Category: Units

Objectives

This study investigated how health sciences libraries provide services to lead, promote, and support initiatives in cultural competence in health professions education or patient care and to examine health sciences librarians’ opinions on cultural competence in relation to library services and professional development. The study serves as needs assessment for our goal to develop a continuing education course on cultural competency for health sciences librarians.

Methods

This is a quantitative research design. Data has been collected with a survey questionnaire including eliciting demographic information, addressing health sciences libraries’ status in provision of culturally competent services and librarians’ perceptions of the importance of cultural competence. The questionnaire was pilot tested with a convenience sample of health sciences librarians to enhance the validity and then administered via SurveyMonkey to MEDLIB-L subscribers of the Medical Library Association. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data.

Results

The survey results revealed that most of respondents (156, 89.1%) indicated the importance of provision of culturally competent library services. The majority of respondents (162, 93.1%) perceived the importance of cultural competence for health sciences librarians. 81 (46.3%) respondents reported to have training and 87 (49.7) indicated no past training experience in cultural competence. When asked if they were interested to take a CE course in cultural competence, 139 (79.4%) expressed their interest.

Conclusion

The research findings contributed to our understanding what types of library services are provided to develop or support cultural competency initiatives and how health sciences librarians perceive cultural competence for librarians. The results are useful for developing future continuing education courses.

Objective

Despite the availability of various online patient education resources, the majority of physicians have not incorporated them into practice. The SHARE Program’s objective is to reach out to physicians, faculty, students, nurses, patients and their families to raise the awareness of consumer health information resources available through the National Library of Medicine and the Health Sciences Libraries at Rutgers University.

Methods

In evaluating our library services, we determined that a gap existed in promoting patient education resources. To bridge this, we decided to create the SHARE Program (Spreading Heath Awareness with Resources and Education).

First, we determined that this program should be jointly implemented by the Access Services and Reference departments due to their respective strengths in knowledge of library services and research instruction. Next, we agreed that our efforts should focus on promoting NLM’s MedlinePlus health and Drug Information, and HealthyNJ due to their comprehensive and authoritative information.

Finally we determined the format for SHARE would be weekly tables/tents at the Medical School and the University Hospital where we would conduct demonstrations and trainings and distribute specially designed SHARE Card, instructional and health literacy materials. Evaluation form and log sheet would be collected for program assessment and analysis.

Results

SHARE launched on August 26, 2015 and is slated to end on August 30, 2016. Evaluation forms and log sheets are being collected at each session to assess participant feedback and the resulting data are being analyzed and evaluated as they are collected. A detailed program report will be submitted to the NN/LM Grant Review Committee before May 14, 2016, and, if this topic is selected for MLA 2016, the results will also be submitted and included on the poster.

Conclusion

As this is an ongoing project, a conclusion is not available at this time. All collected data will be analyzed prior to MLA 2016, and a conclusion will be drawn by then.

Objectives
A poster describing a CAT-writing project was presented at the Rutgers University “State of the Libraries” meeting in 2014. It gained the attention of the Chancellor. At the conclusion of the discussion, he urged that transferrable concepts be taught to other RU librarians and incorporated within their instructional programs. A workshop was designed and presented in June and November 2015.

Methods
Specific elements of the CATs sessions were deemed to be transferrable to those providing instruction to students in the sciences and social sciences, as well as education and other disciplines. These include: foreground/background questions; writing a focused question; breaking a search question into the PICO format to assist with term generation, and the evidence pyramid. The workshop covered the CATs project as an example of a type of complete assessment, in that students must use the component skills to write their own CAT (Critically-Appraised Topic). Each of the noted transferrable concepts was covered. Attendees had time to come up with an example which would fit their subject audience and there a general discussion portion where ideas were exchanged on how to best incorporate these new skills into instructional programs.

Results
The workshops resulted in offers to teach collaboratively outside of our home campus. All attendees identified concepts which could be used directly so slightly modified to fit various disciplines. For example, article types listed in the evidence pyramid did not fit every discipline but librarians considered other types of resources, such as dissertations/theses and web sites/pages were listed in this format.

Conclusions
Rutgers University had few health sciences programs prior to 2013. Teaching the workshops was a good vehicle for informing our new colleagues about how instructional sessions are approached in the health sciences. It also allowed us to become part of the cadre of instructors and to be invited to attend meetings which focus on curriculum development and instructional techniques.

Objectives:

To describe the successful implementation of a project to increase the ability of pediatric residents at a medical school to practice evidence based medicine (EBM) in real time; examine if patient care is supported or changed based on the resident’s findings; and discuss the role of the medical school librarian in this process.

Methods:

In July 2014, the Department of Pediatrics implemented “hands-on ” inpatient EBM rounds to help pediatric residents learn how to better formulate clinical questions, locate relevant literature, and apply their EBM findings to patient care in “real time”. These hour long rounds take place bi-weekly and are held on inpatient wards. All pediatric residents rotating on the inpatient team are invited to attend the EBM rounds. The medial librarian and two pediatric faculty members assist the residents with formulating clinical questions based on the inpatients they are currently following and searching for an answer to their question. The residents summarize their search and findings using a PICO worksheet. The following day the residents are evaluated on whether or not they presented their EBM findings on attending rounds and if patient care was supported or changed based on these findings.

Results:

The pediatric residents became more familiar and comfortable with using PICO to formulate their clinical questions. They also are more prepared to search the literature systematically and interpret the findings of their literature search.

Objectives

Learning is most effective when it takes place in a context as a collaborative rather than an isolated activity. Experience serves as the basis for learning and cannot take place without reflection. We formed a team of 6 health sciences librarians to conduct a collaborative systematic review (SR) project. Upon completion of the project, we reflected on our involvement in the project for reflective practice as a process of professional development. Grounded in Donald Schön’s reflective practice as a conceptual framework, the research study is to investigate the nature, impact of our participation in the project, how we came to understand our behavior, and how we developed an awareness of our own actions and the effects of our participation on our professional development. The goal is to understand what was involved in conducting a SR so that we can better understand how researchers would undertake a SR and hence serve them better.

Methods
A phenomenographic approach, which provides a lens through which to explore different understandings of a phenomenon, was used to explore the variations in which we experienced with the SR project, the multiple ways in which we came to understand SR, and the different roles we took in the process. Five health sciences librarians across different library settings participated in the study. Interviews were conducted with a structured questionnaire including open-ended or probing questions serving as prompts for participants to reflect on various experiences in the SR project. Participants’ responses will be analyzed with a qualitative approach to explore and capture a range of possible ways of conceptualizing and understanding what it took to undertake a SR. Responses will be classified into conceptual categories. To increase the trustworthiness of the research, the participants will be involved in the phenomenological analysis for the purpose of investigator triangulation.

Results
The participants have learned the entire SR process, and gained practical experiences with conducting a SR project. They have developed ability to provide better SR services, built confidence and developed awareness of the topic under review. They have also learned the importance of communications and collaborations among team members, sharing collective wisdom, and time commitment. In addition, they have improved understanding of librarians’ roles in SR and boosted confidence in conducting SR and seeking co-authorship.

Conclusions
Librarians’ involvement in the entire SR process have led to changes in knowledge, attitude, confidence, and skills in conducting a SR. Self-reflection on one’s own experience with SR bridges a disconnect between formal SR training, continuous professional development and growth, and reflective and improved practice of librarianship. Self-reflection on one’s action serves as an alternative way of promoting health sciences librarians’ professional development.