“Lift Off to Leadership: Elevate Your Impact by Cultivating Skills and Mindset for Working with Senior Leaders” – Reflective Highlights from EAHIL 2024

Effectively communicating and collaborating with senior leaders across an organization is an essential skillset for any library leader. This article highlights several key takeaways to consider when crafting a compelling business case or project proposal for your organizational decision-makers

ABACUS: Developing a framework for evaluating mobile apps in healthcare

<p>Context: The increasing use of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablet computers) and their associated applications (“apps”) provides new opportunities and challenges for healthcare providers, educators and students to integrate these new technologies into teaching and learning. Mobile apps used as part of healthcare education or decision-making should be usable, up-to-date and accurate, as any information used as part of healthcare decision-making may be “high-stakes.” While the FDA is focusing regulation efforts on a small subset of mobile medical applications (e.g., those that act as medical devices), most apps are not regulated. Furthermore, the app marketplace is filled with hundreds of thousands of health and medical apps. To aid learners and users in determining which health and medical apps to use, this project establishes a proposed framework for app evaluation.</p> <p>Objective: To aid learners and users in determining which health and medical apps to use, this project was established to develop a framework for evaluation of health and medical apps.</p> <p>Methods: In addition to principles for evidence-based decision-making, there are also a variety of methods used to evaluate websites and online information (e.g., “Is it CRAAP?”, RADCAB, CARDS). In order to develop an evaluation framework for medical and health apps, key components of established website evaluation and evidence-based decision making methods were reviewed and selected identified concepts were compiled into a schema that, along with testing, may be used to evaluate medical and health apps. Six criteria were identified by which apps may be evaluated so that healthcare practitioners, educators and students can make better-informed decisions about which apps they use to acquire medical information or as part of their healthcare decision-making processes.</p> <p>Results: Six criteria were compiled into a schema as follows: Accuracy, Bias/Objectivity, Authority, Currency/Timeliness, Usability, Scope/Completeness (ABACUS). The information for the ABACUS evaluation framework was presented online as part of the Arizona Health Sciences Library’s resource guide for mobile users (http://azhin.org/evaluating-apps) on the “Evaluating Apps” page. This web page elucidates each of the metrics of the schema so that the user can learn which dimensions to review and the types of questions to ask in order to determine whether an app might be usable in a health care setting. Since creation of the “Evaluating Apps” page, the page has been viewed 472 times and is also being referenced by the University of Wyoming Geriatric Education Center. Although we are beginning to work locally to promote and integrate the ABACUS framework into the educational program, we are hoping to more widely promote the framework so that more users can be educated in determining which health and medical apps to use.</p> <p>Conclusion: The ABACUS framework has been developed and made available online for users to access and utilize for self-learning in order to better appraise and assimilate medical and health apps. The use of the ABACUS framework provides a contextual backdrop for understanding how technical and evidence-based factors contribute to whether an app should be used in health care or education. Further research and work is suggested to promote and analyze the effectiveness of this framework.</p> <p>Key Message: Systematically reviewing an app before using it for medical education or clinical care is recommended. Using the ABACUS evaluation framework to determine whether an app might be useful may help users more easily determine whether an app is worth using or recommending for medical education or evidence-based decision making purposes.</p> <p>Target Audience: Medical education professionals, medical students, educational technology professionals, information sciences and library professionals</p> <p>References:</p> <p>1. Barton A. The regulation of mobile health applications. BMC Medicine. 2012;10(1):46.</p> <p>2. Baumgart DC. Personal digital assistants in health care: experienced clinicians in the palm of your hand? The Lancet. //;366(9492):1210-1222.</p> <p>3. Hogan NM, Kerin MJ. Smart phone apps: Smart patients, steer clear. Patient Education and Counseling. 11// 2012;89(2):360-361.</p> <p>4. iMedicalApps. [website]. Available at: http://www.imedicalapps.com.</p> <p>5. US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration. Mobile Medical Applications - Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff. September 25, 2013.</p> <p> </p

Libraries After COVID-19: A Learning Conversation

This session will be an active discussion session where all participants will be able to share and learn from one another. The faciliatator will guide participants through various interactive exercises to explore topics such as:What was difficult during and after COVID-19 and did you find any unexpected solutions?What actually turned out as a positive outcome that you might not have explored if it wasn’t for the pandemic?If you faced another crisis in the next 5 years, what did you learn from COVID-19 that you would like to make sure you remember next time around?Were there new things you tried during the pandemic that worked so well that you will keep doing them in the future? What needs to be done to make it happen?Themes discussed will be captured so that participants will have a synthesis of themes arising from the discussion

Paving the road to success: leadership skills in an interprofessional landscape

Paving the road to success: leadership skills in an interprofessional landscape Introduction Academic medical libraries often sit at the crossroads of the complex landscape of the health sciences. Medical librarians in these environments must navigate and lead endeavors and services that may cross many professions. In one day, for example, a medical librarian could meet with a department head of medicine, a director of nursing education, a chief information officer, and a patient safety director, each of whom are held to the leadership standards of their fields. In addition to being excellent leaders in their own professions, how can medical librarians lead in an interprofessional context? In this study, the authors set out to understand leadership principles from three professions closely affiliated with medical librarianship in order to identify a core interdisciplinary leadership skill set. Aim To review the existing literature from the last 5 years around leadership in academic medicine, nursing, hospital administration, and medical librarianship in order to identify core leadership skills across the disciplines and identify potential differences. Methods We searched the literature published from 2014 – February 2019 on leadership skills in each of four professional domains: 1) academic medicine, 2) academic nursing, 3) hospital administration, 4) medical librarianship. Medline/PubMed, Scopus, and Business Source Complete were searched, and articles discussing leadership skills or competencies written in English with full-text availability were included. Skills mentioned were extracted using text analysis and trends were identified using descriptive analysis. Results Three hundred-fourteen citations were retrieved. After deduplication, 169 unique citations were screened for inclusion based on predefined criteria. The two authors independently screened articles using predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria and, after applying said criteria, 44 articles were included in the study. Skills in each of the four identified domains were collected. A full analysis of skills, common themes, and perceived differences is presented in the poster presentation. Conclusion Modern medical librarians must more often lead, not only internally, in the library setting, but externally, as they are more involved with connecting and collaborating with leaders across disciplines. Having the skills and vocabulary to lead and identify necessary leadership characteristics across fields is important to successfully navigating this landscape and enhancing impact of the library. By reviewing the leadership literature in the fields that most often intersect with medical librarianship, we can better understand, learn, and enhance our own skills in these areas so as to better navigate the complex landscape of the health sciences.Keywords:&nbsp;professional competencies, leadership, interprofessional collaboration, library impact, educational needs&nbsp

Practice Gives Skill: Preparing Students to Present Evidence in Clerkships

Practice Gives Skill: Preparing Students to Present Evidence in Clerkships&nbsp; Amy&nbsp;C.&nbsp;Studer, RN, MSN, MSLIS,&nbsp;AHIPa and Nicole Capdarest-Arest, MA(LIS),&nbsp;AHIPa &nbsp;aBlaisdell&nbsp;Medical Library, University of California – Davis, Sacramento, CA &nbsp; ABSTRACT&nbsp; Idea: &nbsp; Building an evidence-based practice module using principles of self-directed learning to prepare medical students to present evidence in clerkship. &nbsp; Need &amp; Rationale: &nbsp; Our Transition to Clerkship (T2C) course occurs immediately prior to starting of clerkship rotations and includes an evidence-based medicine (EBM) module. T2C had been synchronous and in-person for all Year 3 medical students, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, content needed to be revised to be delivered virtually. This prompted the instructors of the EBM module to re-envision the content to increase emphasis on the main module deliverable: a practice oral evidence presentation. This deliverable was also identified for increased emphasis from prior years’ students and course faculty leaders. Furthermore, it addresses Core Entrustable Professional Activities&nbsp;1&nbsp;and&nbsp;identified needs to practice oral presentation&nbsp;2-4. The content was revised to be asynchronous and to further develop learner skills in finding evidence related to a clinical question, synthesizing that evidence, and then supportively practicing&nbsp;5&nbsp;the new skill of presenting an oral evidence synthesis for a clinical setting. &nbsp; Methods: &nbsp; Learning objectives for the EBM module focused on: 1) identifying tools for finding evidence at the point of care, 2) using effective search strategies for finding evidence, including guidelines, 3) synthesizing evidence into a brief oral evidence presentation, 4) practicing delivery of an oral evidence presentation, including giving and receiving feedback. Instructors provided learners with frameworks and instructions to support their success with the activities, which were designed to be accomplished in 2 - 3 hours. The module consisted of pre-work and a paired activity. The pre-work focused on context for clinical oral evidence syntheses and on finding quality evidence. The paired activity consisted of selecting from a menu of topics, finding a relevant guideline and a primary study, synthesizing evidence found, recording and presenting a brief oral update to a peer, and providing peer feedback.&nbsp;To encourage self-direction as well as teamwork5, learners were asked to complete the pre-work and organize with their pre-assigned partner an online meeting to practice presenting the oral brief as well as providing feedback according to a rubric for one another.&nbsp;Learners each submitted and recorded a video of themselves delivering their brief evidence oral presentation. In this format, learners are able to deliberately practice an oral evidence presentation in a safe environment assuring a supported practice opportunity before moving into the clinical environment&nbsp;2,4.&nbsp; Evaluation Plan: &nbsp; Instructors&nbsp;reviewed each student’s submitted video based on the peer feedback rubric and then provided aggregate feedback to the students. Instructors also reviewed all of the submitted peer feedback forms with an eye to how learners analyzed each other’s performance. Both instructors agreed that this was a more effective way to assess the quality of student work related to the activity and their ability to provide constructive peer feedback. Instructors also asked learners to provide (optional) immediate feedback about the EBM module. Students responded that the instruction was effective and that they appreciated the overall organization and structure, learning how to find guidelines, and the opportunity to practice presenting in a safe environment. The School of Medicine also solicited student feedback about the EBM module, with largely positive results. In preliminary feedback, most students who rated the module rated it as very effective (in line with or better than other sessions in T2C). There were many favorable student comments such as, “I loved the EBM project and found it especially useful specifically to 3rd year.” Instructors were impressed by the high level of engagement that students demonstrated for the activities in this module, as compared with prior years’ in-person sessions.&nbsp;In the future, instructors hope to seek additional feedback from learners once they are further along in clerkship rotations and integrate further goal-directed practice. &nbsp; Potential Impact on the Field or Beyond: &nbsp; Synthesizing and orally presenting evidence in the clinical space is a core skill&nbsp;1 requiring practice and feedback. Providing measurable, skills-based learning activities immediately applicable across all clerkships will help learners more readily succeed and perform in clinic. &nbsp;Keywords: third-year medical students; medical education; evidence-based practice; presentation skills; peer feedback; asynchronous learning; transition to clerkship; use of technology; online learning &nbsp; References&nbsp; 1. Association of American Medical Colleges. Core EPA Publications and Presentations. 2020. 2020; https://www.aamc.org/what-we-do/mission-areas/medical-education/cbme/core-epas/publications.Accessed September 25, 2020.2. Van Ginkel S, Gulikers J, Biemans H, Mulder M. Towards a set of design principles for developing oral presentation competence: A synthesis of research in higher education.Educational Research Review.2015;14:62-80.&nbsp;3. Ireland C. Apprehension felt towards delivering oral presentations: a case study of accountancy students.Accounting Education.2020;29(3):305-320.&nbsp;4. Haber RJ, Lingard LA. Learning oral presentation skills: a rhetorical analysis with pedagogical and professional implications.J Gen Intern Med.2001;16(5):308-314.&nbsp;5. Lerchenfeldt S, Mi M, Eng M. The utilization of peer feedback during collaborative learning in undergraduate medical education: a systematic review.BMC medical education.2019;19(1):321.&nbsp;6.&nbsp;Aronowitz&nbsp;P, Chen D. Daily Update Oral Presentation Podcast [Internet]: podtail; 2016. Podcast. Available from:&nbsp;https://podtail.com/en/podcast/mountainlion/daily-update-oral-presentation-podcast

Health sciences library leadership skills in an interprofessional landscape: a review and textual analysis.

Academic medical libraries sit at the crossroads of the complex landscape of the health sciences. Medical librarians in these environments must navigate and lead endeavors and services that involve many professions. In addition to being excellent leaders in their own professions, medical librarians must also improve their skills in leading in an interprofessional context by informing themselves of the qualities and skills valued in connected professions. In this project, the authors set out to understand leadership principles from three professions closely affiliated with medical librarianship to identify a core interdisciplinary leadership skill set. To do so, we conducted a mapping review of the existing literature from the last five years around leadership in academic medicine, academic nursing, hospital administration, and medical librarianship to identify core leadership skills across the disciplines and discover potential differences. We used text analysis and descriptive analysis to extract skills that were mentioned and uncover trends in the identified literature. Modern medical librarians must extend their leadership beyond the internal library setting, particularly as they become more involved with connecting and collaborating with leaders across disciplines. To successfully navigate such an interdisciplinary landscape and enhance the impact of the library in the broader organization, it is important to have the skills and vocabulary of leadership across the various professions