Award Report - Supporting clinical care: Enhancing Evidence-based clinical practice (EBCP)
Dartmouth College, Hanover NH
July 28th-30th, 2008
Small Project Award Report
Barbara S. Reich
Samuel and Sandra Hekemian Medical Library
Hackensack University Medical Center
Supporting Clinical Care: An Institute in Evidence-Based Practice for Medical Librarians was an intensive two and a half day program held at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in late July of this year. It was my hope that by attending this course, I would acquire increased skills in supporting and teaching EBCP. This, in turn, would allow me to better teach residents, medical students, and nurses at all levels the skills involved in EBCP. Ultimately, these groups will learn to use PubMed and other sources of medical information more effectively and efficiently.
Twenty-four health sciences librarians, myself included, from various institutions throughout the United States and Canada were introduced to the concepts and practice of Evidence-Based Health Care through interactive lectures, small group discussion, and hands-on, case-based activities. A few hours each day were spent with the entire group together, being introduced to various concepts in a more-or-less lecture-based format. The vast majority of the time we were divided into smaller groups of eight participants and two instructors where we put the concepts into practice by using the PICO format to put together an answerable question and devise a search strategy, working with some of the basic statistical concepts, and reading and critically appraising various articles. At the end of the program, all participants agreed that the Institute was immensely successful, with the caveat being that it was very intense, and a three to four day course would be ideal.
The intended evaluation of this activity was proposed to be twofold: attainment of immediate goals will be assessed via my increased knowledge and skills in EBCP, and increased comfort in preparing and teaching EBCP both formally and informally. Long term goals will be assessed by written evaluations of formal EBCP classes at HUMC, and informally by increased use and recognition of HUMC Medical Librarians as experts in various aspects of EBCP.
This program was very successful. Certainly, my knowledge and skills were vastly increased, and my comfort level along with them. In particular, the methods and format for Critical Appraisal that were introduced vastly demystified this process for me – so much so that I am now actually excited by it rather than dreading it. Our Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) will be benefiting from this as well. Directly due to my participation in this program, this fall we are beginning an ongoing Critical Appraisal Workshop with the APN group here at the hospital. Our goal through this ongoing series of workshops is to communicate this excitement and sense of demystification to this group so that they, in turn, can do the same with the staff nurses throughout the hospital. I am sure this will be the first of many projects to be engendered through my participation in this course.
