Available Until 9/12/2025
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Introduction to Health Reference: Ethics and Best Practices*

For more information on, or to schedule ,this course; please contact the NNLM Training Office at nto@utah.edu.

Learn how to conduct a health reference interview using ethical and effective communication strategies in this 4 credit-hour, on-demand, online class.

Through interactive self-paced tutorials, discussion forums, and a quiz, you can learn:

  • What is a health reference interview
  • How the library can protect patrons’ health privacy and confidentiality using ethical guidelines from library associations
  • Effective communication strategies to identify the health information needs of patrons
  • Simple methods for evaluating online health information that can be easily explained to patrons

Introduction to Health Reference: Best Practices and Ethics is an online training course offered by the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM). This course provides basic knowledge and skills for librarians interested in providing consumer health information to patrons. Attending this course will improve your ability to conduct a health reference interview confidently and ethically at your library. The primary goal of this course is to improve your knowledge and skills in providing effective and ethical consumer health reference services to library patrons. This class is taught entirely online in NNLM's learning management system (Moodle) through self-paced tutorials, so you can learn on your own schedule. 

Course URL: https://nnlm.gov/training/class-catalog/introduction-health-reference-ethics-and-best-practices

Learning Objectives: 

By working through 3 interactive, self-paced tutorials, and completing questionnaires, forums, and a synthesis exercise, learners will be able to:  

  • Apply ethical and effective communication strategies to identify the health information needs of patrons
  • Explain the ways librarians can protect patrons’ health privacy and confidentiality
  • Describe the ways librarians can practice ethical health information provision throughout the reference interview.
  • Evaluate online health information
  • Explain why it is important to teach evaluation skills to library patrons.

Agenda: 

  • Module 1 - Introduction/ Ethics and Privacy
  • Tutorial
  • Module 2 - Health Reference Interview
  • Tutorial
  • Module 3 - Evaluating Health Websites
  • Tutorial
  • Questionnaire – rank the websites
  • Forum – explain a ranking
  • Module 4 - Synthesis
  • Assignment – Synthesis Exercise

MLA CE Credits: 4