Bringing Information Literacy into your Clinical Teaching

Do you supervise medical learners who need answers to clinical questions on the fly? Are you unsure how to talk with learners about searching for and evaluating clinical evidence?   

This fully online, asynchronous program for clinical teachers uses universal design of learning (UDL) principles to provide opportunities for physician faculty who teach in a clinical setting to discover, confidently practice, and reflect on methods for searching and evaluating clinical evidence. Participants will also gain effective strategies for mentoring learners in their own search and evaluation of clinical evidence. This program will take place in Dalhousie’s Brightspace platform and will include 5 modules. It will take approximately 5 hours to complete. 

Program composition:

• Five online, asynchronous modules accessed through Dalhousie University's Learning Management system (Brightspace). Each module takes approximately 1 hour to complete (40 minutes of lecture content and 20 minutes of interactivity; Approximately 5 hours total to complete program):
     o Module 1: Information Literacy and Evidence-Based Medicine
     o Module 2: The Information-Seeking Process
     o Module 3: Exploring Artificial Intelligence for Locating Clinical Evidence
     o Module 4: Talking About Critical Appraisal
     o Module 5: Information Literacy in Everyday Clinical Teaching 
• Two knowledge-testing quizzes
• Interactive discussion posts
• Two brief assignments (submitted to the instructor) where participants will receive feedback
• Program evaluation upon completion of the program to help with ongoing development and currency of the content. 

Program objectives (CanMEDS Roles): 

Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

       1. Describe the importance of information literacy in evidence-based medicine (Scholar; Collaborator)
       2. Discuss ways to frame clinical questions and use research tools for different purposes (Scholar) Judge the effectiveness of generative AI tools for clinical information needs (Scholar; Health Advocate)
       3. Demonstrate an awareness of how to engage learners in critical appraisal activities (Scholar; Medical expert)
       4.Integrate sound principles of evidence retrieval/application into clinical teaching encounters (Scholar; Collaborator)
       5. Support EDIA efforts in Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine through an awareness of how clinical evidence may perpetuate healthcare disparities (Scholar; Health Advocate) 

If you have any questions about this program, please contact Jackie Phinney (j.phinney@dal.ca).