Library Services Training Programme

The Library Service is responsible for supporting all staff and students in accessing information to support evidence based medicine, education and learning.  To do this, the Library Services runs a number of short courses, drop-in sessions or even telephone assistance which can provide hand-on experience in accessing and searching online information resources effectively.

Pre-course requirements
You are expected to have reasonably good keyboard skills to participate in these courses. If you feel you would benefit more from individual training, it may be possible to arrange this or you can make use of the allocated drop in sessions for more tailored assistance.

To reserve your place on any of the courses, please email Anita Phul or telephone Barberry Library on 0121 301 2059

Follow the links below for 2012 dates and for further information about each course:

1. Basic Searching - Searching Healthcare Databases
2. Advanced Searching - Searching Healthcare Databases
3. Searching for evidence-based medicine and using the Cochrane database
4. Searching Pubmed
5. Searching using other online resources and current awareness tools

6. Drop-in sessions to help you find the evidence

7. Searching for Evidence - sessions for Consultant Psychiatrists
8. Searching for Evidence - sessions for SAS Doctors

9. Booking Peer Group or Department Training - tailored to your needs

1. Basic Seaching - Searching Healthcare Databases (1hr)
This course will help you acquire the basic skills required to locate relevant journal articles and book chapters using databases such as CINAHL, PsycINFO, Medline and Embase.  This is a useful course for those who have had little or no experience of searching databases, or those who would like to build up their skills very gradually. Example guided searches will be done to demonstrate how to conduct simple search and view and save results.   

2. Advanced Searching -Searching Healthcare Databases (2hrs)
Effective searching of Medline, CINAHL & PsycINFO
This course will help you acquire more detailed skills to locate relevant journal articles and book chapters using databases such as Medline, PsycINFO, Embase and CINAHL. This is a useful course for those who have some previous experience of searching databases and would like to know how to search in a more comprehensive and effective way or for those who require a thorough refresher. Two example searches will be done to demonstrate the most useful database features and will also cover how to broaden or narrow-down search results. 

3. Evidence Based Medicine and Cochrane: High Quality Evidence for Practice
(1hr, 30mins)
NB: It is advisable that you attend the Searching Healthcare Databases: Advanced course before you register for this course.
This course gives an introduction to the concept of evidence-based healthcare and focuses on how to search for the higher quality levels of evidence such as systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials, as well as how to identify these studies.  The resources examined in this session include the databases on the Cochrane Library, National Clinical Guidelines, Trip Database and Dynamed. 

4. Searching Pubmed (2hrs)
This session covers how to search the Pubmed database in more depth.  It is possible to search Pubmed freely online without the need for a password.

5. Online Mental Health resources and Current Awareness (1hr)
This short course gives an overview of how to search various resources such as our collection of e-journals, e-books, NHS Evidence and Google Scholar. The session will also look at how you can keep up to date with the research in your particular field using things like email alerts for journal tables of contents and current awareness bulletins. It will also cover how to create alerts so that relevant research studies to your subject of interest are regularly emailed to you.

6. **Finding the Evidence drop-in sessions - for assistance with searching for evidence for specific projects (1hr)
Get tailored, personalised assistance to meet your specific information needs.  This session can help with all types of questions related to searching for relevant literature to support your work in the Trust or to help with coursework assignments and dissertations. 

 **Although these sessions are offered on a drop-in basis, please let us know if you are making a special trip to Uffculme for them so that we can ensure they run as scheduled.  Those who have let us know in advance that they are attending may also take priority over others.