Supporting evidence-based education and research via the e-learning platform: a curriculum-integrated approach
Julia Chan
Last modified: 2008-04-25
Abstract
Evidence-based medicine is defined as "the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients." The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine, at its first Faculty workshop on medical education in November 1995, recognized a need for change and recommended a move towards student-centered, integrated and problem-based teaching. Evidence-based practice curriculum commenced in September 1996 following the International workshop on "New Innovation in Medical Education" in February 1996. The medical librarian was invited to the Faculty Teaching Quality Committee and participated in the Faculty Based Curriculum Review and Teacher Training Project. Presently, the EBM curriculum is fairly established in the Medical Faculty.
To help improve faculty's teaching and research effectiveness, the medical librarian takes an active role in delivering information literacy education, participates in the Faculty's medical informatics curriculum and offers curriculum-related evidence-based training to medical and nursing students. This project is an attempt of the medical librarian to collaborate with the Department of Community Medicine with the objective to provide more effective delivery of teaching and learning support through integration of information literacy skills into the curriculum within the course management system. Training support will be embedded and learning activities will be designed to enhance the students' searching skills for evidence, to empower students to develop critical thinking, and to become independent lifelong learners. The project aims to facilitate timely, efficient use of resources by providing "just-enough-just-in-time" instruction/information within the course management system to support teaching, research and life-long learning. It also intends to extend the initiative of evidence-based approach in information literacy programs via the e-learning platform across discipline boundaries to other faculties in the university benefiting all students, staff and the entire learning community.
To help improve faculty's teaching and research effectiveness, the medical librarian takes an active role in delivering information literacy education, participates in the Faculty's medical informatics curriculum and offers curriculum-related evidence-based training to medical and nursing students. This project is an attempt of the medical librarian to collaborate with the Department of Community Medicine with the objective to provide more effective delivery of teaching and learning support through integration of information literacy skills into the curriculum within the course management system. Training support will be embedded and learning activities will be designed to enhance the students' searching skills for evidence, to empower students to develop critical thinking, and to become independent lifelong learners. The project aims to facilitate timely, efficient use of resources by providing "just-enough-just-in-time" instruction/information within the course management system to support teaching, research and life-long learning. It also intends to extend the initiative of evidence-based approach in information literacy programs via the e-learning platform across discipline boundaries to other faculties in the university benefiting all students, staff and the entire learning community.