Leveraging change to integrate library and informatics competencies into a new CTSC curriculum: a program evaluation

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Education
• Library Science

Background:

• Traditional clinical research training often omits essential library, biomedical informatics, and scholarly communications (LBS) skills.
• A new graduate degree program at the University of New Mexico's Clinical and Translational Sciences Center (CTSC) provided an opportunity to address this gap.
• Integrating LBS competencies is crucial for modern clinical research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the curricular development and integration of LBS skills into a required informatics course.
• To assess the experiences and outcomes of graduate students participating in the integrated curriculum.
• To identify lessons learned and provide recommendations for future LBS skill integration in research training.

Main Methods:

• Program evaluation of a newly developed informatics course.
• Tracking and analysis of student experiences and evaluations from two distinct cohorts.
• Curricular design focused on integrating LBS competencies into a graduate-level course.

Main Results:

• Successful integration of LBS skills into a required informatics course for a new graduate program.
• Positive student engagement and feedback on the relevance of LBS competencies.
• Identification of key challenges and facilitators in curricular integration.

Conclusions:

• The integration of LBS skills into graduate informatics courses is feasible and beneficial for clinical research training.
• The program provides a model for incorporating essential, yet often overlooked, research-related competencies.
• Further refinement and expansion of LBS skill integration are recommended for future iterations.