ICML 2009: Continuing Education: Quality Filtering: Critical Appraisal and Synthesis of the Literature

Presenter/s: Ms Sandra Martin, Assistant Director, Eskind Biomedical Library, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. [MLA accredited]

Biography: Sandra Martin, EdD, MLS, is the library's liaison with both Vanderbilt's Nursing School and Children's Hospital, providing expert information services, coordinating user training and contributing to the development of digital libraries for both groups. Ms. Martin has extensive experience with critiquing the medical literature as she is one of Eskind's senior clinical librarians, having been an integral member of the Neonatal Intensive Cares Unit's clinical rounding team for the past 13 years, contributing to clinical decision-making through evidence provision. Combining her education background with a firm knowledge base in medicine and medical librarianship, Ms. Martin is the Eskind Biomedical Library's expert trainer, coordinating instructional and orientation sessions for residents, faculty, medical & nursing students, as well as guiding EBL staff in their development of train-the-trainer skills. Ms. Martin has conducted training sessions on quality filtering for librarians at national and regional conferences.

Session:This course was prepared with the guidance of Nunzia B. Giuse, MD, MLS, Director of the Eskind Biomedical Library and Rebecca Jerome, MLIS, MPH, Assistant Director. Dr. Giuse implemented quality filtering of the literature as a major EBL information specialist function in 1996 and remains closely involved in training new information specialists. Through a combination of discussion and group exercises, participants will gain an understanding of: current trends in the use of biomedical knowledge and the usefulness/validity of its various sources; basic concepts of evidence-based medicine, including characteristics of various study designs, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and strengths and weaknesses of these research types; approaches to critically assessing evidence-based products; the proper technique for filtering biomedical information, including tailoring results to the clinical context, critically assessing the literature, and selecting and synthesizing key relevant items; and the importance of lifelong learning and building a personal knowledge base to increase filtering skills.