The number of incidents, when compared to the total number of disciplinary actions taken by medical boards, is small, but can be expected to grow as more physicians embrace and use social media.

In contrast, at Ohio State University (OSU), instructors recognize that today’s learners rely more heavily on technology to gain knowledge for a future career. A pilot study showed how social media (in this case, Twitter and Facebook) can be used to “push” helpful information to students on a daily basis. More than half of the participants had not used Twitter previously, and upwards of 80% found it a useful and helpful addition to their course.

Any tool can and will be used and misused, social media included. What is important is to learn from our mistakes, and remain open to new and novel ways to benefit all.

“Providing users with good information literacy skills is an important function of library services, and most health libraries carry out some level of user education activity” (Stevenson, 2012).

Stevenson goes on to point out that while the learner can usually demonstrate what they’ve learned in class, there is no assurance this knowledge will be applied in daily work activities. Training takes place in a social context, which can have a significant effect on whether or not such training is applied. Stevenson recommends viewing training and library services as part of a larger system: is the environment conducive to implementing newly-acquired skills? What barriers are in place?

Testing the learner at the end of the training is a commonly used method of evaluation. Stevenson points out that such tools probably haven’t been tested for validity or reliability, and suggests using validated tests such as the Fresno test (Tilson, 2010). While not tested to this standard, incorporating evidence-based information literacy instruction into the curriculum is one way to demonstrate whether students at least understand how to find answers based on research.

Our Education Team currently offers embedded information literacy instruction to third year medical students during the obstetrics and gynecology rotation of their clerkship. Each student is given a clinical question that must be answered using evidence provided by medical and other research. For two, 2-hour sessions, students learn about different evidence-based resources, and present what they’ve learned to their peers. The exercises also help them to research the answer to their question. During the third week, librarians and medical faculty meet individually with students to check on their progress, and help them translate their findings into a ten-minute PowerPoint presentation. The following two sessions are spent presenting these findings, and receiving feedback from medical and library faculty, and peers. Presentations are graded and archived, and though we do not use a “validated” testing instrument, it is clear from interactions with students at the end that they have gained some appreciation for the importance of research in evidence-based medicine.

Does your medical library provide information literacy instruction for students? What form(s) does it take, and how do you evaluate learning? Tell us about it!

References:

Stevenson, P. (2012). Evaluating educational interventions for information literacy. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 29(1), 81-86. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2011.00976.x

Tilson, J. K. (2010). Validation of the modified Fresno test: assessing physical therapists’ evidence based practice knowledge and skills. BMC Med Educ, 10, 38. doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-10-38

[Chisolm] “is one of a growing number of medical professionals who, despite the present-day climate of strict patient privacy regulations and oversight, see the benefits of using social media to supplement their work and interact with colleagues, patients and the general public.” She connects with others using her Twitter accounts @whole_patients in order to “demystify psychiatry and psychotherapy for patients and doctors,” and @psychpearls , “which is targeted to learners interested in ‘clinical pearls’ about psychiatry.”

She and a colleague, Tabor Flickinger, a clinical education fellow, are designing a curriculum to train students at the School of Medicine in the use, benefits and potential pitfalls of using social media in medicine. In December 2011 they received an Osler Center for Clinical Excellence small grant award to run a pilot study with medical students during their third year clerkship of 2012 – 2013.

The format of the pilot study will be a voluntary online addition to clinical activities during the eight-week Internal Medicine Clerkship. One group of students will participate in a blog where they can write about and discuss their clinical experiences. Another group will serve as a comparison cohort; they will be studied but will not participate in the blog (from the Hopkins Gazette article).

No doubt many forward-thinking medical institutions, such as the University of Utah, will be watching for the results of this study.

Are you using social media in your practice (medical, psychiatry, or whatever)? How helpful has it been? What have proven to be the pitfalls? Tell us about it!