Page 14 — THE CONWAY DAILY SUN, Thursday, July 7, 2011
DR. BRIAN IRWIN
Medical Illustration One of the most challenging aspects of medical education lies in visualizing the body’s structures and their relationship to each other. Where is the foramen of Winslow and how does it relate to abdominal pain? Where the thymus and what is happens when it atrophies? How are the cranial nerves distributed? The answer often lies in medical illustration. My gross anatomy atlas was a three-inch thick book full of heavy stock paintings of human anatomy. Every nerve, muscle and vein in the human body is outlined in the countless pages of art, the accuracy and precision of the images more impressive than the body Dr. Brian Irwin itself. The author of my atlas, Dr. Netter, is largely revered as the granddaddy of modern medical illustration. Medical illustrators are just that, artists who specialize in rendering accurate impressions of the human body, medical diseases and even microscopic organisms like parasites. These integral members of the medical community play an important role. They translate the written and spoken facts, dynamics and processes in medicine and biochemistry and translate them into easy-to-comprehend images which make learning or understanding medicine or disease processes much easier. Many medical illustrators are gifted, natural artists. Frequently they are in the medical field and also are employed as health care providers, nurses or professors of medicine. see IRWIN page 21
Emergency nurse manager at Memorial wins national award
CONWAY — Colin Richards, BSN, RN, director of emergency services at Memorial Hospital, has been awarded the 2011 nurse manager award from the Emergency Nurses Association and will be honored in ceremonies at the Emergency Nurses Association Annual Conference and Awards ceremony in Tampa, Florida on Sept. 22. “Richards, who has been with Memorial for the past three years, is a superb manager who exhibits the outstanding skills and qualities that will catapult him into future leadership roles of increasing responsibility,” said Scott McKinnon, president and CEO. “He sets an energetic and positive tone, not only for emergency room staff and employees throughout the hospital — but as evidenced by his winning this prestigious award — for nurses nationwide.” Documents supporting Richards’ nomination papers included mention of his successful efforts to: merge the emergency department and walk-in clinic (planning in progress); willingness to share his clinical skills with other nurses to improve the emergency department’s clinical performance; and efforts to introduce an electronic medical records in the emergency department. Papers nominating Richards were signed by the entire staff of the hospital’s emergency department and citing him for: significantly improving staff morale; assisting department personnel to develop and adopt winning problem-solving strategies; mentoring other RNs; and using his skills and teaching abilities to ensure the highest skill levels for resuscitation, intravenous (IV) therapies, medication administration, and care of patients with traumatic injuries. “Colin virtually single-handedly introduced a new documentation system to the ED department that is being used by both nursing and physician staff. He is leading, again, as Memorial moves in the direction of fully implementing an electronic medical record
system,” said Darin Brown, MD, PhD, FACEP, medical director of Memorial’s emergency department. see RICHARDS page 18