1. Marshall JG, et al. The value of library and information services in patient care: results of a multisite study. J Med Libr Assoc. 2013 Jan;101(1):38-46. doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.101.1.007. PMID: 23418404; PMCID: PMC3543128.

                                                                         Download and review Patient Safety terms with this printable word search

                                                                                              Download Word Search  Download Answer Key

Who knew there was a holiday every July 3 that encourages you to attend a movie or spend the day at the gym? A holiday to save your skin! These past few days have been HOT, and summer has just begun. It may not be practical to spend a day indoors, but give yourself and your skin a break and seek shade either indoors, under an umbrella or floppy hat, or in front of HSLIC in the early morning – and don’t forget those UV protection sunglasses.

The Solar UV index is the strength of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Last week, the local UV index reached its most extreme level, which means to avoid the sun between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when skin damage can happen in minutes. Check out the hourly UV index at your location at the EPA website UV Index.

We conducted a survey recently to get your feedback about how to make the front area of the HSLIC building more functional and inviting. The top three responses were: tables, improved aesthetics, and additional SHADE. We are listening and planning. Meanwhile, be smart in the sun.