This assignment gives your first experience of reading and reacting to journal literature in Allied Health Research.  Many students never realize there's a world beyond the textbooks and websites so it's all new to them.  You learn that in your specialty things are published every day that are new.  You will have to keep up to maintain your professional competency.  Journals are a resource that you can use, both here in school and when you get out in a professional situation.  The assignment is carefully sequenced with clear due dates and instructions. 

I believe that all of you, as future health care professionals, should be aware of how you can keep up on new developments in allied health and the issues that surround them.  Therefore, the objectives of this assignment are to familiarize you with the available literature in medicine and allied health.  

To meet the objectives of the assignment, you will:

·      Read and study, in detail, one current article on a topic covered in class from a journal of your profession and/or related to your research project. 

·      You will submit two assigned journal articles to your webpage and a notice that you have done so to the appropriate Discussion Forums.  You may add any other information to the Journal Article Discussion Forum that you would like.  

Details of What You Need To Do: 

1.     Go to the library and check out the issues of the journal.  You can also use the Online Sherrod Library for a resource.

2.     TIP: Most Journals publish a subject index in their December issue.  This is extremely useful and convenient when performing searches on subjects. 

3.     Look through the selected article ass well as the rest of that issue of the journal and several other recent issues to get a clear understanding of:

4.     what kinds of information is published,

5.     what audience it is intended to serve

6.     Whether references for further information are given. 

7.     Complete the Journal Article Review Form and submit by the due date. 

To receive full credit for this assignment, you must answer all questions on the review form and submit it by the due date.  Below is the information you should submit to BlackBoard and your Research Website:

Title of Journal

Article______Imaging the knee: Ligaments _______________________________________________________________________________

Title of Journal

_______Applied Radiology

___________________________________________________________________________________

Volume______________________________ Date __12____/_____/__08____ Page Number(s) ____25-32 __________

·       What organization is responsible for publishing the journal you chose?

www.appliedradiology.com

·       What is your overall evaluation of this article?

_____Poor          ______Fair            ______Good        _______Very Good       __X___Excellent

·       Why did you choose to review this particular article?

I chose this article, because it is related to the medical field I’m planning on entering. The article also seemed reliable because the authors are doctors who work at the Medical University of South Carolina.

·       How would you rate this article as a tool for teaching a student about cardiopulmonary physiology, radiography, or another allied health specialty? 

Students:                  ____Poor       ____Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      ___X__Excellent

Teachers:                  ____Poor       ____Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      __X___Excellent

Patients:                   ____Poor       ____Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      __X___Excellent

·       Comment on the readability of this article. 

Since this is a medical article, readers with no anatomy background would have some trouble reading this article.

·       Course Topics covered:

In the article there is a background of the knee and its ligaments. This article has significance because it gives the reader helpful tips on how to take an image of a certain injury.

·       Brief Summary:

This article goes into detail about the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the lateral collateral ligamentous complex (LCLC or LCL). When going into detail about all of these ligaments, the article gives examples of common injuries that occur to them. Also, the article goes gives information about how these injuries are imaged and the best procedure to do so.

·       Identify and attempt to explain three (3) terms, procedures or concepts that were unfamiliar to you when reviewing this article.

I did not know that the ACL or the PCL are in bundles, I thought they were each just one ligament.

I learned that a greater force is used when injuring the PCL, and if the PCL is injured then the ACL and MCL are probably damaged too. I did not know that Meniscal injuries have levels, 1 through 3, of the severity of damage caused to the MCL.

·       Detail the strengths/weaknesses of this article.

The strengths of this article are very detailed descriptions of the knee, and the ligaments surrounding it. Also, it gives information on how an MRI works, descriptions of the knee and its’ ligaments, and shows different images of the knee with different issues. I would say the weaknesses of the article would be having every reader completely understand the article.

·       How might this article be useful to you in your further studies and career?

Since I plan on having a specialty in MRIs and CT Scans, this article gives me information on the types of knee injuries I would most likey be viewing, and suggest some good ways to take images of these particular injuries.

·       Does the article include a list of references/citations that can be used to find more information on the topics they cover? 

Yes

Your Name: _____Alicia Hull_________________________________________ Date: ____02__/___21___/____09_