Patient Encounter: Using Virtual EHR To Integrate Library Resources With Second Year Medical Students
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Objective Library faculty collaborated to explore new teaching approaches to illustrate student use of library resources in simulated clinical settings with standardized patients. Methods: Librarians co-developed clinical scenarios in collaboration with medical educators to connect library resources to standardized patient experiences for second-year students. Students interviewed standardized patients and used critical thinking to diagnosis the condition, guided by a librarian and clinical facilitator. In real time, students selected appropriate evidence-based medicine resources to complete the course assignment. The patient scenarios were adjusted with each teaching session, this year incorporating simulated patient electronic health records (EHR). Students incorporated library resources at each stage to evaluate the provided patient’s history, prescriptions, and clinical results to determine diagnosis and treatment. Results: The clinical scenarios illustrated how to use library resources effectively in a “real world” setting. In previous years, students distributed searching of the resources among the team members rather than completing the evidence-based process as a cohesive unit. The implementation of the virtual EHR reversed this trend with students working together to address each component of the standardized patient encounter. The students were more engaged with the recent changes and expressed greater understanding of library resources. Library faculty gained deeper knowledge of how clinicians and students view library resources use for evidence-based practice. Conclusions: Students utilized the opportunity to practice information seeking skills within a mock clinical setting and gained more experience using patient care tools. Knowledge of clinical library resources increased amongst the students with the recent insertion of the virtual EHR within the standardized patient experience.