Welcome to the ALPS LINK Site of the Month for October!

This month we've chosen to highlight the excellent PubMed Workbook: Canadian Pharmacy Practice Program, by Teresa Lee, at Woodward Library, UBC.

There are many reasons we like the Workbook, not least that it's a thorough and engaging update to a notoriously tricky database. Teresa has incorporated tips and hands-on exercises that help to illustrate specific search features, making it more interactive than a typical database guide. It's an example of the kind of learning object that could be easily adapted by librarians at any institution for students across a broad range of disciplines in the Life Sciences. And best of all, we like the Workbook because it's a great example of librarians collaborating and building on one another's work, something we like to emphasize here at ALPS LINK.

We asked Teresa a few questions about how she updated the guide, and how it is used by students in her programme.

What prompted you to revise the workbook?

The workbook was originally created by my colleagues, Sally Taylor and Tricia Yu, for a workshop tailored to foreign-trained pharmacists, so the credit really goes to them. Since I’m the pharmacy liaison and I give this workshop twice a year, I felt it was important to keep updating the workshop to reflect the current state of PubMed.

How does the new version differ from the previous one?

The new version is largely the same as the previous one with the exception of new screenshots.

Were there any specific PubMed  tutorials or help features that you particularly liked or found useful in producing this guide?

Not really by way of tutorials, but I often consult old issues of the NLM Technical Bulletin when I’m trying to figure out and explain why and how certain things came to be in PubMed.

Was the workbook ever incorporated into a specific library instruction class as an assignment or lab?  If not, how do students access it?

Yes, the workshop is a core teaching resource for the 3-hour workshop for foreign-trained pharmacists I lead. I ensure that students are given print copies, and that an electronic copy is made available as well.

In your description, you indicate that the workbook is intended for 3^rd and 4^th year Pharmacy students. Do you know if others in Life Sciences are using it as well?

No, although I certainly think the workbook is general enough for a broader life/health sciences audience.

Your guide includes a number of “try it” reviews and hands-on exercises.  These provide an excellent way to demonstrate a search feature or potential pitfall, and to offer reinforcement for the learner.  What made you think to include these? 

Again, the credit goes to the originators, Sally and Tricia, who included these exercises in the first version. I am wholeheartedly in favour of giving students practical examples wherever possible, and so I’ve retained this feature.

Do you provide any mechanism for students to check their work?

We usually go over the answers together during the workshop, though now that you mention it, an answer key would be a good thing to add!

Have you had any feedback from faculty or students?

Informal feedback from the foreign-trained pharmacists indicates that they like the clarity and level of detail in the workbook.

Do you have any suggestions for librarians wanting to create a similar guide?

I would advise other librarians to explain library-specific terms in simple language, incorporate clear examples, and give students and users as chance to try things themselves.

Teresa Lee is a pharmacy and nutrition liaison librarian at Woodward Library, UBC. She considers teaching one of the best and most enjoyable aspects of her job, and hopes that students will one day get the beauty and wonder of MeSH.