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Last revised May 6, 2006

Course Syllabus for Health Sciences Library Administration and Practice


Summer 2006 Instructor: Sandra Kramer

COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITES

Health Sciences Library Administration and Practice

IRLS 588-002

Prerequisite: None

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

" Overview of health sciences library management, information resources, library services, health sciences environment and career paths. Includes Evidence-Based Medicine which promotes scientific literature in the clinical decision making process and electronic resources present in today's health sciences library. 3 credits"

What will we be covering in this course?

Health sciences librarianship offers many exciting career paths in hospitals, academia, government, corporations and special libraries. We will explore the skills, resources, management and trends of today's health sciences library. Readings will include the information requirements of health care professionals, patients, consumers and researchers. Lectures and readings will provide knowledge of print and electronic resources, technology and systems. Budgets, leadership case studies, marketing and interviewing skills will also be covered in readings and assignments. The course will include brief coverage of PubMed database and its medical subject headings. An in-depth medical database searching class will be offered in Fall , 2006. The National Library of Medicine, consortia, professional societies and collaboration in support of excellence will be reviewed.

Course Format: This course will be taught virtually using D2L on the Web. Lectures will be posted twice a week with discussion forums set up for each lecture. You will be expected to actively participate in online discussions, posting a comment, question or reply at least once for every lecture. There is no required textbook for this course. Assigned readings will be available electronically.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of the course, students should understand and be able to demonstrate working knowledge of: health sciences information services and management of health sciences libraries. Students should understand the principles and practices related to providing accurate, timely, relevant, cost effective information to health professionals, patients and healthcare consumers. Students will also have knowledge of collaboration, networking and career paths in health sciences librarianship.

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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

There is no required text to buy. All readings will be available electronically. Some assigned readings will be accessed online through the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database which provides access to biomedical literature. Other readings will be available through the Arizona Health Sciences Library's electronic reserves. (Password will be distributed in D2L .)

The following journals, texts and professional associations support health sciences library administration and practice:

Journals:

Journal of the Medical Library Association ; Medical Reference Services Quarterly ; International Journal of Medical Informatics ; Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

Texts:

Boorkman , J.A ., Huber, J.T . & Roper, F.W . (Eds.) (2004). Introduction to Reference Sources in the Health Sciences (4th Edition). New York : Neal- Schuman .

Forsman , R.B .( Ed.). (2001). Current Practice in Health Sciences Librarianship . Blue Ridge Summit : Scarecrow Press.

Societies

Medical Library Association ; Special Libraries Association ; American Medical Informatics Association

 

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS

There are four components that go into the final course grade:

Requirement

Percentage of Final Grade

Participation

10%

Exercises

20%

Midterm Project

30%

Final Project

40%

Participation : Online discussion of course lectures and readings will take place in D2L discussion forums. You will be required to post a thoughtful comment at least once for every lecture. Further information on discussion forums and use of email will be located on D2L .

Exercises : Four exercises will be assigned during the course:

  1. PubMed literature searches: author, single citation matcher, review article
  2. Management case study
  3. Evidence-based medicine fundamentals
  4. Medical Subject Headings ( MeSH ) selection using National Library of Medicine's MeSH database

Midterm Project : Create 2-3 page marketing overview of library resources and services. Your marketing presentation will be targeted to a specific client group assigned to you the first week of class. Examples: Pediatricians or Emergency Room Physicians or Obstetrical Nurses.

Final Project: You have been hired to establish a new medical library in a 200 bed community hospital. You must establish all aspects of the library, including book and journal collections, services based upon strategic priorities and a budget. For this assignment, you will be given details of the hospital's management team, clinical services, long term goals and patient population. More information on this assignment is available in the course outline.

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COURSE POLICIES

Academic Code of Integrity

Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity . 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.

Accommodating Disabilities

The University has a Disability Resource Center . If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

Assignment Policies

The classroom environment for this virtual course is D2L .

Complete assigned readings by the end of the day on which they are scheduled.

Actively participate in class discussions by posting at least one thoughtful comment for each lecture.

Midterm project and the final project will be sent via the D2L DropBox link. Graded projects, both midterm and final, will be returned to students.

Specific due dates for all readings, exercises and projects will be posted on D2L .

 

Incompletes

The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual, p.23 reads

The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incomplete grade before the end of the semester ...

If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.

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GRADING

Grade Breakdown

Requirement

Percentage of Final Grade

Participation

10%

Exercises

20%

Midterm Project

30%

Final Project

40%

Assignment of Course Grades:

Course grades will be assigned as follows:

A=90+ ( Superior Work)

B=80-89 (Very Good)

C=70-79 (Marginally Satisfactory)

F=0-69 (Failed to meet requirements)

Students are required to submit all assignments and exercises. Work submitted late will lose ten (10) points. Any requests for extended time for assignments, such as medical reasons, must be approved by the instructors on a case by case basis.

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CONTACTING ME

Sandra Kramer

I am physically located in the Arizona Health Sciences Library, Room 2150P. I am available through University email Monday - Friday. I am also available, by appointment, either in my office or by telephone. My office phone number is 520.626.6438, but the best way to reach me is through University email. I will make every effort to respond to your email messages and telephone calls promptly.

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