*By Ana Paula R. Lima
The high demand for studies and research for the comprehensive training of medical professionals is undeniable. Taking into account the need for professional specialization and the increasingly constant updates of the scientific literature for the health area, the libraries of medical universities assume an essential role in this context, together with the expansion of solutions that help these students with regard to the search for quality content and reliable and up-to-date evidence.
During the most delicate period of the pandemic, knowledge bases were crucial to maintain the teaching routine, as libraries remained closed, following social distancing protocols.
In this sense, it is important to understand the impact of information management for the training of medical students, from the basic cycle to the last years of residency, as well as the essential role played by librarians during this process.
The importance of librarians for medical universities and medical training
Much more than being responsible for service, the librarian fulfills important functions in medical universities and acts as a mediator between information and the student. In the organizational context, the professional acts directly in several processes, such as collaboration to update course plans and to choose bibliographies, together with professors and the Structuring Teaching Nucleus (NDE). In addition, the librarian also carries out activities with students in order to contribute to student learning and autonomy.
From this, it is essential that there is the application of pedagogical knowledge by the librarian within the universities, so that it is possible to lead the student to the leading role in the search for adequate information. In this way, it is up to the librarian to collaborate with the construction of students' knowledge.
Given this context, the great challenge for these professionals is to emphasize to students the importance of knowledge bases that allow more assertiveness in the search for updated content. But, of course, without mischaracterizing the relevance of the library's physical space.
The importance of knowledge bases for the expansion of learning
Currently, most students entering universities are digital natives. In this sense, solutions that offer knowledge, but that deliver it in a digital way and that communicate technologically with these students have an even greater potential for adhesion by these students. This fact certainly contributes to the increase in the use of tools and software within educational institutions. However, this does not translate into good exploitation of resources to extract the best and most reliable information from publications.
According to the study “21st Century Readers – Developing Literacy Skills in a Digital World”, carried out by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), in Brazil, only 33% of the students were able to distinguish facts from opinions, in one of the applied questions.
Thus, the role of mediator played by the librarian gains more prominence, in order to contribute to the training of students with regard to the presentation of existing resources, research possibilities and knowledge bases made available to the student, as well as the best way to assess the quality of information that the university student wants.
Furthermore, in general, physical books cannot keep up with the updates available in e-books and scientific publications existing in databases with the same speed. In this sense, it is up to the professional in the area to help students so that they can update themselves and use technological tools to ensure the most adequate information during study cycles and, later, the best clinical evidence for the practical application of medicine.
Another issue related to books is the space available for storage. As new publications are made, physical spaces become smaller and smaller. With this inverse proportion, virtual literature gains space, since the technology allows the practically infinite storage of content with the evolution of the cloud, ensuring that these materials are always available to those who need them.
Therefore, it is essential that the librarian create conditions to encourage the use of tools that aid learning and encourage, in these students, the search for the most reliable and current evidence at that particular moment. And this work needs to be permanent in medical universities with the involvement and engagement of the entire team.
*Ana Paula R. Lima is a commercial executive at Wolters Kluwer, Health Brazil
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
EN 
PT 
