Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: In response to the Ethiopian Government's aim to train 5000 specialist MDs and PhDs and 10,000 Masters graduates by 2018, the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration (TAAAC) was established to co-build capacity and sustainability in graduate programming at Addis Ababa University (AAU).Enhancing the discipline of medical library sciences is essential to the successful support of this expansion.
Objectives/Methods: With international collaboration, a program for clinical medical librarians will build capacity in library literacy skills, including the accessing of up-to-date information, with foundational knowledge of appraising the evolving literature in evidence-based medicine and critical thinking skills to support medical faculty and trainees. TAAAC-Library Sciences program has embarked on a plan for a prolonged partnership between the University of Toronto (UofT) and AAU by supporting library services with annual train-the-trainer programs, and the provision of access by affiliated researchers to the UofT libraries (Ptolemy) to access online resources including clinical decision support tools.
Results: Responding to the needs outlined by AAU, librarians and library assistants participate in workshops to upgrade clinical library skills and then pass this knowledge to others. We have begun to assess the impact of our library training sessions and the outcomes of this transfer of knowledge. We do know that librarians from UofT play a valuable role in supporting and assisting the learning of Ethiopian librarians and in return benefit from a wider understanding and experience of knowledge translation skills.
Conclusions: We have now taught over 700 learners. These learners include library staff, physicians, medical and nursing students.Our next steps include the beginnings of our distance or remote library search support, a review of the use of the UofT Libraries' e-resources, assignment based scenarios for clinicians, and web-based instructional modules to complement in country training sessions.
Objectives/Methods: With international collaboration, a program for clinical medical librarians will build capacity in library literacy skills, including the accessing of up-to-date information, with foundational knowledge of appraising the evolving literature in evidence-based medicine and critical thinking skills to support medical faculty and trainees. TAAAC-Library Sciences program has embarked on a plan for a prolonged partnership between the University of Toronto (UofT) and AAU by supporting library services with annual train-the-trainer programs, and the provision of access by affiliated researchers to the UofT libraries (Ptolemy) to access online resources including clinical decision support tools.
Results: Responding to the needs outlined by AAU, librarians and library assistants participate in workshops to upgrade clinical library skills and then pass this knowledge to others. We have begun to assess the impact of our library training sessions and the outcomes of this transfer of knowledge. We do know that librarians from UofT play a valuable role in supporting and assisting the learning of Ethiopian librarians and in return benefit from a wider understanding and experience of knowledge translation skills.
Conclusions: We have now taught over 700 learners. These learners include library staff, physicians, medical and nursing students.Our next steps include the beginnings of our distance or remote library search support, a review of the use of the UofT Libraries' e-resources, assignment based scenarios for clinicians, and web-based instructional modules to complement in country training sessions.