Health Sciences Interest Group

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Charge: An opportunity for academic librarians with health sciences responsibilities to have a place in ACRL to network, share information, ask questions, and work on special projects relevant to the academic health sciences.
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  • 1.  Medical Libraries and Test Prep Materials

    Posted 6 days ago

    Hi all, 

    Is anyone working at a medical school that provides test prep materials for students (Pathoma, Sketchy, UWorld, etc)? If so, what department(s) pay for these materials? 

    Currently, my medical library is paying for several of them and it is causing some serious issues with our yearly budget. Hoping to get some data or insight into how other medical libraries and medical schools approach providing these types of materials. 

    Thanks!
    Taylor



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    Taylor Vazquez
    Reference & Education Services Librarian
    SIU School of Medicine
    tvazquez61@siumed.edu
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  • 2.  RE: Medical Libraries and Test Prep Materials

    Posted 5 days ago

    Hi Taylor

    Our library pays for test prep materials: Boards & Beyond and UWorld. We also pay for learning resources such as Online Med Ed and Clinical Key Student: Clinical Cases. These resources do contribute to a significant portion of our budget. However, we also pay for electronic textbooks, which account for a significant portion of our budget.  



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    Deborah Farber
    Medical Librarian
    California University of Science and Medicine
    She/Her/Hers
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Medical Libraries and Test Prep Materials

    Posted 4 days ago

    Thank you all for the responses, they are much appreciated. 



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    Taylor Vazquez
    Reference & Education Services Librarian
    SIU School of Medicine
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Medical Libraries and Test Prep Materials

    Posted yesterday

    Taylor,

    Our library has provided some of the lesser expensive products, eg, Board Vitals and First Aid, supporting test preparation. The medical school has licensed some products, such as ScholarRx and Osmosis. They have also just licensed UWorld. I am trying to get the library out of the business of licensing products that are only made available to a limited number of students (ie, licensed only for MD students or only for M2 and M3 students). I also want to make sure that overall our licensing of products for test preparation makes sense and is not overly duplicative. I am convening a group representing the MD curriculum office, student services, and other stakehoilders, to discuss what we have available through various departments to ensure that we are not licensing products that essentially the do the same thing (ie, question bank or review content) or that we at least have a rationale for the various products licensed. We will also decide on an approach to evaluating current products and exploring other products. Our first meeting is this month.



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    Amy Allison
    Associate Provost for Library Services
    Geisinger College of Health Sciences
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    Original Message