Exploring the Role of Library Collections in Furthering the Teaching Mission of Health Sciences Professional Programs in Canada

• Published in: The journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Vol. 36; no. 2; p. 95
• Main Author: Torabi, Nazi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thunder Bay Canadian Health Libraries Association 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Information sources; Library collections; Nurses; Nursing schools; Students; Teaching; Canada
• ISSN: 1708-6892

Introduction: Early exposure to practical knowledge and clinical settings plays an important role in the education of future health professionals. Like students in medicine and allied health professions, nursing students complete placements in hospitals and community health centres as part of their program requirements. Consequently, nursing schools rely on practicing nurses to become preceptors, teaching students through mentorship, supervision, and one-on-one instruction. The ongoing partnership between universities and practice sites is key to the success of the nursing preceptorship model. Many universities have implemented formal programs for better integrating the preceptors into the educational program. These formal programs include providing resources and offering professional development opportunities for preceptors. The literature shows that library privileges, as a resource, are either offered to the preceptors or are highly desirable to have. It would be interesting to investigate if there is a need to access online information by nurse preceptors in Canada. Objectives: The main purposes of this study are, firstly, to determine what types of information resources are accessible to nurse preceptors across Canada, and secondly, to identify how preceptors use information resources to support and enhance their preceptorship skills. Methods: The researchers will explore these questions using an online survey of nurse preceptors. Potential participants will be contacted through professional associations such as the Canadian Nurses Association, and directly through a convenience sample of Canadian nursing schools. The survey will investigate the scope of the information resources accessible to nurse preceptors, and how nurse preceptors use those resources to support and enhance their preceptorship skills. Results/Outcomes: At the time of this presentation, the researchers will still be analyzing collected data. The presenters will discuss preliminary survey results, and outline next steps for this project. Once data collection is complete, responses will be analyzed to identify the extent to which library collections are an incentive to potential instructors.