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Frequently Asked Questions Concerning National Training Center and Clearinghouse Training
- Are there links to NLM distance education resources?
- I understand that there is free training available. How do I find information concerning this training?
- Are there Medical Library Association continuing education credits? If so, how many?
- What is MeSH?
- What is the UMLS?
- What is the enrollment fee for these classes? Do I need to purchase any items before attending the class?
- Is lunch included?
- What are the hours of the class?
- How do I dress?
- How do I register?
- I live outside the United States, where can I take training?
Are there links to NLM distance education resources?
Yes. NLM has distance education resources for a variety of their databases. Please visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/dist_edu.html.
Training on PubMed® and other topics in courses specifically designed for health sciences librarians and information specialists is available at the National Library of Medicine and at numerous sites throughout the U.S.A. To obtain a listing of classes and scheduled sites and dates, please visit the NTCC training schedule
Are there Medical Library Association continuing education credits? If so, how many?
Yes. The PubMed® and UMLS courses are each awarded 7.5 MLA continuing education credits. NLM Gateway & ClinicalTrials.gov is awarded 3.5 MLA continuing education credits. TOXNET is awarded 6.45 MLA continuing education credits.
Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources is a three day course and is awarded 20 MLA continuing education credits.
MeSH is the abbreviation for Medical Subject Headings. MeSH is the NLM authority list of controlled vocabulary terms and other features for subject analysis of the biomedical literature. MeSH is a distinctive feature of MEDLINE which gives uniformity and consistency to the indexing of the literature. MeSH can lead you from a synonym to the preferred MeSH heading, give information about the use of the MeSH heading, and show relationships between MeSH headings.
In 1986, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), began a long term research and development project to build a Unified Medical Language System (UMLS®). The purpose of the UMLS is to aid the development of systems that help health professionals and researchers retrieve and integrate electronic biomedical information from a variety of sources and to make it easy for users to link disparate information systems, including computer-based patient records, bibliographic databases, factual databases, and expert systems. The UMLS project develops "Knowledge Sources" that can be used by a wide variety of applications programs to overcome retrieval problems caused by differences in terminology and the scattering of relevant information across many databases.
The classes are FREE. You do not need to purchase any items beforehand, but the workbook is not bound, so a three-ring binder is very useful, along with a highlighter pen. Binders are provided at NLM, Bethesda, Maryland classes.
It would be helpful to take a look at PubMed® and the PubMed® Tutorial. Work your way through the HELP areas. You might want to try searching just to get used to the PubMed® interface. Look for information on Lyme Disease. Search for this author: Kissel V. Familiarize yourself with the MeSH Vocabulary. Take a look at the MeSH Browser developed by the MeSH Section at NLM.
No. All attendees are on their own for meals.
What are the hours of the class?
PubMed® is 8:30AM - 5:00PM Agenda >
NLM Gateway & ClinicalTrials.gov is 8:30AM - 12:00PM Agenda >
TOXNET is 9:00AM - 4:30PM Agenda >
Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources is a three day course from 9:00AM - 5:00PM Agenda >
UMLS Basics is 8:30AM - 5:00PM Agenda >
There is no dress code but we suggest dressing in layers; many computer labs are very cool, or very warm.
You may register using the form on this Web site.
Sorry, no phone registrations.
I live outside the United States, where can I take training?
International users should contact the nearest NLM International MEDLARS Center for details on the availability of training. These Centers assist health professionals in accessing MEDLARS databases, offer search training, provide document delivery and perform other functions as biomedical information resource centers. A listing of all the International MEDLARS Centers is available at www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/intlmedlars.html. Please also consider the distance training available via the PubMed® Tutorial. The workbooks used in our classes are also available for download with no copyright restrictions.
