Memorial pays tribute to nurses

Most Web sites provide information without evoking emotion.

The Virtual Nurses' Memorial is an exception. This site, established by nurses Marnie Hancock, Bob McCarthy and Naja McKenzie, is a memorial to nurses who have died "in the line of nursing duty."

This beautifully done tribute to nurses who have given their lives for their patients and their profession lists nurses who were victims of war or who died as a result of accidents, assaults, medical transport crashes, violent acts of patients, diseases or latex allergies.

At the site, visitors can submit the names of nurses who have died in the line of duty.

Workplace violence
The Nurse Advocate site is dedicated to the recognition and resolution of workplace violence experienced by nurses, and offers support to those who have experienced violence and a remembrance of those who have died.

The site includes news stories, online videos, a verbal abuse survey, a survey tool and ideas on violence prevention.

Numerous stories about nurses' feelings and experiences with workplace violence involving patients, staff members and managers are presented, and the site provides an area for nurses to discuss their experiences, share resources and network.

Male nurses
The American Assembly for Men in Nursing was developed to provide a framework for nurses to meet to discuss and influence the factors that affect men as nurses.

The site offers membership and convention information, including calls for abstracts and a men's health issues forum.

The objectives of the assembly include: encouraging men of all ages to become nurses, supporting men who are nurses to continue to grow professionally and advocating for continued research, education and dissemination of information about men's health issues, men in nursing and nursing knowledge at local and national levels.

Cerebral matters
The Brain Connection offers insight into the brain and how it works. Explore the site to find basic brain information, online courses, learning resources and brain facts.

Especially useful for preparing in-services, lectures or patient education are the extensive animation features, which illustrate the brain's lobes, language fundamentals, how hearing and speaking occur in relation to the brain, speech sounds, brain plasticity and the stages of language development.

An image gallery of the anatomy of the brain allows users to download the images into PowerPoint presentations. The site also offers online professional development courses designed for learning about learning.

Digital detection
Computer technology is everywhere-mammography now is being enhanced with the use of ImageChecker, a new computer-aided device that helps radiologists detect breast cancer. About 200 sites in the United States offer this new technology.

ImageChecker works by feeding the X-ray from a traditional mammogram into a processing unit, which converts the film into a digital image that can be read by a computer. The radiologist reads the mammogram and views and evaluates the additional digital images that the highly sensitive computer has marked as suspicious.

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