by Paul B. Drake
User Services & Document Delivery Librarian
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library, University of Guam
Mangilao, Guam

College students are at a time in life when habits are developed, and decisions are made that affect the direction and quality of their lives. Knowledge of accurate and reliable sources of health information is vital. (more…)

by Judith Kammerer, MLIS, MA, AHIP
Medical Librarian/Manager
UCSF Fresno and Community Regional Medical Center
Fresno, CA

The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) has organized an annual summit on translational bioinformatics (TBI) since 2008. I was fortunate to attend the 2013 Summit, which took place in San Francisco, CA, on March 18-20, 2013. This was made possible by an NN/LM PSR Professional Development Award, that supports hospital librarians in attending continuing education workshops and conferences. (more…)

by Mabel A. Trafford, Medical Librarian
Tripler Army Medical Center Library
Honolulu, Hawaii

On March 28, 2013, the Health Sciences Library and the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, hosted Supporting Open Access: Librarians as Advocates, Researchers, Educators and Role Models, a workshop sponsored by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region (NN/LM PSR); with presenters Lauren A. Maggio, MS (LIS), MA, Lane Medical Library & Knowledge Management Center, Stanford University Medical Center; and Laura Moorhead, MS, Stanford University School of Education. (more…)

by Yamila El-Khayat, MALS
Outreach Services Librarian, Arizona Health Sciences Library
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

The Eighth National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations: Achieving Equity in an Era of Innovation and Health System Transformation, which took place at the Oakland Marriott City Center March 11-14, 2013, was a spectacular event! I attended the meeting, along with Kay Deeney and Lori Tagawa from NN/LM PSR. Cheryl Rowan, MSLS, Consumer Health Coordinator from the NN/LM South Central Region, kicked off the event with a pre-conference session called From Beyond our Borders: Providing Health Information to Foreign-Born Populations. She covered the importance of quality health information for refugee and immigrant communities, not only in their language, but in ways that are easier to understand culturally. Her session included demonstrations of resources that are designed to fulfill the need for this kind of information. (more…)

On Wednesday, March 27, 2013, a meeting of the NN/LM PSR Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) was convened at the UCLA Faculty Center. The committee had not met as a large group for several years, so the membership was completely reconstituted and revitalized! Fifteen committee members, representing the constituencies served by the RML, attended the meeting, along with RML staff. Composition of the committee includes health professionals, hospital librarians, academic librarians, school and public librarians, community college librarians, community health librarians, and community-based organization representatives. A complete list of RAC members, along with minutes and presentation slides of the 3/27/13 meeting, are available on the NN/LM PSR web site. (more…)

The Medical Library Association’s educational webcast, “Partnering to Prevent Diagnostic Error: Librarians on the Inside Track,” held on March 13, 2013, was a success!

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region (NN/LM PSR), sponsored nine (9) regional sites for the broadcast of MLA’s Educational Webcast. There were a total of 97 people who viewed the webcast. (more…)

by Sunny Sritongsook, MLIS, AHIP
Medical Librarian
Scripps Mercy Hospital
San Diego, CA

Health care reform has repurposed health care in the US, and hospital leaders have been strategizing ways to continually improve processes for increased quality of care, while reducing medical errors and redundancy in the system. On the whole, it’s not an easy task to undertake, but utilizing knowledge management (KM) fits squarely with the design for immediate change in a complex environment. (more…)

by Frances Chu, MLIS, RN/NP
Associate Director of Reference & Outreach, Pumerantz Library
Western University of Health Sciences
Pomona, CA

On March 1, 2013, I attended the workshop Diagnostic Error: A Multidisciplinary Exploration, at Long Beach Memorial/Miller Children’s Hospital, with instructors Mark Graber, MD, Barb Jones, and Lorri Zipperer. The workshop focused on how clinicians make diagnostic errors and how librarians can be involved in a multidisciplinary team to address the issue of diagnostic error. Of interest to me, as a librarian and previously a clinician, were the studies about how clinicians think and make decisions, and how that can lead to diagnostic errors. (more…)

Due to popular demand, instructor Connie Schardt returned to the Pacific Southwest Region to provide a second offering of the one-day workshop, Information Treasure Hunt: Supporting Evidence-Based Practice @ Your Institution. The workshop focused on study design, critical appraisal, systematic reviews, and qualitative studies, ending with putting it all into practice. Nearly forty attendees braved the wet weather to attend the event, hosted at the Parnassus Campus of the UCSF Library & Center for Knowledge Management on November 30, 2012. (more…)

by Nancy Crossfield
Library Services Manager, William O. Owen Medical Library
Saint Agnes Medical Center
Fresno, CA

A five-week online class titled “Patient Safety Resource Seminar: Librarians on the Front Line” was taught in November-December 2012, with instructor Holly Burt, NN/LM Greater Midwest Region Outreach & Exhibits Coordinator. The course is based on a variety of materials freely available from the National Library of Medicine. I participated with librarians from around the country, including several from our region; Heidi Mortensen, Peggy Makie, Beverly McLeod, Lisa Olson, Carol Attwood, and Billie White. Following is a brief overview of the class content, including some useful links. (more…)