Information literacy in continuing professional development of medical practitioners: a Croatian example

This paper reports on the training of medical practitioners in information literacy. The course is carried out by an academic medical library in collaboration with its parent institution and the local physicians' licensing body.

The University of Zagreb Medical School (UZMS) developed an extensive continuing education programme for residents and practitioners, in partnership with the Croatian Chamber of Physicians. Within this programme, the Central Medical Library (CML) offers a hands-on course on searching and appraisal of medical information.

Continuing professional development (CPD) helps physicians update and develop the skills and knowledge they require in their everyday practice. The ability to locate, critically evaluate, and use medical information is an important component of CPD. The CML has developed a course entitled "Finding and Appraisal of Medical Information" which has been reviewed and accepted by its parent institution and the physicians' chamber. The course has been introduced in 2005 on a half-year base.

The course provides participants with the information on the most important medical information resources and with the basic skills needed for their effective usage. An evaluation questionnaire is used to assess the effectiveness of the course.