“Mini-Medical School for Librarians”: from needs assessment to educational outcomes

Purpose: This study evaluates the outcomes of the ʹʹMini-Medical School for Librariansʹʹ or ʹʹMedical School Experience,ʹʹ a continuing education symposium designed to improve librariansʹ understanding of medicine and medical education. Subjects: The subjects are the symposium participants, a group that consisted of fifty-eight medical librarians and other information professionals. Methodology: Pre- and post-symposium self-evaluation surveys gauged participantsʹ self-assessed confidence with the course content. A follow-up survey was administered six months after the symposium. A learning action plan recorded both the intended and actual applications of course content to professional settings. Results: T-test analysis of paired pre- and post-symposium responses reveal a significant positive change in the mean self-assessed confidence with course content immediately following the symposium. Pairings of post-symposium and follow-up survey responses indicate a slight reversal in attendeesʹ confidence in the months following the symposium, but pairings of pre-symposium and follow-up survey results demonstrate that the longitudinal impact of the program on self-assessed confidence with course content was positive and significant. Analysis of the learning action plan revealed a disparity in how participants planned to use the information they learned in the course and how they actually used it. Conclusions: Continuing education programs that address the content and structure of medicine can be an effective means by which to inform both the noviceʹs and mid-career medical librarianʹs understanding of medicine and medical education.