Leveraging accreditation to integrate sustainable information literacy instruction into the medical school curriculum.

Natalie Tagge

doi:10.5195/jmla.2018.276

Abstract

BackgroundWhile the term “information literacy” is not often used, the skills associated with that concept are now central to the mission and accreditation process of medical schools. The simultaneous emphasis on critical thinking skills, knowledge acquisition, active learning, and development and acceptance of technology perfectly positions libraries to be central to and integrated into the curriculum.Case PresentationThis case study discusses how one medical school and health sciences library leveraged accreditation to develop a sustainable and efficient flipped classroom model for teaching information literacy skills to first-year medical students. The model provides first-year medical students with the opportunity to learn information literacy skills, critical thinking skills, and teamwork, and then practice these skills throughout the pre-clerkship years.ConclusionsThe curriculum was deemed a success and will be included in next year’s first-year curriculum. Faculty have reported substantial improvements in the information sources that first-year medical students are using in subsequent clinical reasoning conferences and in other parts of the curriculum. The effectiveness of the curriculum model was assessed using a rubric.

Highlights

While the term “information literacy” is not often used, the skills associated with that concept are central to the mission and accreditation process of medical schools
Many changes to medical education in the past decade have been the result of the recommendations of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
These changes have led to the development of a new medical education model that emphasizes “critical thinking, lifelong learning skills” [1]

Summary

Background

While the term “information literacy” is not often used, the skills associated with that concept are central to the mission and accreditation process of medical schools. The simultaneous emphasis on critical thinking skills, knowledge acquisition, active learning, and development and acceptance of technology perfectly positions libraries to be central to and integrated into the curriculum. Case Presentation: This case study discusses how one medical school and health sciences library leveraged accreditation to develop a sustainable and efficient flipped classroom model for teaching information literacy skills to first-year medical students. The model provides first-year medical students with the opportunity to learn information literacy skills, critical thinking skills, and teamwork, and practice these skills throughout the pre-clerkship years

Conclusions

BACKGROUND

DISCUSSION

Evaluation