Continuing Education

EBM: Introduction to Study Design and Critical Appraisal

Thursday, October 29, 8:00am - 12:00pm

This course is designed to give learners an introduction to critical appraisal skills through an understanding of basic study designs and validity issues related to reducing bias in clinical studies. The course will focus on understanding the basic study designs in medicine (case-control, cohort, randomized controlled clinical trial, systematic review, and meta-analysis). Learners will also discuss the criteria for determining internal validity of therapy studies and systematic reviews. After completing this course, learners will be better able to identify appropriate study designs, identify validity criteria, and help support evidence-based medicine within their own institutions. Teaching methods will include discussion, case studies, group exercises, and practice in appraising articles.

Lecture, Slides, Discussion, Sharing/Self-disclosure, Hands-on Exercises, and Case Study

The Librarian as a Professional, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Complexity

Thursday, October 29, 8:00am - 12:00pm

This highly interactive class focuses on practical and metaphoric tools for excelling in the current health sciences library work environment. We'll start with models drawn from the cinema that explicate the workplace world in which we strive and the active choices we make to succeed. We'll then focus on themes of budgeting, staffing, personnel, marketing, information services, and managing change. We'll act our way through scenarios that prepare us to address our themes using practical tools; participants will leave with a clearer sense of vision and values for their library services. Next, we'll widen our lens to consider issues such as standards, values, and commitment; deliberate acts of principle; the power of optimism; working through conflict; comfort with ambiguity; creativity as a response to adversity; and learning to love complexity. Participants have homework, including watching recent films with questions provided beforehand. During the class, we will use “minute paper” exercises, small/large group exercises, and guided reflection learning techniques.

Lecture, Learning Videotape, Discussion, and Case Study

Emerging Technologies for Librarians

Thursday, October 29, 8:00am - 3:00pm

This 6-hour class is designed to increase your knowledge of new technologies impacting our profession by discussing mobile devices and Web 2.0 services such as podcasting and social networking services. Some of the devices using these technologies include smartphones, iPods, iPhones, and Blackberries. An increasing number of students and healthcare professionals are using mobile technologies daily to interact with social networking services. It is essential for librarians to investigate and experiment with these technologies/services and use those that appeal to their users as a vehicle to increase access to timely and relevant health information at the point of need. Additional topics include discussion of collaborative tools, wireless ubiquity, and methods for keeping up to date on new technologies. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss case studies from institutions that are taking innovative approaches to using these tools.

Lecture, Demonstration, Slides, Discussion, Brainstorming, Sharing/Self-disclosure, Gaming, and Case Study

Evidence-Based Nursing: A Seminar in Integrating Literature, Clinical Practice, and Patient Education

Thursday, October 29, 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Participants will be familiarized with the basic tenets of evidence-based practice and learn how to apply these principles to both clinical practice and patient care. Beginning with a definition of EBP and an introduction to the five steps of EBP, participants will gain an understanding of the real meaning of EBP as it relates to the published literature. The class will then look at various types of study designs, how each is used, and how to evaluate study articles. The second section covers integrating EBP into clinical practice. Participants will discuss various methods for creating an evidence-based culture in their hospital and how they can promote this environment. In the last section, participants will look at the patient-empowerment movement and how this is related to EBP. Participants will learn how to find the best quality evidence for patients and how to help patients find this information.

Lecture, Demonstration, Slides, and Discussion

Instructor Bios

Connie Schardt

Connie Schardt is the associate director for public services at the Medical Center Library, Duke University. Primary responsibilities are to promote and support EBM in clinical, research, and educational settings. This involves developing an EBM curriculum and presenting instructional sessions for faculty, residents, and students. In addition Ms. Schardt has developed the content for Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine, a web-based tutorial. As adjunct faculty at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Ms. Schardt teaches EBM and the Medical Librarian to library students and practicing librarians in the United States, Canada, and other countries. Since 2001, Ms. Schardt has served as a librarian-tutor for How to Teach Evidence-Based Clinical Practice, held annually at McMaster University. She is also a Co-Director of the Program on Teaching Evidence-Based Practice, which has conducted an annual EBM workshop at Duke University since 2003.

Lindsay Blake

Lindsay Blake is currently the information services coordinator for Greenblatt Library at the Medical College of Georgia. Her main job duties include creating curriculum-based classroom and online instruction and individual instruction of medical and nursing databases. She acts as a liaison to the schools of Nursing and Allied Health.

Darra Ballance

Darra Ballance is currently the AHEC Learning Resource Center coordinator for Greenblatt Library at the Medical College of Georgia. She has taught in an academic setting for 3 years and serves as one of the library's liaisons to nursing. She worked as a special librarian for 14 years where she belonged to two different staff development/training departments that specialized in adult learning.

Kevin Bradford

Kevin Bradford is currently the clinical information librarian for Greenblatt Library at the Medical College of Georgia. He is a clinical medical librarian with 5 years’ experience in teaching evidence-based literature methodology to nursing and medical students, clinicians, and residents. As the clinical librarian, he regularly participates in morning report and morning rounds at the hospital.

Gabe Rios

Gabe Rios is the deputy director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. Gabe has worked with emerging technologies such as PDAs, iPods, smartphones, and Web 2.0 services since the late 90s. He has co-taught technology-related classes at regional and national meetings. Gabe provides leadership and vision for budget and planning, public services, information technology, Web presence, education programs, liaison programs, and outreach. Gabe is also a member of MLA’s Social Networking Software Taskforce and local technology-related groups such as Social Media Club of Birmingham and the Internet Professional Society of Alabama. Gabe continues his support of emerging technologies by facilitating the use of technology to meet users where they are.

Melissa De Santis

Melissa De Santis is the deputy director at the Health Sciences Library of the University of Colorado Denver where she oversees the daily operations of a busy academic health sciences library. In her previous positions, she taught classes on the internet and PDAs to faculty and students. An active member of the Educational Media and Technology Section of MLA, Melissa is also the MLANET editor and a member of MLA’s Social Networking Software Task Force, which has offered free, online CEs to MLA members on Web 2.0 topics. She has presented posters and papers on a number of technology topics including instant messaging and intranets. Melissa received her MLIS from UCLA.

Jerry Perry

Gerald (Jerry) Perry, MLS, AHIP, is director of the Health Sciences Library on the Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado Denver. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Anthropology (dual degree) from Syracuse University and his Master of Library Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Jerry is active in the Medical Library Association and is a past member of the Association’s Board of Directors. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of the Medial Library Association and the open access journal, Biomedical Digital Libraries (BioMed Central). Jerry has published extensively, including journal articles, reviews, essays, and book chapters on topics including medical and consumer informatics, evidence-based practice, and interlibrary cooperation. Professional honors include selection as one of five inaugural fellows in the National Library of Medicine/Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries Leadership Fellow Program. Away from work, Jerry’s interests include baseball, hiking, swimming, cooking and music (all sorts).

Last updated: Wednesday, December 02, 2009, 08:49am