Submitted by Carol A. Powell, John A. Prior Health Sciences Library,
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
This poster describes how librarians at the Ohio State University (OSU) Prior Health Sciences Library became instructors of a required course in a special College of Medicine curriculum for honors-eligible undergraduates.
The biomedical science (BMS) undergraduate major, which offers a bachelor of science degree, is designed to attract honors students interested in making a commitment to biomedical research and/or careers as health sciences professionals. One of the curriculum's unique aspects is that students are expected to acquire at least one year of experience in a biomedical research laboratory.
Teamwork, problem-solving and oral/written communication skills are emphasized. Students also participate in clinical shadowing and volunteer work in the OSU Medical Center and in other research and health care organizations. A few have even done biomedical research and clinical shadowing in South America, Africa and Europe.
Another unique aspect of the BMS curriculum is the information literacy requirement. In the freshman year, the students must take two courses in which a health sciences librarian is a co-instructor. Topics in these courses include searching for, retrieving, reading and organizing information from high-quality texts, research journals and professional websites.
Seminar sessions on critical analysis of research articles, copyright law, scientific communications and presentations skills are also offered as content in the two courses. Students apply this knowledge in two required team presentations with accompanying bibliographies of research articles.
Pre- and post-tests demonstrate that the students improve their understanding of concepts, skills and information-seeking behavior. The information literacy education they acquire is one factor in the students' accomplishments after the freshman year but before graduation - publication in professional journals, research awards and recognition.