Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Course Development: Building Reference Skills for Nursing and Allied Health Research

Background: In 2019, the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) embarked on a process to update a course that aimed to 1) teach participants how to evaluate quality health websites for nurses; 2) enable participants to describe and evaluate quality nursing resources available on the Internet; and 3) demonstrate searches for nursing literature in PubMed. The curriculum development team further refined these objectives. The new course would enable participants to connect National Library of Medicine resources to the needs of nursing and allied health professionals. After taking the course, participants would be able to list the ways librarians can support the information needs of their nursing and allied health audiences.

Description: The NNLM curriculum development team met from November 2019 through December 2020 to develop a course that would be launched in early 2021. In the kick-off meeting, the team agreed to investigate needs and best practices for librarians teaching nursing and allied health professionals. Members of the team divided up course development tasks. They reconvened bimonthly to share relevant information resources, sharpen the learning objectives, and share ideas for course activities such as readings, quizzes, and written assignments. The result is a three-week asynchronous course that is designed for library staff who support, or want to support, nursing and allied health professionals. In week one, participants learn about the information needs of nursing and allied health professionals. Week Two introduces participants to relevant information resources. Week Three asks participants to apply learning through creating and sharing a professional development plan.

Conclusion: We gathered evaluation data after the pilot launch in December 2020 and three sessions taught in early 2021. We will address participant needs for better navigation and more time to complete the professional development plan. We hope to offer this course in Summer 2021.