Information Survival Skills: Librarians in Medical Education. Poster presentation at: WGEA 2009 Annual Conf.; 2009 April 18; Santa Fe, NM.

Poster presented at annual WGEA conference in Santa Fe April 18th, 2009Context: The crisis in scholarly communication and the increased emphasis on evidence-based practice highlight the need for information literate health care professionals. Health sciences librarians play a critical role in raising student awareness of issues related to the evaluation, use, and communication of medical information by healthcare providers. To address this challenge, library faculty members created a medical school elective in 2006 covering these important issues. To date, this course has been taught three semesters. Objectives: Overall course objectives were to: Understand the changing nature of scholarly communication and online publishing; Identify resources and strategies for searching current best evidence; Apply methods for presenting and managing information. Key Message: By using a “soup to nuts” approach, 2nd and 3rd year medical students were given the opportunity to become familiar with and understand all facets of the information cycle. The syllabus included sessions on the publication process, the rising cost of medical information leading to alternative publishing models, literature searching, resource management, and presentation. The authors were interested in introducing concepts and strengthening skills that students will use in their future careers as researchers and evidence based practitioners. Conclusion: This course elective provided practical application of evidence-based concepts and skills for students working on research projects or for students in the clerkship phase. Feedback from student participants reiterates the value of providing this type of information and has given us greater insight into optimal placement of topics in the broader school of medicine curriculum