MORE THAN A LOOK-UP SKILL: MEDICAL INFORMATION LITERACY EDUCATION IN OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL SCHOOLS

Abstract

This case study investigates the epistemological ideas that inform the development and implementation of medical information literacy education in colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs). The investigation addresses the ways in which librarians conceive of information literacy and how they foster medical information literacy in osteopathic medical students. A panel of osteopathic medical education experts recommended COMs that are exemplars in teaching information literacy, and semi-structured surveys were conducted with 13 librarians representing seven recommended COMs. Educational materials were collected from 22 COMs representing 18 states from across the U.S. The findings from this investigation have implications for medical information literacy education and suggest osteopathic medical librarians should have a more embedded presence in the curriculum.