Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Journal de l'Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada

Editor's Message

2022-03-22T07:02:34-06:00

Mobile app use by medical students and residents in the clinical setting: an exploratory study

2021-11-18T08:34:56-07:00

Introduction: Mobile devices and mobile applications facilitate access to clinical evidence at the point-of-care. Medical libraries play an important role in medical trainees' education, by subscribing to quality resources and by providing help and guidance on what apps to use. This study’s goal was to explore medical trainees' mobile applications use in the clinical setting to help inform collection development’s decisions and to provide insight on educational outreach. Perceived barriers and benefits of medical app use by clinical trainees was also explored.

Methods: A brief online survey (English and French) was sent to all University of Ottawa clerkship medical students and residents. The questionnaire consisted of multiple choices, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions.

Results: 208 English and 9 French responses were received. UpToDate was the most frequently used app, followed by MedCalc, Spectrum (CHEO) and Medscape. Respondents used medical apps mostly before and after meeting with patients and rarely while interacting with patients. Main benefits identified of medical app use were helping with decision-making, quick access to trustworthy clinical information, help with diagnosis and treatment options (e.g. medication dosage, drug interaction). Main barriers identified were costs, appearing unprofessional, lack of Canadian content and spotty hospital WiFi.

Conclusion: Libraries' involvement in providing access to trustworthy clinical resources to medical trainees is important to help shape trainees' development as medical professionals. Outreach to learners in the clinical setting is crucial to educate on what apps are available to them through the library collection.

Developing a code of practice for literature searching in health sciences: a project description

2020-02-03T09:27:15-07:00

Introduction: Libraries have provided mediated search services for more than forty years without a practice standard to guide the execution of searches, training of searchers, or evaluation of search performance. A pan-Canadian group of librarians completed a study of the literature on mediated search practices from 2014-2017 as a first step in addressing this deficit.

Methods: We used a three-phase, six-part content analysis process to examine and analyze published guidance on literature searching. Card sorting, Delphi methods, and an online questionnaire were then used to validate our findings and build a code of practice.

Results: Our code of practice for mediated searching lists eighty-five search tasks arranged in performance order, within five progressive levels of search complexity. A glossary of 150 search terms supports the code of practice.

Discussion: The research literature on mediated search methods is sparse and fragmented, lacking currency and a shared vocabulary. A code of practice for mediated searching will provide clarity in terminology, approach, and methods. This code of practice will provide a unified and convenient reference for training a new hire, upholding standards of search service delivery, or educating the next wave of health library professionals.

Conference 2022: Let's try this again... / Essayons encore une fois...!

2022-03-22T07:05:24-06:00

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action: Planning, Leadership, and Programming

2022-01-21T14:23:08-07:00

Framing Health Care Instruction: An Information Literacy Handbook for the Health Sciences

2022-01-06T08:40:58-07:00

Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries: Issues and Solutions

2022-01-20T12:50:16-07:00

Polyglot Search Translator

2021-10-29T14:01:31-06:00

The Polyglot Search Translator translates either a PubMed or Ovid MEDLINE search string into several database platforms including PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase (via Elsevier), Ovid Embase, Web of Science (simple and advanced searches), Scopus (basic and advanced searches), PsycInfo (via Ovid), ProQuest Health and Medical, SPORTDiscus, and PubMed Expanded.

Meescan

2022-01-14T11:09:14-07:00

Based in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Meescan is a Canadian company that offers flexible, user-friendly self-checkout solutions for various institution types, including academic, hospital, and special libraries. Following the purchase of equipment, Meescan offers flexible pricing based on patronage. Partner libraries benefit from continuous and personalized customer service support, and patrons are able to easily navigate the self-checkout software at on-site kiosks or through the mobile app. With many customizable options, from kiosk design to system configuration, Meescan can be adapted to fit the specific needs of libraries of all kinds and sizes.