Informatics at Georgetown University Medical Library: Class of 2000 and Beyond
Alexandra Gomes, MLS, MT
Abstract: Each year since 1989, Georgetown University medical students have been
introduced to the world of medical informatics as part of the medical
school curriculum. Through the Medical Data and Reasoning (MDR) class
students are taught the history and theory of the field. In addition, the
students participate in hands-on lab sessions which have evolved over the
years as we have learned the best methods for introducing the many
disparate resources that make up medical informatics. These labs are
designed and taught by the librarians of the Biomedical Academic Computing
Center in conjunction with the medical school faculty and input from
medical students.
As the field of medical informatics progresses so does the computer
literacy of each entering medical school class. This progress is
demonstrated by the results of our annual computer literacy survey. To
ensure that the students are able to take full advantage of the library's
electronic resources and meet the demands of the Problem Based Learning
curriculum, MDR now occurs in the first quarter of the first year
curriculum. The four lab sessions are organized around four topics:
electronic mail and the World Wide Web, medical literature and online data,
patient records, and diagnostic/expert systems. Each lab includes a
demonstration of the relevant resources as well as time to complete the
related assignment. The ability to conduct a literature search, surf the
'net, and use other informatics tools improves with practice; MDR provides
our future physicians an introduction to the array of resources available
for education, research and clinical practice.
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