The Anne Ross Library EBSCO journal holdings are now linked with Google Scholar. This means that if your search results return a journal article that is included in one of our subscription databases, you will be alerted with the link for 'myUMHS' appearing to the right of the article description. See the section below on 'How do I set up Google Scholar?' for instructions on setting this up.
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed papers, theses, books,
abstracts and court opinions from academic publishers, professional
societies, online repositories, universities, and websites. While there is overlap between Google Scholar, Discovery Search, and individual library databases, it’s always helpful to have a variety
of research tools at your disposal.
Google Scholar links to many online
journal articles, but it does not link to all of the articles available
in the Anne Ross Library's online databases. By the same token, you may find
sources in Google Scholar that aren’t available through the library.
Google Scholar yields broad and comprehensive search results for
your topic, especially when looking for sources from different
disciplines. It is also useful for identifying related research or
for locating sources that have cited published articles you may have authored. The Search Alert tool is an additional benefit for staying up-to-date with information being published on your topic.
How do I set up Google Scholar?
You will need to do a one-time
set-up for your account to access full-text articles available through the Anne Ross Library.
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Go to scholar.google.com
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Be logged into your personal Google account
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Click Settings in Google Scholar
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Click Library Links
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Search for UMHS-SK or University of Medicine and Health Sciences
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Click myUMHS
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Click Save
If you access Google Scholar directly at scholar.google.com without
logging in and creating library links, full-text linking will not be
available. Follow the myUMHS link for instant access to any available article.
If you require further assistance to set this up please contact the library.
Labels: Anne Ross Library, database searching, Google Scholar, information search techniques, new library resources, UMHS, UMHS library services
The MedEd Revolution: AMA Steps Up Focus on Information Literacy
Medical education, in it's current modern form (since the Flexner Report of 1910) seems ripe for change if the response rate to a recent AMA program initiative is any indication. The American Medical Association recently developed a proposal outlining a number of key trans-formative changes they would like to see in the way physicians are educated. The response from US medical schools was in their words "overwhelming".
"The reason the AMA emphasizes “accelerating” change is that incremental changes aren’t enough to ensure that future doctors get the training they need in a world in which rapid business, population and technological changes have made being a doctor a much more dynamic profession. These have to be systemic changes, as bold and far-reaching in our time as they were in the wake of the Flexner report."
Click to read the full report (posted March 18, 2013): Medical schools signal readiness for revolution
In my role as Library Director at UMHS, a top tear Caribbean medical school, I habitually stress to our faculty and students the importance of that fundamental element for success as an 'evidence-based' medical practitioner, the ability to find the current best evidence. To determine the best diagnosis and course of treatment for the best clinical outcomes, medical students must learn how to locate the best, most up-to-date, credible medical evidence to support their case. This requires a fairly sophisticated level of skill in information searching, along with knowledge of the credible medical literature, the databases that contain it, as well as an understanding of the structure and functioning of the online environment.
I commend the AMA for recognizing the fact that mature information seeking behavior needs to be acquired by medical students, and for stepping up the focus on the importance of acquiring the concepts involved. Now the onus is on medical schools to include throughout their curriculum, embedded or otherwise, adequate instruction and ongoing reinforcement of information searching skills.
" The proposals reflect a changing health care delivery system transformed by technology so that the skill of finding and applying information is as important — or more so — than memorizing it."
You may be thinking, "Isn't Generation Y completely computer savvy already?" In fact the answer is no, for the most part they aren't. I can say this confidently because of another report finding, also recently released, called the JISC Digital Information Seeker Report. This report demonstrates what my gut has told me all along, that the crucial factor in student's information seeking behavior is convenience! What does this lead to? The report's initial results indicate that
"...as users progress through the educational stages, the digital literacies they employ do not necessarily become more sophisticated." "...findings indicate the students use smart phones and laptop computers to access Wikipedia, Google, teachers or professors, friends and peers to get information for their academic studies."
Click to read the full report (posted March 20, 2013): JISC Digital Information Seeker Report
Google is great for KISS ('
keep it simple searching') and
'needle-in-a-haystack' type searches, however when it comes to a medical diagnosis the
best, most accurate information is
required! An interesting
BMJ research article by
Hangwi Tang and
Jennifer Hwee Kwoon Ng, called
"Googling for a diagnosis - use of Google as a diagnostic aid: internet based study.", found that Google yielded a correct diagnosis
58% of the time (based on one year's worth of diagnostic case records published in the
New England Journal of Medicine). Not an accuracy rate that would inspire patient confidence!
If the anticipated MedEd revolution unfolds as the AMA is indicating, it is my hope that medical schools will recognize the expertise already in their midst and turn to their 'Information Professionals" ~ the
medical librarians! I will rest my case with the age-old words of wisdom penned by Samuel Johnson...
“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find the information.”
Labels: AMA, information literacy, information search techniques, medical education, searching skills
Navigating the Medical Literature with Medline & DynaMed
Join us for this EBSCO training event on
Thursday February 7, at 12:00 -1:00 in the Western Classroom.
Labels: Anne Ross Library, database searching, database training, DynaMed, EBSCO, information literacy, information search techniques, Medline Complete, UMHS events
