Defining and assessing medical informatics competencies.

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Health Sciences Librarianship
• Medical Education

Background:

• Academic health sciences libraries play an increasing role in informatics instruction for medical students.
• Medical schools are shifting towards integrated curricula and competency-based education.
• Effective assessment of informatics instruction is crucial for medical student development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on a pilot project assessing informatics instruction effectiveness.
• To evaluate a tailored assignment for measuring medical student competencies.
• To inform the development of assessment measures in health sciences libraries.

Main Methods:

• A pilot project was conducted at Dahlgren Memorial Library, Georgetown University Medical Center.
• The project involved two courses with a specific instructional intervention.
• A tailored assignment was designed to assess student competencies.

Main Results:

• The pilot project provided insights into assessing informatics instruction.
• The tailored assignment offered a method for evaluating student competencies.
• Data from the pilot informed the development of assessment strategies.

Conclusions:

• Health sciences libraries can develop effective methods for assessing informatics instruction.
• Tailored assignments are valuable tools for competency-based assessment in medical education.
• This project contributes to best practices for evaluating library-led instruction in medical curricula.