Information literacy instruction for pharmacy students: a pharmacy librarian reflects on a year of teaching

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2019.522

Keywords:

Information Literacy, Pharmacy Students, Librarian, Longitudinal Assessment, Instruction

Abstract

Librarians have ever-expanding teaching responsibilities in many academic disciplines. Assessment of learning outcomes requires longitudinal evaluation to measure true retention of skills and knowledge. This is especially important in the health sciences, including pharmacy, where librarians take an active role in teaching students to help prepare them for a profession in which solid information literacy skills are required to safely and effectively provide evidence-based care to patients. In this commentary, I reflect on a year of teaching in a pharmacy program and consider the outcomes of my instruction, areas for improvement, student retention of learning, assessment challenges, faculty-librarian collaboration, and continued support for library instruction in the pharmacy curriculum.

Author Biography

Bridget C. Conlogue, Health Sciences Librarian for Pharmacy and Nursing, Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, Health Sciences Librarian

References

Green ML, Ellis PJ. Impact of an evidence-based medicine curriculum based on adult learning theory. J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Dec;(12):742–50. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.07159.x.

Bruce C, Edwards S, Lupton M. Six frames for information literacy education: a conceptual framework for interpreting the relationships between theory and practice. Innov Teach Learn Inf Comput Sci. 2006;5(1):1–8. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11120/ital.2006.05010002.

American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries. Framework for information literacy for higher education [Internet]. The Association; 2016 [cited 17 May 2018]. <http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework>.

Felder RM, Brent R. Active learning: an introduction. ASQ Higher Educ Brief [Internet]. 2009 Aug;2(4):1–5. [cited 17 May 2018]. <http://asq.org/edu/2009/08/best-practices/active-learning-an-introduction.%20felder.html?shl=093530>.

Lucas KH, Testman JA, Hoyland MN, Kimble AM, Euler ML. Correlation between active-learning coursework and student retention of core content during advanced pharmacy practice experiences. Am J Pharm Educ. 2013 Oct 14;77(8):171: Article 171.

Carroll AJ, Tchangalova N, Harrington EG. Flipping one-shot library instruction: using Canvas and Pecha Kucha for peer teaching. J Med Libr Assoc. 2016 Apr;104(2):125–30. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.104.2.006.

Schilling K, Applegate R. Best methods for evaluating educational impact: a comparison of the efficacy of commonly used measures of library instruction. J Med Libr Assoc. 2012 Oct;100(4):258–69. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.100.4.007.

Cmor D, Chan A, Kong T. Course-integrated learning outcomes for library database searching: three assessment points on the path of evidence. Evid Based Libr Inf Pract. 2010;5(1):64–81. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18438/B8VG9R.

Kingsley K, Galbraith GM, Herring M, Stowers E, Stewart T, Kingsley KV. Why not just Google it? an assessment of information literacy skills in a biomedical science curriculum. BMC Med Educ. 2011;25;11:17. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-11-17.

Peterson-Clark G, Aslani P, Williams KA. Pharmacists’ online information literacy: an assessment of their use of Internet-based medicines information. Health Inf Libr J. 2010 Sep;27(3):208–16. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2010.00891.x.

Lapidus M, Kostka-Rokosz MD, Dvorkin-Camiel L. Librarian-lead tutorial for enhancement of pharmacy students’ information-searching skills in advanced experiential rotations. Med Ref Serv Q. 2009 Oct;28(4):351–62. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763860903249217.

Brettle A, Raynor M. Developing information literacy skills in pre-registration nurses: an experimental study of teaching methods. Nurse Educ Today. 2013 Feb;33(2):103–9.

Downloads

Published

2019-01-04

Issue

Section

Commentary