The issue of ‘American Family Physician’ dated October 15 comprised of a review that had information on techniques for usage of corticosteroid injections for common musculoskeletal conditions. Doctors say that to administer successfully, conducting the correct diagnosis (who to inject), carrying out the right procedure (how to inject), and use of the appropriate pharmaceutical (what to inject) is important. To relieve from pain, reduce inflammation and improve mobility, corticosteroids can be injected into articular, periarticular, or soft tissue structures. For rapid pain relief, anesthetic agents can be added to the injection. Along with that, steroid injections may provide useful diagnostic information.

Nurses want more training and social supports put in place so they’ll be ready to deal with future emergencies, such as disasters or a pandemic, a new report says.The report, released Thursday, is entitled Caring for Nurses in Public Health Emergencies, and was put together over 3 1/2 years. It included a review of existing literature, focus groups with nurses, a survey of more than 1,500 nurses and an analysis of pandemic preparedness plans.

“Nurses told us that much more needs to be done in terms of providing human resource support and social support to really help them to be prepared and trained to deal with emergencies, and also, importantly, to help them balance their work and family life,” according to lead researcher Carol Amaratunga, chair of the Women’s Health Research Unit at the University of Ottawa.

Ninety per cent of the nurses in Canada are women and many have families, she said.

If they’re put into quarantine during an infectious disease outbreak, as many were during the SARS emergency of 2003 in Toronto, they will face tremendous stress trying to balance their professional call to duty with their home life and caregiving responsibilities, Amaratunga said.

Social supports would make a big difference.

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