Are you looking for a quiet study room at Himmelfarb Library? Before you pull out your books and laptop, please make sure you reserve the room. In order to comply with the GW’s COVID-19 regulations, we now require that any study room you occupy must be reserved online. This helps the library to gauge when we are nearing seating capacity (which is currently less than half of our normal capacity), and it assists GW with contact tracing.
Look around the library for signs with a QR code that will take you directly to our Study Rooms Reservation page. Or scan the QR code below to reserve a room now!
If you use Himmelfarb Library’s search tool, you will retrieve only items that are accessible via online access. This is by design as a relatively small number of Himmelfarb affiliates currently have onsite access to the library. To support all of our users in finding materials quickly, we changed the default search to Online Access which connects to articles, books, and databases that can be accessed online from on- and off-campus locations.
If you would like to change your search, simply click on the down arrow on the right side of the search field and select from among the choices listed. To include both print and online holdings, select the facet: Articles + Himmelfarb Catalog. For those who prefer a more focused search, search either of the facets Articles or Himmelfarb Catalog to retrieve both print and online holdings.
If you are looking for materials from Gelman or the consortium libraries, choose the facet: Articles + GW & Consortium Catalog. While Himmelfarb users can check materials out of Gelman Library, the WRLC Library Service which provides a borrowing and delivery service from other DC area academic libraries is currently unavailable.
If you are accessing us remotely, you may be able to request an article to be scanned and sent as a PDF, using our Documents2Go service. If you have any questions in regards to this service, please email mlbdoc@gwu.edu.
For further assistance with catalog searches, please contact Reference Services by text, IM, phone, or email:
We want your visit to Himmelfarb to be a safe one. To promote social distancing, we have changed how you navigate the library.
New to Himmelfarb: Reserve Any Study Room!
For your convenience and safety, Himmelfarb Library has transitioned away from first-come, first-served study room use. All study rooms are now available via advance online reservation! Because of reduced seating capacity in all our study rooms, you can guarantee that you will have a place to study before venturing over to Himmelfarb by reserving a study room.
To comply with social distancing requirements, most study rooms only accommodate one user. Several rooms can accommodate 2 people, and one allows for 4 occupants at a time.
Signs near the room entrances remind you of the occupancy limits, and floor decals in the study rooms will indicate where you should sit.
Currently, seating at study tables, computer labs, and individual carrels remain available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please stop by the Circulation Desk, or call (202) 994-2962, if you have any questions or issues.
Himmelfarb Staff Member 3D Prints Face Shields for Health Care Workers
Click to watch: 3D printing process
John Lopez, Himmelfarb Library’s Data Technician, has joined an initiative to 3D print face shields for healthcare workers. John shares how he became involved in the project, and what the process entails.
How did you learn about the face shield printing initiative?
I initially read an article about a hospital in Brescia, Italy which was hit hard by the pandemic. They were running out of valves used for their respirators which the manufacturer couldn't provide quickly enough, so a small startup company reversed engineered the valve and began 3D printing them, which the hospital then used. The article quickly became viral just as COVID-19 reached the states.
I began noticing online 3D printing communities around the world organizing similar efforts once Josef Prusa - the founder of Prusa Lab in Prague, Czech Republic - released an open-source face shield design, made available for anyone with a 3D printer to produce. Various iterations were soon released, but the Prusa face shield design proved to be the most effective among health care workers.
3D-printed face shield
Are you partnering with a particular organization or initiative?
I joined the volunteer effort started by Open Works, a makerspace workshop based in Baltimore who were among the first to mobilize volunteer makers with an organized and efficient plan to provide face shields to local healthcare systems and hospitals. A chain of custody is established via email registration, as each 3D print file is assigned a unique parts number which helps keep track of how many face shields were printed by a volunteer.
What part of the shield is 3D-printed? What other materials do you need for assembly, and where can you get them? Is there a standard for what material the face shield should be made of (e.g., thickness)?
Face shield components
The face shield is actually a printable headband, as well as a printable chin strap which serves as a mount for the visor; both are included in the 3D print file. An elastic cord, along with the actual clear acrylic visor, are required to complete assembly, both of which are done at Open Works once they receive completed face shields.
PETG is the type of filament material primarily used to print the face shields, which can be purchased on Amazon for example. It's preferred due to its rigidity and because it can be sterilized more efficiently than other types of printing material such as PLA. There is indeed a printing guideline for makers to follow which sets the parameters to prevent the face shield from breaking.
How long does it take to print the shield frames?
The average print time when following the recommended print settings can take up to 6 hours for a single face shield. There are certainly a variety of ways to print faster by tinkering with hardware, such as changing the nozzle size, but it's not encouraged as strength and quality of the model are prioritized over speed.
Are you using the library’s 3D printer?
I'm grateful for my two 3D printers at home since the library's 3D printer service hasn’t been accessible.
Roughly how many have you assembled so far?
Volunteers had been asked to print at least three face shields each during the early weeks of the pandemic. The incredible response from volunteers reached a saturation point in mid-April as thousands of face shields had been made. Since then my focus has been printing ear straps for face masks.
Face shield components
Once they’re assembled, how do you get them to their destination?
Once a face shield is done printing, I wear nitrile gloves to remove the part from the print bed and follow the sanitation checklist provided by Open Works. A liability waiver is also signed then sent along with the face shields through USPS.
Is there a website (or several websites) you would recommend people visit for more information?
A good starting point for anyone with a 3D printer looking to join local volunteer efforts in their area
The GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences celebrated Medical Student Research Day on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. More than 160 medical students submitted abstracts on a broad range of topics pertaining to medical education, public health, and clinical and translational research.
We congratulate all who participated in the event. Awards were presented to the following medical students:
Donald H. Glew Prize
Nyshidha Gurijala
Faculty Mentor: Laura Olivieri, Division of Cardiology, Children's National
Category: Clinical and Translational Research: Cardiology
Title: Cardiac Magnetic Resonance with Parametric Mapping to Predict Rejection in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients
Best Abstract Awards
Nicole Casasanta
Faculty Mentor: P Sheena Khurana, Department of Medicine, GWU
Category: Clinical and Translational Research: Cardiology
Title: Comparison of average and lowest home and office blood pressure recordings and implications on the management of chronic hypertension
Eric Chalif
Faculty Mentor: Jonathan Sherman, Department of Neurosurgery, GW SMHS
Category: Clinical and Translational Research: Neurosurgery
Title: CyberKnife Radiosurgery Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Single Institution Examination with Long Term Follow-Up
Marie-Claire Partridge
Faculty Mentor: Shana Jacobs, Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, CNMC
Category: Clinical and Translational Research: Genomics
Title: Pharmacogenetics of Ondansetron Failure in Pediatric Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
Spencer Brodsky
Faculty Mentor: Komal Patel, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, GWU
Category: Public Health: Health Policy
Title: An examination of data from 700 crashes involving mopeds and scooters in Washington, D.C., from 2016 to 2019
Kelsi Knapp
Faculty Mentor: Lamia Soghier, CNMC
Category: Public Health: Community and Urban Health
Title: The effects of neighborhood and individual socioeconomic status on parental engagement and psychological distress in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Theodore Quan
Faculty Mentor: Ali Pourmand, Department of Emergency Medicine, GWU
Category: Public Health: Community and Urban Health
Title: Racial Demographics and Resource Utilization Among Teenagers with Firearm-Related Injuries Presenting to the Emergency Department, 2010-2015
Brianna McKiernan
Faculty Mentor: Kate Douglass, The Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine, GWU
Category: Medical Education
Title: Introduction of formative assessment tool in a post-graduate training program in India: a mixed methods evaluation
William Beaumont Research Awards
Akshay Reddy
Faculty Mentor: Michael Whalen, Department of Urology, GW SMHS.
Title: Comparison of Oncologic Outcomes for Robotic Vs Open Radical Cystectomy Among Locally Advanced and Node-Positive Patients: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database
Guido Pelaez
Faculty Mentor: Alejandro Villagra, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, GW Cancer Center, GW SMHS.
Title: Functional Characterization of Next Generation Histone Deacetylase 6 Inhibitors
Erin Felton
Faculty Mentor: Andrea Hahn, Infectious Disease, Children’s National Health System
Title: Bacterial Functional Profiling of the Cystic Fibrosis Airway Across Clinical States
Doris DeFord Speck and George Speck, MD Endowed Prize for Student Medical Research
Automatic Loan Extensions: All due dates for books/items out on loan have been extended until May 22nd, 2020. If you are continuing at GW, you don’t need to take any action. We will continue to extend due dates as needed until we reopen.
Graduating Students and Residents
Items Currently on Loan: If you have books/items out on loan, please mail them to Himmelfarb Library using the United States Postal Service (USPS). We are not able to accept UPS/FedEx/DHL, because no one will be available to sign off on deliveries.
All books/items should be mailed to:
George Washington University
Himmelfarb Library
c/o Kathy Lyons
2300 I (Eye) St, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Check your Account Status: Check the status of your library account for loans and fees. To check the status of your library account, visit himmelfarb.gwu.edu. Under Services, click on My Library Account, and login using your GW NetID and password.
Graduating Students: If you have outstanding library fees and/or library-related Banner account blocks, please send an email to Kathy Lyons (klyons2@gwu.edu) and Catherine Sluder (crharris@gwu.edu).
Graduating Residents: Library sign-out instructions will be forthcoming from the GME office.
Questions?
Please direct any questions to Kathy Lyons (klyons2@gwu.edu) and Catherine Sluder (crharris@gwu.edu).
AccessMedicine has added an exciting new interactive anatomy study tool for medical and allied health students: Complete Human Anatomy Modules. (If this link does not work, click on the AccessMedicine link from our library homepage, choose the Multimedia tab, and then select Human Anatomy Modules.)
You can choose between a male and female module. Once you’ve selected either, the module offers controls that allow you to pan, zoom, rotate in 3D, and strip away layers of anatomy. Clicking on the magnifying glass enables you to focus on a body system, such as respiratory or cardiovascular. Or you can use the search window to bring into view any part of the human anatomy.
If you are looking to expand your knowledge base in any area of the health sciences, StatPearls is the ideal tool for you. It features a growing database of articles written for health care professionals. Search from over 6,000 free and peer-reviewed articles, all of which are indexed in PubMed. Content is updated daily using a peer review process. An example of content that is kept current is their review article on COVID-19: Features, Evaluation and Treatment Coronavirus COVID-19.
Additionally, the StatPearls website offers access to a bank of over 53,000 test questions in 432 specialty databases. The basic learning management system is offered free of charge, with an upgraded subscription option available. The test bank available via subscription uses adaptive learning to tailor your learning experience by identifying areas of strength and weakness as you answer questions. All activities and adaptive learning content are reviewed at least once a year. In addition, users can post comments on all content. Managing editors review customer feedback on content daily and, if they choose, submit the proposed revisions for review.
PA Exam Prep (formerly PAEasy) is an online tool designed to help you prepare for the PANCE and PANRE.
FEATURES
With its bank of 1700+ questions, PA Exam Prep can generate random practice quizzes for you. You may also create customized quizzes tailored to specific areas of study:
Choose your level of difficulty.
Establish keywords that should appear in the quizzes.
Define your learning objectives from among:
Areas of focus (family medicine, emergency medicine, OB/GYN, etc.)
Organ systems (cardiovascular, EENT, hematologic, etc.)
Task areas (history taking, ordering labs, pharmaceutical therapeutics, etc.)
Choose among three test modes: Practice, Test, and Simulation (simulates the actual exam).
Test your knowledge of the human body with 100 full-color Anatomy flash cards.
PA Exam Prep provides both quiz and course performance summaries. You’ll receive updated skills reports in all program areas.
After entering your scheduled PANCE/PANRE test date, use the Study Plan to choose your preferred pace of study with a prep mode (aggressive, moderate, relaxed) to help you reach your target.
TO ACCESS PA EXAM PREP
Visit Himmelfarb Library and search our E-Databases page. Or use the VPN to connect to the E-Databases page from off-campus. Just create a free account and you’re ready to go!
