Alman, S

Epstein, BA

Saghafi, E

Tannery, NH

Tomer, C

Journal of the Medical Library Association

PubMed

Sagafi, Ester

Epstein, Barbara

Tannery, Nancy

Alman, Susan

Tomer, Christinger

Name not available

Development of a post-master’s online certificate in health sciences librarianship

Ester Saghafi

Nancy H. Tannery

Barbara A. Epstein

Susan Alman

Christinger Tomer

Crossref

Journal of the Medical Library Association JMLA

Development of a post-master's online certificate in health sciences librarianship

D-Scholarship@Pitt

Development of a post-master’s onlinecertificate in healthsciences librarianship*{Ester Saghafi, MEd, MLS; Nancy H. Tannery, MLS;Barbara A. Epstein, MSLS, AHIP; Susan Alman,PhD; Christinger Tomer, PhDSee end of article for authors’ affiliations.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.100.4.015INTRODUCTIONHealth sciences librarians function in environmentsthat are constantly undergoing rapid and drasticchanges in a range of divergent arenas, includingscientific, technological, social, political, and financialchanges. To keep up with these changes, healthsciences librarians require lifelong learning opportu-nities. The Medical Library Association (MLA)recommends that library educators provide oppor-tunities and programs to meet the librarians’ need to‘‘retool their skills’’ throughout their professionalcareers [1].In this brief communication, the authors describe theprocess of developing and implementing an online,fifteen-credit, post-master’s certificate of advancedstudy in health sciences librarianship (HealthCAS)and the steps we followed during this process.BACKGROUNDThe University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences LibrarySystem (HSLS) supports the educational, research,clinical, and service activities of the health sciencescommunity of the University of Pittsburgh and theUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC),through innovative information resources and servic-es. The School of Information Sciences (SIS) at theUniversity of Pittsburgh is one of the nation’spioneering schools in the education of informationprofessionals, with a history that reaches back morethan 100 years. Its master of library and informationscience (MLIS) degree program is ranked tenth in thenation by U.S. News & World Report [2]. Currently,more than 800 students are enrolled at SIS.In 2001, SIS began offering an online MLIS degreeprogram, called FastTrack MLIS. Since its inception,FastTrack has enabled more than 400 students from35 states to work toward their MLIS degrees. TheFastTrack program is designed so that students canadvance through the program in a cohort, replicatingthe on-campus environment. This cohort designallows students to interact with each other and withthe faculty, even though the program is deliveredasynchronously. The addition of the HealthCASaugmented the offerings of this very successful onlinedegree program.In December 2008, HSLS and SIS partnered to applyfor funding from the Institute of Museum and LibraryServices (IMLS) to support the development andimplementation of the HealthCAS program. The 3-year grant, for $991,311, was awarded in June 2009.The grant from IMLS supported the costs of curric-ulum development and evaluation, online coursedelivery infrastructure, and student recruitment. Inaddition, the grant provided tuition and travelscholarships for students throughout the UnitedStates for the first 2–3 years of the program. Librarianswho desire entry- to mid-level health sciences librarypositions, seek additional knowledge and skills, orpractice outside the health sciences and wish topursue entry into the specialty; hospital librarians inrural and remote areas who do not have ready accessto continuing education programs; and underrepre-sented minority librarians in the health sciences wereidentified as the primary audience for the program.CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENTThere were many critical steps in developing theonline fifteen-credit HealthCAS program. These in-cluded course development, selection of instructors,instructional design support, and marketing andrecruitment of students.After a petition to the University of Pittsburgh forpermission to offer the HealthCAS program wasapproved, a task force of HSLS librarians participatedin a series of brainstorming sessions to identify topicsto be covered in the curriculum. The MLA education-al policy statement, Competencies for Lifelong Learningand Professional Success, was used as a basis forcurriculum development [1]. Topics were thengrouped into appropriate courses to be offered overthree terms (Table 1, online only). The curriculumconsists of the following courses:& Term I: ‘‘The Healthcare Environment’’ (4 credits):Examines the health care environment; the mainplayers; and internal and external factors such asfinances, regulations, and legislation as they affectand drive the provision and delivery of library andinformation services in this environment.& Term II: ‘‘Collections and Resources’’ (4 credits):Examines selection, collection management, andaccess to print and electronic information resourcesin the health care environment.& Term III: ‘‘Reference Services and Instruction: (4credits): Reviews reference services, the referenceinterview, expert literature searching, teaching andinstructional methods, embedded librarianship,PubMed, and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), with* Supported by funding from the Institute of Museum and LibraryServices 05-09-0087-09.{ Based on a presentation at MLA ’10, the 110th Annual Meeting ofthe Medical Library Association; Washington, DC; May 26, 2010.Supplemental Table 1 and a supplemental appendix areavailable with the online version of this journal.Brief communications: Saghafi et al.310 J Med Lib Assoc 100(4) October 2012special focus on evidence-based medicine, systematicreviews, and meta analyses.& Individual Research Project (3 credits): Each stu-dent plans and completes a 3-credit applied researchproject. This research project runs throughout theentire year of the HealthCAS program.The courses were approved by the voting faculty ofthe library and information science program, in accor-dance with the SIS policies for curricular development.The program was designed to be delivered tostudents using a combination of web-based, asynchro-nous course delivery and synchronized real-timeconferencing for interactive sessions between instruc-tor and students, one introductory meeting on locationin Pittsburgh, and a capstone event immediately priorto MLA’s annual meeting. Even though the programwas designed to be primarily asynchronous, everyeffort wasmade to ensure that the communication flowbetween teacher and learners, and between learnersthemselves, remained seamless.An essential part of the curriculum is the cohortdesign, modeled after the successful SIS FastTrackprogram. In this model, each student is part of a‘‘cohort,’’ a community of students who travel throughthe program together. The cohort allows the studentsto share valuable experiences both intellectually andsocially. As part of cohort building, an in-personcampus visit is required during the first term, usuallyfour to five weeks after the course begins. The studentsspend two and a half days in Pittsburgh, interactingwith each other, the program team, and the courseinstructors. The visit includes face-to-face instructionsessions, as well as several social activities. Thecapstone event is held at the end of the HealthCASprogram year and immediately prior to the MLAannual meeting in May. The capstone is both agraduation ceremony and an opportunity for thestudents to present the results of their research.A critical element in the implementation of theprogram was the selection and development of theinstructional faculty. To encourage collaboration andassure efficiency in the program administration, onlyHSLS librarians were recruited for the course.Identification and selection of instructors were basedon a survey of HSLS librarians about their interests indeveloping course material for HealthCAS, as well astheir interest in and availability for teaching in theprogram. Nine librarians—three instructors per termof study—were selected as faculty. Additionally, oneHSLS librarian and two SIS faculty members instruct-ed and guided students in the CAS individualresearch project. The credentials of the HSLS instruc-tors were reviewed by the voting faculty of the libraryand information science program at SIS. They weregranted the rank of adjunct professorship, based onevidence of relevant professional experience andexpertise in medical library and health informationsciences.Course instructors worked with the university’sCenter for Instructional Design and Distance Educa-tion (CIDDE) to develop the online coursework.CIDDE consultants met regularly with the instructorsand program principals to facilitate collaborativeapproaches to the design and delivery of the courses.The HSLS instructors received training in principlesof instructional design, online teaching, and cohortbuilding and extensive orientation to CourseWeb(Blackboard at the University of Pittsburgh). Health-CAS faculty also worked with instructional designersand members of the SIS faculty.Another critical step was developing a marketingplan for student recruitment. Working in concert withmarketing staff at SIS and the University of Pittsburgh,the program team devised a marketing strategy basedon targeted mailings, the use of online discussionforums, and a dedicated website. To establish a‘‘brand’’ for the program, it was decided to refer tothe program consistently as ‘‘HealthCAS.’’ Marketingefforts focused mainly on distributing print marketingTable 2Certificate of advanced study in health sciences librarianship(HealthCAS) course evaluations* (n530)Number PercentWould you recommend this course to other students?Definitely not 1 (3.3%)Probably not 2 (6.7%)Probably yes 8 (26.7%)Definitely yes 19 (63.3%)Would you recommend this instructor to other students?Definitely not 0 (—)Probably not 3 (10.0%)Probably yes 11 (36.7%)Definitely yes 16 (53.3%)* Mean evaluation, averaged over all courses (3) and all students (12). Not allstudents completed evaluation forms for all courses.Table 3Sample student comments from HealthCAS course evaluationsSample commentsAbout the instructors ‘‘Each of the instructors was very knowledgeable about their course section.’’‘‘Responsive to student questions, enthusiastic about course content.’’‘‘The instructors’ major strengths are that each of them practice daily what they are teaching.’’‘‘I would have liked more feedback on my assignments and discussion questions.’’About the course ‘‘The type of assignments provided very useful and timely information.’’‘‘I liked the real world examples (approval plans, ILS/OPAC discussions, ILL visit, etc.) and felt that much of what we learned was immediatelyapplicable.’’‘‘The course readings were fabulous.’’‘‘I would suggest to not use group projects in a distance education course. This was very difficult to implement.’’‘‘A few of the modules and assignment instructions were a bit disorganized or confusing.’’Brief communications: Saghafi et al.J Med Lib Assoc 100(4) October 2012 311materials, posting messages to various professionalemail discussion lists, releasing the HealthCASwebsitefor public viewing ,http://www.ischool.pitt.edu/health/., and conducting a series of virtual ‘‘openhouse’’ events in January 2010.Online applications and admissions to HealthCASbegan in December 2009 and were completed inFebruary 2010. In response to recruitment efforts bySIS and the program team, thirty-three applicationswere submitted to the HealthCAS program. Theprogram team conducted a thorough review of thecompleted applications and eventually admittedtwelve students who met all the qualifications to thefirst cohort. To qualify for the HealthCAS program,applicants are required to possess a master’s degreefrom a program accredited by the American LibraryAssociation or a master’s degree in informationscience with a quality point average of 3.00. Selectioncriteria for admission to the program include 3 lettersof recommendation from individuals who are in aposition to evaluate the applicant’s academic perfor-mance or potential as a health sciences libraryprofessional and a professional portfolio of 3 itemsthat provide evidence of presentations, publications,website development, or other materials. In addition,applicants are required to submit a statement of intentoutlining their career goals in the health careenvironment and listing any relevant experience inhealth sciences or health sciences libraries, or otherrelevant work. Additionally, every applicant mustsupply an explanation of why they believe they willsucceed as an independent learner in the online CASprogram as well as explain contributions they expectto make to the program [3].OUTCOMESThe first cohort of students enrolled in the programincluded librarians with an average of seven years ofprofessional library experience. Eight of the librariansin the first cohort came from academic health centerlibraries; three were employed in health-relatedlibrary positions in non-health-related institutions,and one was at a general academic library. Geograph-ically, the students were distributed through-out the country; four students were from the East,three from theMidwest, three from the South, one fromthe Southeast, and one from the Northwest.All twelve of the students completed the Health-CAS program. It is notable that every student’sapplied research project was accepted as a poster forMLA ’11 in Minneapolis. Students also presented theresults of their projects at the capstone event heldat the University of Minnesota Bio-Medical Library(Appendix B, online only).The majority of students surveyed at the end ofeach course gave positive evaluations (Tables 2 and3). The students acknowledged the instructors’ strongsubject expertise and commented that the instructorswere enthusiastic and approachable. The majority ofstudents agreed they would recommend the coursesto others. Students noted small problems with someassignments and with course flow in part of one ofthe courses. The biggest negative assessment was ofthe group projects assigned in some courses, asstudents found it difficult to coordinate their sched-ules and balance the work assignments. Based onfeedback from the students, HealthCAS facultyimplemented changes in some assignments, reexam-ined the use of group projects, and strengthened orremoved some topics in the curriculum as suggestedby the students.DISCUSSIONCompared to an MLIS program such as FastTrackwhere the focus is on advanced core topics inacademic courses, HealthCAS offers a comprehensivespecialty program grounded in the realities ofpractical librarian interactions with diverse usergroups in the health care environment.Moreover, a program such as HealthCAS not onlyoffers experienced health sciences librarians theopportunity to enhance their teaching skills and sharetheir knowledge and skills with fellow librarians, italso benefits the library. At HSLS, many of theinstructors are also liaison librarians to the univer-sity’s schools of the health sciences, and they are nowbetter positioned to expand their instructional sup-port into the online environment in their school.CONCLUSIONThis brief communication described the developmentand implementation process to offer an online certif-icate of advanced study in health sciences librarian-ship. The HSLS faculty librarians and project teamsuccessfully implemented this yearlong, fifteen-creditprogram that is currently in its second year. The uniquepartnering of a school of information science and ahealth sciences library was the key to the success of theprogram. While other programs are available tolibrarians to retool their skills—such as continuingeducation courses offered by MLA or the one- to two-year Associate Fellowship Training Program at theNational Library of Medicine, which accepts onlyabout five new fellows each year—no programs ofadvanced study are aimed specifically at the needs andrequirements of health sciences librarians or healthsciences library managers. None of the programs inexistence offer a learning experience as rich or asthorough as the one offered in Pittsburgh.Looking forward, a challenge will be to locatesupport for student scholarships and financial aidstrategies after the end of the IMLS grant. Even withfunding uncertainty, the program is well positionedto continue into the future. It is clear that HealthCAShelps to fulfill the MLA recommendation thatlibrarians be provided with a ‘‘range of programsand opportunities that meet needs throughout aprofessional career, rather than focus solely on themaster’s degree’’ [1].Brief communications: Saghafi et al.312 J Med Lib Assoc 100(4) October 2012ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe authors acknowledge the HSLS librarian facultyin the HealthCAS program: Rebecca Abromitis, RenaeBarger, Leslie Czechowski, Jill Foust, Linda M. Hart-man, AHIP, Jeffrey Husted, Michele Klein-Fedyshin,AHIP, Mary Lou Klem, John LaDue, and Charles B.Wessel.The authors also acknowledge the members of theHealthCAS Advisory Board: Gary D. Byrd, AHIP,FMLA, director, Health Sciences Library, Universityat Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, and chair, HealthCASAdvisory Board; Ellen Gay Detlefsen, associateprofessor, School of Information Sciences, Universityof Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; Kathel Dunn, associatefellowship coordinator, National Library of Medicine,Bethesda, MD; Judy Consales, director, Louise M.Darling Biomedical Library and National Network ofLibraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region,University of California–Los Angeles; and NeilRambo, director, Health Sciences Libraries andKnowledge Informatics, New York University–NewYork.REFERENCES1. Medical Library Association. Competencies for lifelonglearning and professional success: the educational policystatement of the Medical Library Association [Internet].Chicago, IL: The Association [13 Sep 2007; cited 9 Dec 2011].,http://www.mlanet.org/education/policy/..2. Graduate schools: library and information studies[Internet].New York, NY: U.S. News & World Report; 2012 [cited 9Dec 2011]. ,http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-library-information-science-programs/library-information-science-rankings..3. University of Pittsburgh. Certificate of advanced study inhealth sciences librarianship online program: applicationprocess [Internet]. The University [cited 29 May 2012].,http://www.ischool.pitt.edu/health/admissions/process.php..AUTHORS’ AFFILIATIONSEster Saghafi, MEd, MLS, esaghafi@pitt.edu, ProjectManager and Instructor, Certificate of AdvancedStudy in Health Sciences Librarianship; Nancy H.Tannery, MLS, tannery@pitt.edu, Senior AssociateDirector; Barbara A. Epstein, MSLS, AHIP, bepstein@pitt.edu, Director; Health Sciences Library System;Susan Alman, PhD, salman@pitt.edu, Director, On-line Education; Christinger Tomer, PhD, ctomer@pitt.edu, Associate Professor; School of InformationSciences; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PAReceived January 2012; accepted June 2012Brief communications: Saghafi et al.J Med Lib Assoc 100(4) October 2012 313

Saghafi, Ester

Epstein, Barbara A

Tannery, Nancy H

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Development of a post-master's online certificate in health sciences librarianship

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