Report from the Quint Chapter Meeting
Posted on | January 20, 2015 | No Comments
Hella Bluhm-Stieber, MLIS, AHIP: Recipient of the 2014 MLGSCA Professional Development Award
This year’s Joint Meeting was a great success. It had excellent speakers and programs.
Dr. Claire Pomeroy was the first plenary speaker and spoke about how to create a healthier world by addressing the social determinants of health. She said that we have a value problem in health, that there is a disconnect between cost and outcome. We have persistent access problems. How can it be possible that 25% Hispanics are uninsured, a higher percentage than other groups, and that higher educated patients live longer? She said that we need to move from sick care to health care, from reactive to proactive, from acute intervention to primary care based, from hospital to population based medical model. She showed statistics about different health outcomes depending on where you live, e.g. worse outcomes in the Central Valley than in Marin County. Dr. Pomeroy also mentioned that 23.5 million Americans live in food desert. She advocates community grocery stores and gardens.
She also mentioned the US poverty rate which is 23%, and that we spend more on health care but less on social services compared to other countries. Medical respite programs for homeless are cost effective.
She recommended two articles dealing with these issues:
- Dumont DM, Allen SA, Rich JD.(2014). Sesame Street goes to jail: physicians should follow. Annals of Int. Medicine, 161(7), 522-3. PMID: 25285543;
- Sayer C1, Lee TH.(2014). Time after time–health policy implications of a three-generation case study. New England Journal of Medicine, 371, 1273-6. PMID: 25271599
She stated that we do not collect data on social determinants in the Electronic medical record, and that addressing social determinants will require new skill sets, where we as librarians can help.
She mentioned the Blue Ridge 2010 report, AAHC toolkit, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.rwjf.org/, county by county health statistics, social justice components, fiscal components…).
She told us that the University of New Mexico requires a certificate in Public Health for each medical student. Florida International University has a similar requirement.
Dr. Pomeroy ended her talk with a call for action: that health should be considered and integrated into all policies and programs, and that we need a collaborative approach to deal with these issues.
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The 2nd plenary speaker was Spero M. Manson, PhD, from the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health, at the University of Denver.
He talked about the major health issues for American Indians and Alaska Natives. One of them is diabetes, which was not existent in 1940s. He stated that the USDA Commodity food programs lead to the shift away from traditional foods.
This lead to an increase in chronic diseases. In 2009 the diabetes rate for American Indians was 16.1%, and the death rate 34%, double of whites. There is also an increase in cardiovascular disease.
In 1998 special diabetes programs for Indians were started: the healthy hearts program and a diabetes prevention program. The goals were to increase physical activity, healthier eating, and to grow your own gardens. Participants had lifestyle coaches and used photo voice digital stories.
There are two databases on native American health:
- The Native Health Database at http://hsc.unm.edu/community/cnah/nhd.shtml which was developed by the University of New Mexico.
- The Arctic Health website at http://arctichealth.nlm.nih.gov/ which includes grey literature, climate change, traditional healing, media.
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The 3rd Plenary Speaker was Dr. CT Lin, from the University of Colorado Hospital.
He was busting the myths of personal health records.
He talked about the traditional relationships in the hospital where the doctor is in the center and has control. With internet, patients now have access. Many doctors feel threatened since the relationships are changing.
What do patients want? In 2001: 87% us adults had Internet, 90% of online patients want to email their doctor, 56% of online patients say email access would influence choice of doctor.
MYTH 1: The flood gates will open, if patients can email doctor.
Reality: patients can reach me, no telephone tag.
Dr. Lin ran a controlled trial for 6 months. The results were:
24% improvement in message sending,
19% improvement in appointments requests.
There were also improvements in prescription refills.
In the online group, most messages were sent after hours. Only 27% were sent during clinic hours.
81% patients said, that it saved them phone call.
33% said, it saved them clinic visit.
There was no e-mail flood, but there was more patient satisfaction, the volume was modest.
Myth busted.
Myth 2: Releasing test results online will confuse patients.
They did a randomized trial called SPPARO project in 2002 with 100 congestive heart failure patients.
After 12 months, there were only minor problems.
Patients felt more empowered, trusted, understood.
There was no overuse by patients or misunderstanding.
Nursing saw it as an education tool.
After 6 years of lobbying, they launched MyMedicalRecord in 2008.
They put in delays for certain test results, so that doctor can call first before the patients sees the results online. They had 2 incidents where the patients saw the test results before the physicians could contact them.
Myth busted
Myth 3: Showing patients doctor’s Notes will lead to litigation, etc.
Myth Busted
Article: Delbanco T, Walker J, Darer JD, Elmore JG, Feldman HJ, Leveille SG, Ralston JD, Ross SE, Vodicka E, Weber VD (2010). Open notes: doctors and patients signing on.
Ann Intern Med., 153(2):121-5. PMID: 20643992
Myth 4: Social media can be used as a force for better patient care
Here comes everybody, Clay Shirky ( book)
Healthvault, Google Health was discontinued.
Colorado quitline, online support to quit smoking
Acor.org, Web personality who was helped through this Daily strength Patientslikeme
Medicare is releasing more and more data.
Doctor ratings, patient satisfaction
Myth is plausible
Fact: there are more online transactions, but less phone calls.
At the end he showed us a Youtube video called: Hospital of the Raising Sun at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG1FPigUaYw
The contributed papers and lightning talks dealt with many different issues, like “the no book at the reference desk: revisiting no-answers”, weeding a library to make room for collaborative spaces, finding open educational resources for international programs, creating info-literacy resources, embedded librarian, changing roles of librarians, creation of a digital library for public health, creating a brochure for children visiting the MICU, Information security for libraries, etc.
Many of the posters and contributed papers are available at: http://quintessential2014.sched.org/
(The posters are under the poster link, and then Drop box link. The paper links are at the end of each paper description.)
I really enjoyed the conference and would like to thank MLGSCA for supporting me with a grant that made it possible for me to attend.
The “Write Stuff” at the Quint
Posted on | December 1, 2014 | No Comments
The Writing Retreat at the Quint, sponsored by the South Central Chapter, was a fantastic experience! It was designed to give librarians time to work and get feedback on library research projects for future publication. The beautiful Anschutz Medical Center Library hosted the retreat from October 12-13. The library offered an array of comfy chairs, study rooms, and desks, including standing desks and even treadmill desks. SCC provided food, snacks, and coffee and tea.
Jack Bullion tries out the treadmill desk. Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again!
Four of the five MLA chapters sent representatives. Lynn Kysh, Deborah Schneider, and Kelli Hines attended from MLGSCA.
L to R: Deb Schneider, Kelli Hines, and Lynn Kysh. Also featured: beautiful autumn leaves!
First, everyone met together to discuss the expectations and then split off to go research or write for blocks of three hours at a time before regrouping. All the attendants benefited from the large chunks of dedicated and quiet writing time. It is remarkable how much you can accomplish without distractions! At the end of the first day, everyone printed a copy of what they had written and a list of questions for feedback. The next day, the rest of the group provided constructive criticism based on the questions and time was allotted to incorporate that feedback into the next draft.
Xan Goodman listens attentively to feedback from the other attendees.
I appreciated the opportunity to focus on my writing and meet wonderful people from other chapters. Thanks to SCC for your hard work in arranging this retreat! If you get a chance to attend a future writing retreat, go for it! It is well worth the time.
Call for book chapters: Librarians and translational research
Posted on | November 14, 2014 | No Comments
This is a call for authors to contribute to an MLA-published book on librarians and translational research, scheduled for publication in late 2015. The book will highlight examples of librarian involvement in various phases of the translational research enterprise, including best practices, challenges and emerging opportunities. Librarians from various institutions are contributing case studies, organized thematically around the different phases of translational research. These case studies will highlight the great work we do, and demonstrate that librarians play important roles in the research enterprise.
If you’ve been working with researchers or administrators affiliated with your institution’s Clinical and Translational Science Award, or if you’ve got experience working with or supporting any phase of translational research, please consider writing a case study for this book! Sample case studies may include descriptions of projects or experiences working with:
- basic/bench/preclinical investigators on translational research projects
- clinical researchers
- community members or community health organizations
- health services, health policy or effectiveness research
- national CTSA workgroups, task forces or committees (including former Key Function Committees)
- development or training/promotion of research tools, resources or services
- collection development of resources and tools to support all phases of translational research
- research networking tools, including portals, profile systems, software programs and apps
- organizational infrastructure to support research, including regulatory committees, research administration services, compliance (NIH Public Access Policy, data management plans)
- assessment or evaluation of research impact
- teaching/training health sciences students, practitioners or faculty in translational research programs
- training MLIS students (health sciences research, translational science, etc.)
If you are interested in contributing a case study to the book, or have any questions about this call for contributors, please contact Marisa Conte (meese@umich.edu) by Wednesday, 26 November. Please provide a working title and a brief (~200 words) description of the topic, project or experience you would like to write about.
A “Quint*Essential” Experience!!
Posted on | November 10, 2014 | No Comments
Ellen Aaronson, AHIP
Recipient of the 2014 MLGSCA Professional Development Award
Denver, Colorado was the site of the first Quint*Essential Meeting in October 2014. An MLGSCA Professional Development Award afforded me the opportunity to participate in this collaborative convergence of five MLA chapters. My interest in attending was two-fold: I served on the Planning Committee as Co-Chair of the Evaluation Committee, and was also a poster presenter!
Being part of the planning team for a meeting of this size gave me a courtside seat from which to view every intricate detail. My Co-Chair and I were charged with developing and administering evaluation tools for both attendees and vendors. We worked with an 18-member Planning Committee and our 10-member Evaluation Committee over the course of 18 months to research and select an evaluation resource, analyze past questionnaires, and create surveys for approximately 400 participants. Attending the conference gave me the opportunity to speak directly to the exhibitors as we hand-delivered and retrieved their print surveys. I was also able to get first-hand input from attendees during the course of the meeting. This will be valuable data when putting together our final report.
Much of the focus during the Quint Meeting was on systematic reviews and this past year and a half I participated on the MLA Systematic Review Project. Our team of 13 conducted a systematic review of research looking for evidence that the presence of a librarian improves patient outcomes, increases research dollars, improves student outcomes, or increases hospital intelligence. We followed research protocols under the direction of our team leader Laure Perrier and recently published our results in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. I was honored to assist in presenting our poster at the Quint Meeting. I learned a tremendous amount about evaluating material while working with my team, and was able to take the CE class in Denver on the role of librarians in systematic reviews taught by Margaret Foster and Ahlam Saleh. Margaret and Ahlam presented the basics of evaluating the literature, explaining that a systematic review can be considered “a study of reviews”. Emphasis was placed on the differences between a narrative or literature review, a meta-analysis, and a systematic review. An overview of the steps – define the research question, develop search criteria, select the articles, assess and code the data, and synthesize and write up the results – presented a good progression of the systematic review process. The instructors prepared a workbook which included case study activities and evaluation criteria and standards. One of the handouts was an extensive resource booklet including the typology of a review, Cochrane Handbook structure of search strategies, the PRESS checklist for reporting, and The Institute of Medicine Standards for Systematic Reviews along with a variety of coding forms and consulting worksheets. This class should definitely be a prerequisite for anyone considering work on a systematic review project!!
I was a moderator for the session on systematic reviews at the Quint Meeting, one of which was on the value of qualitative research, the other two stemming from the MLA Research Project that I had worked on. This session was extremely well attended and was followed by a lot of interactive discussion between the presenters and the attendees.
Being a part of the Quint Meeting was a unique experience. I worked with a great group of professionals, networked with colleagues, and danced the night away with good friends! Many thanks again to MLGSCA for this opportunity.
Job posting: NLM Head of National Network Office (Bethesda, MD)
Posted on | November 7, 2014 | No Comments
The Head of the National Network Office (NNO) of the NN/LM, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/network.html, serves as a national leader in developing collaborations among the varied types of libraries in the Network, including health sciences libraries, and academic and public institutions, to improve access to and the sharing of biomedical information resources. The NNO Head is responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and advising on all aspects of providing biomedical information, for outreach to groups experiencing health disparities, and for providing access to medical information in national and international emergency and disaster situations. The NNO Head advises on public health information policy issues as related to programs conducted throughout the Network. This is an exciting time for an incoming Head because plans for the 2016-2021 Regional Medical Library contracts are underway.
The job announcement will be posted from November 7 through 21 on USAJobs.gov. NLM seeks applicants from all sources. As a supervisory librarian at the GS-15 level, the position has a salary range of $124,995-$157,100, and reports to the NLM Associate Director for Library Operations, Joyce Backus. Application links are available on the “Careers @ NLM” web page, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/careers/jobopenings.html. For questions about this job, please contact Sheri Ligget, PHR, 301-402-7521, or sliggett@od.nih.gov.
NAHRS Award nominations
Posted on | November 7, 2014 | No Comments
The Honors Committee of the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section (NAHRS) seeks nominations for the NAHRS Award for Professional Excellence. This award recognizes a NAHRS member who exhibits outstanding leadership and exceptional librarianship in meeting the information needs of nursing and allied health professionals. The nomination may be made for service and contributions to the information needs of nursing and allied health professionals as demonstrated by excellence in leadership and librarianship, a history of professional publications, conference presentations and participation in NAHRS and MLA. The nominee must be a member of MLA and a member of the NAHRS Section. For additional details, see the nomination form at http://nahrs.mlanet.org/home/awards/nomination. All nominations must be received no later than December 1, 2014. The recipient receives a $100 cash award and will be recognized at the 2015 NAHRS Annual Business Meeting. To view past recipients, please visit: http://nahrs.mlanet.org/home/awards/past.
In addition, the Honors Committee seeks nominees for the Recognition for Lifetime Professional Contribution award. This award acknowledges a career of service at the time of retirement. To be considered for this award or to nominate a candidate, please submit a CV or letter of nomination. In addition, if you know of a NAHRS member, or are yourself reaching retirement, please contact Sarah Katz (sekatz@udel.edu) so that NAHRS can recognize this milestone.
Nancy Olmos wins MLGSCA Paraprofessional of the Year Award
Posted on | October 30, 2014 | No Comments
L to R: USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan, Nancy Olmos, Annie Hughes Thompson
Nancy has worked for the Wilson Dental Library (WDL) at the University of Southern California for 7 years as a Technical Services Assistant. Nancy continually goes above and beyond her daily work to improve the service and quality of the library. Customer service is key in any library however; Nancy has taken it to the next level. She even presented a paper at the 2013 MLGSCA/NCNMLG Joint Meeting in La Jolla, CA titled: “Training Library Staff to Provide Excellent Customer Service: Opportunities for Collaboration and Leadership.” At the same meeting, she also presented a poster titled: “One Wave at a Time: Embracing Change to Increase the Efficiency of Library Services.” “She has worked very hard processing books, ordering items from Rittenhouse, processing gifts/donations, supervising students, managing over dues and manning the circulation desk. Each of these tasks was given great attention and she still managed to go beyond and think of innovative ideas to improve the library and its services” said Annie Hughes Thompson in her nomination of Nancy. Nancy recently completed her MSLS and will begin a new position on November 3rd with the Norris Medical Library, University of Southern California as Head, Metadata & Content Management Librarian. Congratulations Nancy on all 3 counts: your degree, your award and your new position!
Nominations due for Janet Doe Lectureship
Posted on | October 30, 2014 | No Comments
The Janet Doe Lectureship Jury invites nominations for the 2016 Janet Doe Lectureship. One of the most prestigious awards given by the Medical Library Association, the lectureship recognizes an outstanding MLA member who has contributed to the Association in ways that reflect the vision and values of Janet Doe, and offers a unique perspective on either the history or philosophy of medical librarianship.
The recipient of this award will deliver the lecture at the 2016 Annual Conference held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you have an MLA colleague—or someone whose work admire—please consider submitting a nomination. This is your opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of an outstanding MLA member, and enable their dissemination and preservation.
Nominations should address the criteria specified in the award description available at https://www.mlanet.org/awards/honors/doe.html. A list of former recipients is available at the same link. Please submit nominations to Maria Lopez – awards@mlahq.org – before November 1.
2015 NLM Associate Fellowship Program
Posted on | October 25, 2014 | No Comments
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is accepting applications for its Associate Fellowship program, a one-year training program for recent MLS graduates and librarians early in their career. Applications and additional information are available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/training/associate/. The application deadline is February 5, 2015. Between 4 and 7 fellows will be selected for the program. All U.S. and Canadian citizens who will have earned a MLS or equivalent degree in library/information science from an ALA-accredited school by August 2015 are eligible for the program. Priority is given to U.S. citizens.
In the first half of the year, a formal curriculum offers exposure to library operations, research and development, intramural and extramural research, development and lifecycle of NLM’s web-based products and services and the extensive outreach and education program reaching consumers, special populations, health professionals and librarians. In the second half of the year, Associate Fellows have the opportunity to choose projects based on real-world problems proposed by library divisions and work with librarians and library staff over a six-seven month period. Successful projects have led to peer-review publications and to services that have become a regular part of library operations. The September through August program also offers professional development and an introduction to the wider world of health sciences librarianship that may include:
- Supported attendance at national professional conferences, often including the Medical Library Association’s annual meeting, the American Medical Informatics Association annual meeting and others
- Additional brown bags, seminars, field trips and learning opportunities available on the National Institutes of Health campus
- Opportunities to meet and interact with senior management at the National Library of Medicine
- Experienced preceptors from National Library of Medicine staff
- Potential to compete for a second year fellowship at a health sciences library in the United States
The Fellowship offers:
- A stipend equivalent to a U.S. Civil Service salary at the GS-9 level ($52,146 in 2014)
- Additional financial support for the purchase of health insurance
- Some relocation funding
For questions, please contact Kathel Dunn, Associate Fellowship Program Coordinator at 301-435.4083 or kathel.dunn@nih.gov.
Veterans Affairs Librarian (Las Vegas, NV)
Posted on | October 25, 2014 | No Comments
The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System (VASNHS) in Las Vegas is seeking candidates for a Librarian to serve in the Education Service of the Performance, Information and Education Product Line. The purpose of this position is to select, organize, preserve, access, and disseminate information and to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity of education activities. The salary range is $47,923 to $75,376 / per year. The application deadline is October 27. For a complete job description and application information, visit https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/384147200.
Nominations for Governmental Relations Award
Posted on | October 25, 2014 | No Comments
The Medical Library Association is seeking nominations for the annual Carla J. Funk Governmental Relations Award. This award recognizes a librarian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in governmental relations at the federal, state, or local level. The nominee must have been a member of MLA at the time the governmental relations activities occurred. The awardee is granted $500 and a certificate.
Nominations must be received by November 1, 2014. Self-nominations are welcome. For complete information about the criteria for this award see: mlanet.org>Login>About>Awards and Honors>Carla J. Funk Governmental Relations Award>Nomination Details.
Email nominations to: awards@mlahq.org.
Discovery and Access Librarian (Duarte, CA)
Posted on | October 25, 2014 | No Comments
City of Hope Lee Graff Medical & Scientific Library has a position open for a Discovery and Access Librarian. The Discovery and Access Librarian will coordinate the acquisition, implementation, and maintenance of all Library resources, systems, and access services as well as facilitate the City of Hope community’s discovery and use of library resources and services. The Discovery and Access Librarian will also provide general information, research support services and other duties needed to ensure the City of Hope’s mission.
Please see http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH13/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=CITYOFHOPE&cws=1&rid=3793 for the job description and specifics on applying for this position.