Skip all navigation and go to page content
NN/LM Home About NER | Contact NER | Feedback |Site Map | Help Bookmark and Share

Class Descriptions

Topics on this page:

Our goal is to promote awareness of and access to biomedical information resources for librarians, health professionals, community based organizations and the public. One of the ways we do this is by offering training in the effective use of online health information resources, highlighting National Library of Medicine and National Network of Libraries of Medicine products and services.

Classes Offered

Class Descriptions

¿No Comprende? Spanish Health Information Resources for English Speaking Librarians
Do you have a growing Latino population in your community? Do you need to find health information in Spanish fast but don't know where to look? Are the only words in your Spanish vocabulary burrito and gracias? If you answered yes to these questions, then this is the class for you. This 4-hour hands-on class will cover resources for learning basic, library, medical and Internet vocabulary. You will also learn to evaluate and identify health websites in Spanish to which you can direct your patrons. (4 MLA contact hours)

Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health
Evidence-Based Public Health (EBPH) involves using the best available evidence to make informed public health practice decisions. This class will introduce the concepts of EBPH and provide demonstrations how to find and use online resources for public health practice. Resources highlighted will include evidence-based guidelines, systematic reviews, formulated literature searches, best practices, and public health journals and bibliographic databases.

Geeks Bearing Gifts: Unwrapping New Technology Trends
This class is intended to provide a fun, fast-paced, and informative introduction to update on today's hottest technology trends. Program participants will be able to identify technology trends and they will understand how these trends will impact or can be integrated into traditional library services. Content will be presented with a "can-do" focus intended to encourage participants to investigate at least one technology for implementation in their institution. Course structure will include brief vignettes and demonstrations of a wide variety of technologies. Some of the topics to be covered include instant messaging, podcasting, open source software, spyware and other malware, developments in mobile computing, blogs and wikis, radio-frequency identification, and more. (4 MLA CE contact hours)

Going Green with the NLM: Environmental Health and Toxicology Information
This class will provide an introduction to National Library of Medicine databases and other online resources on environmental health, toxicology, hazardous substances, and toxic releases.

Grant Proposal Writing
Designed for beginning grant proposal writers, this class presents a general overview of the grant and funding processes as well as the level of detail required in a successful proposal. Each component of the grant writing process will be addressed, including: documenting the need; identifying the target population; writing measurable objectives; developing a work plan, budget, an evaluation plan and dissemination plan. Learn about funding opportunities through the NN/LM, NLM and other sources. Participants will have the opportunity to draft objectives, methods and evaluation plans for a potential proposal. (4 MLA contact hours)

The Healthy Librarian: Cultivating Wellness in the Workplace
Learn simple strategies to cultivate wellness in the workplace at your library. Participants will learn skills to manage challenges of the job. This interactive session will explore practical solutions including stress management skills, ergonomics and how to incorporate more activity into your day. Resources for improving one’s health literacy including health check tools and developing resiliency for changes in the profession will be explored. Participants will leave with enhanced knowledge and practical skills for incorporating healthy habits into their daily work. (2 MLA contact hours)

Keeping up with NLM's PubMed
With a hands-on approach, this class will show attendees how to use the features of PubMed effectively. Attendees will be able to describe the contents of PubMed; formulate basic search strategies; display, print, and save results in various formats; revise and refine searches; and use special features such as Related Articles, Link to journals, Citation Matcher, and Clinical Queries. The class will be online and hands-on. The instructor will demonstrate online searches and students, at computers connected to the Internet, will be invited to follow along. Time for individual practice will be provided. (2, 3, or 4 MLA contact hours)

LinkOut Review
This class is intended to offer an updated and comprehensive review of LinkOut, a service of the Entrez system developed and maintained by NLM’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). LinkOut allows libraries to link directly from PubMed and other Entrez databases to a wide range of information and services beyond the Entrez system. Libraries already using LinkOut or those currently evaluating implementation of a third party link resolver for the purpose of establishing full-text links to online resources would benefit greatly from class content. Class topics include: (a.) What’s New with LinkOut ; (b.) Why you should use LinkOut; (c.) Setting Up LinkOut; (d.) Exploring Alternatives to LinkOut: LinkOut Local & Outside Tool; as well as (e.) Tips & Reminders.

Making PubMed Work For You
This class is intended to hone basic searching techniques and the ability to develop search strategies that will take advantage of the PubMed interface to MEDLINE. The course will explore various methods for searching the PubMed system. Topics covered include using MeSH and search qualifiers, limiting search results, and refining your search. This course will provide an in-depth view of the system and demonstrate utilizing the features of PubMed to search effectively. The 3.5 version of the course provides the attendees with hands-on opportunities to practice their search techniques. (3.5 MLA contact hours)

MedlinePlus.gov and PubMed.gov: Your Connection to Quality Online Health Information
Come learn about the National Library of Medicine’s free quality online health information resources for the consumer and experienced health information searcher. MedlinePlus.gov and PubMed.gov are relevant for all librarians – school, public, academic, and special librarians! Get the inside scoop on what’s new with MedlinePlus.gov and PubMed.gov!

The National Library of Medicine: Hey! Look at us now!
Sure, you know MedlinePlus and PubMed. But what else is out there? From measles to molecules, from child safety to clinical trials, from genetics to geriatrics, NLM has a wealth of free online information resources available. Take a guided tour of some of NLM's databases. See them demonstrated.Try them out yourself! This is your opportunity to get an overview of some fabulous resources you may not have had the time to experience yet. We'll take a brief look at the old favorites (PubMed, MedlinePlus, TOXNET), but we'll also look at some of the other things NLM offers -- from Profiles in Science to Daily Med to Turning the Pages to Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals, there's a wealth of information for you from NLM.

NLM Systems Update
This course is designed to bring educational opportunities about NLM and NN/LM systems and services to local or sub-regional groups. The course will review and update participants' knowledge of DOCLINE; Linkout; MedlinePlus, PubMed; other NLM programs, systems, and databases; and NLM and NN/LM grants and awards. Sharing an educational experience with colleagues from the same geographic area strengthens interpersonal interactions, allows for sharing expertise and experience, and builds partnerships and cooperation. The course will be of variable length, from 1.5 to 6 hours, and of variable content depending on the needs of the local group, what's new at NLM and NN/LM, time available for presentation and facilities. (1.5-6 MLA contact hours)

Nursing on the Net: Health Care Resources You Can Use
Looking for the latest developments in patient care but finding too much, too little or inadequate information? This hands-on workshop is designed for librarians responsible for information services to the Nursing and Allied Health professions. Participants will learn to use and evaluate web based health information resources, find online news services, continuing online education courses, and consumer health web sites. Participants will also learn to search the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database of over 15 million citations using the PubMed interface. The workshop will also cover MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine's web site for consumer health information. (4 MLA contact hours)

An Ounce of Prevention: Quality Online Resources for Children’s Health
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The current health care system demands that patients take charge of their own health. We can empower patrons and ourselves to be informed participants in wellness and disease management. Come learn about quality online resources for children’s health information. This presentation will focus on free online resources including MedlinePlus.gov, KidsHealth.org, and others. User friendly information on health conditions, coping with chronic illness, drug information, complementary and alternative medicine, doctor finders and support groups will be demonstrated.

Public Health Online Resources: Overview of PHPartners.org
This class presents an overview of electronic information resources available from the public health web portal, PHPartners.org. The class will highlight information resources tailored to the public health workforce including health education and promotion, data and statistics, legislation and policy, jobs and careers, public health news, environmental health, nutrition, and more!

PubMed for Experts
Designed as an advanced class for experienced MEDLINE searchers. This hands-on class will highlight advanced PubMed techniques that can be used to conduct comprehensive searches. Attendees are encouraged to contribute past and present difficult searches to discuss with the class. Participants will be able to: 1) Discuss PubMed applications; 2) Understand recent changes to PubMed; 3) Understand and demonstrate advanced searching techniques (3 or 4 MLA contact hours)

PubMed for the Rest of Us: Searching the Medical Literature for the Non-Expert
This class will cover basic and field searching, journal browser, clipboard, history and other features. It will also cover how to obtain full-text articles. (3 MLA contact hours)

PubMed Update
This brief session will focus on changes to the PubMed interface. It will cover the changes as they exist at the time of the class. In 2008-9 there are new discovery objects displaying with search results such as Citation Sensor, Drug Sensor, Recent Activity and others that display related searches or content. This session will include an introduction to the Advanced Search page and MyNCBI. (1 to 1 1/2 MLA contact hours)

Savvy Library Services for Senior Health
Come learn to provide savvy library services for senior health information. This program will address the health information searching behavior of seniors and how we can best serve them. The presenter will share lessons learned from outreach with senior citizens and their care providers. Participants will leave with enhanced knowledge of seniors’ health information needs, resources for healthy aging and how to create meaningful programs for senior health information.

TOXNET: Toxicology & Environmental Health Information
This in an introductory class on the TOXNET databases for inexperienced users. Participants will learn about the different databases available on TOXNET and what type of information is available in each database. In addition, participants will learn the various ways to search the databases. (2 MLA contact hours)

Will Duct Tape Cure my Warts? Examining Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The goal of this class is to increase understanding of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Students will learn the history of CAM and its impact on medical practices. They will learn how CAM is used, how to avoid “bad science” and how to look up evidence of the effectiveness of CAM therapies. This class is offered for 2 hours or 4 hours. Both classes will include lecture, discussion, and hands-on training. (2 or 4 MLA contact hours)

Top of Page

Online Learning

Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library
This class will cover the information seeking behaviors of consumers. It will also address the recommended core reference collection, as well as databases and newsletter/ periodicals. It will cover the reference interview, disclaimers and privacy as well as networking with medical librarians. The class will introduce the students to the Medical Library Association and its local chapters. It will describe possible ways to market this service in a community. Class includes a Moodle course shell as well as two Adobe Connect session. (8 MLA Contact Hours)

Caring for the Mind: Providing Mental Health Information at Your Library
Responding to mental health reference questions is challenging for even the most experienced librarian. In "Caring for the Mind", the participants will learn how to effectively provide reference services for mental health information. Participants will learn the best web sites, databases and collection development materials to respond to mental health related questions. Handling the reference interview with care and sensitivity will be explored. The class will include both hands-on and discussion. Class is held via Moodle. (4 MLA Contact Hours)

First Look: Molecular Biology Resources from NCBI
Don't know much about biology? That's OK. Always been hesitant to look at those "other" databases from NCBI? Then this course is for you. It is designed specifically for librarians who have little or no experience using the molecular biology resources from NCBI. This course presents a brief introduction to some basic but fundamental concepts of molecular biology. Then, four different databases from NCBI are introduced: Entrez Gene, Entrez Nucleotide, Entrez Protein, and OMIM. Participants will have a chance for some hands-on practice in each of these databases. This course is an excellent starting point for learning about some of the NCBI resources. Course is currently under development.

Top of Page

Continuing Nursing Education (CNE)

Three courses are approved for CNE credit.

General Information on CNE Courses

  • Medical Websites for Nurses (1 hour)
  • Patient Education Resources from the National Library of Medicine (1 hour)
  • PubMed Basics (1hour)

Top of Page