Collaborative Instruction for Information Retrieval and Appraisal Skills in Evidence-Based Practice Models for Dental Hygiene Students.

Objectives: 1. Collaborate with VCU Dental Hygiene Program faculty to develop and evaluate a model of evidence-based practice (EBP) for students in didactic and clinical settings. 2. Describe how a course was modified to emphasize evidence-based practice. 3. Analyze course evaluations and student scholarly output. Methods/Materials: Dental educators strive to develop graduates who practice evidence-based practice and whose clinical decisions are based on current scientific research. A medical librarian was invited to assist in integrating EBP into the dentistry curriculum in 2012. To gain a better understanding of EBP in dental settings, the librarian and dental hygiene faculty attended the Forsyth ADA Evidence-Based Dentistry training in Boston, Massachusetts that same year. The collaborators revised a course to take students through the mechanics of EBP, including demonstrating transfer into the clinic setting and developing a model of real-time information retrieval useful after graduation in the “real world.” Results: In didactic activities, students received instruction on information retrieval as well as critical appraisal skills to answer clinical questions, reinforcing the EBP model. This culminated in students creating improved literature reviews for capstone projects, posters and table clinic presentations, stronger clinical information retrieval skills, and increased publications in refereed professional journals. Interaction between students, the librarian and faculty resulted in positive outcomes in EBP concepts used for generation of decision making in clinic as well as peer presentations in local, regional and national settings. Conclusions: The collaborative effort was valuable as it strengthened the relationship between dental hygiene faculty, students and the librarian. Additionally, students’ experience was enhanced as they practiced retrieval strategies and critical appraisal of research literature. This enabled them to develop as “consumers” of current professional research literature, model evidence-based practice and publish their writing in professional journals

A Comprehensive Summary of Services and Resources Provided by Librarians in support of CODA Accredited Predoctoral (DDS/DMD) Dental Education Programs in the United States and Canada

Objective The objective of this study is to provide a summary of library services and resources that support dental education and research. This summary will demonstrate trends in dental librarianship as well as services and resources that can be adopted to serve the needs of dental related education programs. To date, there has not been a comprehensive summary of these services. Methods An environmental scan was carried out to take inventory of services that dental librarians (1) provide. The study population consisted of librarians who work in dental libraries or college / university libraries that serve dental programs. The librarians surveyed were from institutions with a CODA accredited DMD/DDS pre-doctoral program (2). Currently, there are 76 such programs within the United States and Canada, of which 71 responded. Conclusion Our data demonstrates that the majority of dental programs have a dedicated librarian or library liaison providing clinical, educational, and research support through a variety of approaches. Increasing awareness and utilization of available services and resources within the dental community can facilitate research and complement dental education. The service models cited here can be adapted in dental related education programs across North America

Staying Current in Patient Care: How Physicians in Medically Underserved Areas Gain Knowledge for Health Care Decision-Making

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways primary care physicians who practice medicine in medically underserved areas (MUAs) maintain knowledge for patient care and decision making. A qualitative research design was utilized to analyze the data collected through semi-structured interviews and physician observations. Ten primary care physicians who work in medically underserved areas described their experiences in obtaining information for patient care. The findings of the study revealed that despite some barriers to information seeking such as time constraints, access issues, database complications, and inadequate information seeking skills, physicians in MUAs seek information to aid in practicing evidence-based patient care when possible. Some of the barriers can be alleviated through partnerships and collaborations with medical librarians through the improvement of medical students’ library instruction customized to the clinics as well as providing outreach assistance to practicing physicians and making them aware of open access biomedical literature. The study also found that these physicians are mostly self-directed in their learning to maintain knowledge for patient care, and are mostly motivated by patient safety, proliferation of biomedical literature, need to be lifelong learners and their status as patient educators. However, the findings are limited by the small sample size, the study design which relied heavily on self-reports and perceptions, and the setting. Implications and recommendations for practice, research, medical education, and medical librarians are discussed