Determination of continuing medical education needs of clinicians from a literature search study. Part II. Questionnaire results.

Part II of this study of the needs of clinicians for continuing medical education (CME) examines the results of a questionnaire sent of Oklahoma physicians to determine if they would request formal CME courses in the same subject areas in which they had previously requested in formation from librarians. The degree of correlation between literature search requests and responses to the questionnaire confirms that the analysis of library information requests may be one approach to determining CME needs.     

加强医学期刊的继续教育知识服务 ——以《中华消化杂志》继续医学教育专栏为例

中华医学会所属系列学术期刊群是我国著名期刊群之一,部分医学期刊包括《中华消化杂志》积极响应中华医学会继续教育专栏刊授任务,已初见成效,满足了全国部分医师的继续教育需求。在“破五唯”的学术背景下,医学期刊应践行学术担当和社会责任,办好继续教育专栏,形成专栏特色,服务于广大读者,提高期刊的传播力和影响力。目前,有继续教育学分授予权限的期刊尚未形成规模,随着建设国内一流期刊、集群化办刊模式的加强,应重视和加强医学期刊的继续教育知识服务,通过改进刊授任务、加大宣传、增加单行本印刷、开展学员调查等措施提高继续教育服务质量,积极探索服务路径,使继续教育专栏成为医学期刊的品牌化服务内容,形成资源共享体系。     

GaIN (Georgia Interactive Network for Medical Information) study on health professionals' search requests and continuing education needs

Health sciences librarians are being called upon to be more proactive in their institutions' continuing education efforts. In an effort to identify whether search requests indicated CE needs, a study was conducted by a group of members of GaIN (Georgia Interactive Network for Medical Information). MEDLINE requests from health care professionals for subject specific clinical topics were collected during a six-month period via a standard search request form created for the study. Copies of all completed requests were collected and broad ICD-9 codes assigned to the search topics. Institutional reports were generated for each participating library to share with hospital CE coordinators. They were also compiled for the group as a whole, and reflected the "hottest" topics requested during the study period for physicians and for non-physicians (nurses, allied health, administrators). A survey to hospital librarians and CE educators showed some value in the reports, but greater potential for further collaboration between librarians and CE coordinators.     

The local television director: Part II of a continuing study

Leveling‐off of construction of new TV stations and transfer from live to film operations at both network and local station levels has occasioned considerable concern on the part of students and teachers of broadcasting. The question of the practical value of university broadcasting instruction can be answered best by studying station practice, and the market for the university‐trained product.     

The changing paradigm for continuing medical education: impact of information on the teachable moment

The teachable moment is the time when a learner is ready to accept new information for use conceptually or in practice. Adult educators are always searching for that "moment" and models in which it has been incorporated. This article reviews the changing paradigm for continuing education of the health professional and the impact of information from the context of university-based providers of continuing education and information. Providers of continuing education and information face similar external opportunities and threats. The continuing education provider is a "marginal dweller" in the organization. The information provider (the library), although moving in that direction as technology affects the way information is accessed and managed, is much more a part of the core institutional mission. These parallel conditions provide opportunities for both organizations to work closely together to identify successful models to serve the "teachable moments" of all health care practitioners. A range of new library roles that suggest strong interaction with continuing educators is presented. Workable models are identified as well as characteristics of successful models. Suggestions for survival for continuing educators and librarians in "stalking the teachable moment" are discussed.     

Understanding the foundation: the state of generalist search education in library schools as related to the needs of expert searchers in medical libraries.

PURPOSE: The paper explores the current state of generalist search education in library schools and considers that foundation in respect to the Medical Library Association's statement on expert searching. SETTING/SUBJECTS: Syllabi from courses with significant searching components were examined from ten of the top library schools, as determined by the U.S. News & World Report rankings. METHODOLOGY: Mixed methods were used, but primarily quantitative bibliometric methods were used. RESULTS: The educational focus in these searching components was on understanding the generalist searching resources and typical users and on performing a reflective search through application of search strategies, controlled vocabulary, and logic appropriate to the search tool. There is a growing emphasis on Web-based search tools and a movement away from traditional set-based searching and toward free-text search strategies. While a core set of authors is used in these courses, no core set of readings is used. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: While library schools provide a strong foundation, future medical librarians still need to take courses that introduce them to the resources, settings, and users associated with medical libraries. In addition, as more emphasis is placed on Web-based search tools and free-text searching, instructors of the specialist medical informatics courses will need to focus on teaching traditional search methods appropriate for common tools in the medical domain.     

MLA continuing education activities, 1964-1974: a decade of growth and development.

The medical Library Association's present program of continuing education began with the presentation of courses at the annual meeting in San Francisco in 1964. Since that time the range and scope of the Association's continuing education activities have grown rapidly. This paper examines the growth of those activities, assesses the present role of the Committee on Continuing Education, and considers some of the implications of the proposed certification code on the work of the Committee on Continuing Education.     

Biotechnology awareness study, Part 2: Meeting the information needs of biotechnologists

The second part of the biotechnology awareness study focused on health sciences libraries and how well they are meeting the needs of biotechnologists working in the study's nine medical centers. A survey was conducted over a three-month period to assess the demand for biotechnology-related reference services at nine libraries and the sources the librarians used to answer the questions. Data on monographic and current serial holdings were also collected. At the end of the survey period, librarians were asked for their perceptions about biotechnology research at their institutions and in their geographic areas. Their responses were compared to the responses the scientists at the nine schools gave to the same or similar questions. Results showed few biotechnology-related reference questions were asked of the librarians. The recorded questions dealt with a range of biotechnology subjects. MEDLINE was used to answer 77% of the questions received during the survey period. More detailed notes in MeSH and a guide to online searching for biotechnology topics were suggested by the librarians as ways to improve reference service to this group of researchers. Journal collections were generally strong, with libraries owning from 50% to 87% of the titles on a core list of biotechnology journals compiled for this study. All libraries subscribed to the five titles most often cited by the scientists surveyed. Generally, librarians were unaware of the biotechnology-related research being done on their campuses or in their geographic areas.     

The role of medical libraries in undergraduate education: a case study in genetics

Between 1996 and 2001, the Health Science Center Libraries and Department of Zoology at the University of Florida partnered to provide a cohesive and comprehensive learning experience to undergraduate students in PCB3063, “Genetics.” During one semester each year, a librarian worked with up to 120 undergraduates, providing bibliographic and database instruction in the tools that practicing geneticists use (MEDLINE, GenBank, BLAST, etc.). Students learned to evaluate and synthesize the information that they retrieved, coupling it with information provided in classroom lectures, thus resulting in well-researched short papers on an assigned genetics topic. Exit surveys of students indicated that the majority found the library sessions and librarian''s instruction to be useful. Responses also indicated that the project facilitated increased understanding of genetics concepts and appreciation for the scientific research process and the relevance of genetics to the real world. The library benefited from this partnership on a variety of fronts, including the development of skilled library users, pretrained future clientele, and increased visibility among campus research laboratories. The course and associated information instruction and assigned projects can be considered models for course-integrated instruction and the role of medical libraries in undergraduate education.     

Imperatives for continuing research education: results of a Medical Library Association survey.

This paper reports the results of a survey assessing the interest of Medical Library Association (MLA) members in acquiring or improving research skills through continuing education (CE). It describes respondents' educational preparation for research and selected research activities, reviews MLA's experiences with offering CE courses on research topics, and discusses MLA's role in providing education to prepare members for research. The paper includes recommendations for improving research skills through CE and other professional activities. Topics of greatest interest to MLA members were survey development, problem identification, evaluation and cost studies, survey methodology, and methods of data collection. Many respondents preferred local courses. Academic health sciences librarians, as a group, were found to be more productive publishers than hospital librarians. Many respondents reported the availability of free or subsidized research-support services, but more than half did not. More than 90% of respondents indicated that MLA should actively encourage, require, or offer research education. A comprehensive plan for obtaining research skills through CE, along with individual self-assessment and counseling, is recommended.     

Educational workshop improved information-seeking skills,knowledge, attitudes and the search outcome of hospital clinicians: a randomised controlled trial

A double-blind randomised controlled trial was conducted on a group of Hong Kong hospital clinicians. The objective was to test if a three-hour educational workshop (with supervised hands-on practice) is more effective (than no training) to improve clinical question formulation, information-seeking skills, knowledge, attitudes, and search outcomes. The design was a post-test-only control group; recruitment by stratified randomization (by profession), blocked at 800. End-user training was more effective than no training in improving clinical question formulation, in raising awareness, knowledge, confidence and use of databases, but had made no impact on preference for secondary databases. It changed the attitude of clinicians to become more positive towards the use of electronic information services (EIS). Participants had higher search performance and outcomes (satisfaction with information obtained (NNT = 3), EIS satisfaction (NNT = 3) and success in problem solving (NNT = 4)). The workshop improved knowledge and skills in evidence-based searching, but this effect gradually eroded with time. Search logs confirmed that follow-up is required if effects are to be sustained. Longer effects on search behaviours appear to be positive. A randomised controlled trial is valuable in identifying cause-and-effect relations and to quantify the magnitude of the effects for management decision-making.     

The information needs and information seeking behaviour of family doctors: a selective literature review

General practitioners play a central role in primary care. Clinical Governance and advances in Information and Communications Technology dominate the agenda for change. The aim of this literature review is to indicate publications that have made a significant contribution to understanding of the information wants, needs, behaviour and preferences of family physicians and to identify areas in which there is scope for further research. Concentrating on material published in the 1990s, this review looks at the information needs of family doctors and at their information seeking behaviour. Work on the needs of General Medical Practices and of Primary Care Groups is included. The review discusses studies of information gatekeepers and projects intended to augment access to information services. A few texts are recommended as essential reading.     

The information needs of occupational therapy students: a case study

This article summarises a case study on the information needs of Masters level Occupational Therapy 5 (OT) students at one English university. A mixed methods questionnaire was used to explore motivators for information‐seeking, preferred information resources and barriers inhibiting the satisfaction of information needs. Thirteen recommendations for practice were formulated, focusing on how information professionals can best facilitate OT students’ learning and evidence‐based research skills in preparation for clinical practice. The study was completed by Jane Morgan‐Daniel, who received a Distinction for her work from Aberystwyth University, where she graduated with an MSC in Information and Library Studies in December 2016. She has written this article together with her dissertation supervisor, Hugh Preston. A. M.     

Automatic and manual indexing performance in a small file of medical literature.

A test of the performance of an automatic indexing procedure based on the processing of the full text of medical journal articles shows results comparable to those achieved using Excerpta Medica and MEDLARS manual indexing. A file of nineteen documents was partitioned by sixteen questions, for each of which two search strategies in each indexing language were formulated. The results were compared to ideal answers chosen by a fourth-year medical student who read the entire file and posed the questions.     

Special programs in medical library education, 1957-1971: part III.The trainees

This report describes the personal characteristics of the former trainees and their opinions about their training program experiences.More of the degree program trainees were under thirty (71%) than was the case with the internship program trainees (45%). The male-female ratio for each of the two groups is approximately 1:4. Approximately 60% of the degree program trainees entered their training with majors in the natural or health sciences, while less than 50% of the total group hold degrees in the natural or health sciences.Slightly less than 60% of the total group of trainees were employed in medical libraries in 1971. However, 68.5% of the internship program trainees as compared to 46.0% of the degree program trainees held positions in medical libraries. The reasons cited most often for leaving medical librarianship were the lack of available positions and student status.The major reasons indicated by the former trainees for entering the medical library education programs were an interest in the biomedical subject fields, the availability of funds, and the desire to gain experience. The reactions of the former trainees to their training program experiences were favorable.