Center for Rural Health Practice provides training for area health providers

BRADFORD, PA – The Center for Rural Health Practice at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford held a workshop Friday to put the resources of the worldwide medical community at the fingertips of local providers.

“It can be hard for medical professionals who don’t have access to a medical library to keep up with the latest research,” said Kate Flewelling, outreach coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, who conducted the half-day workshop at Bradford Regional Medical Center.

Flewelling showed nurses from BRMC, Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital and the Pitt-Bradford nursing program free online resources and how to evaluate whether they are reliable, evidence-based sources.

Students in the class had a chance to research sample questions, such as whether there is any evidence that having a patient listen to music after surgery makes them more comfortable after their operation.

Flewelling said the resources are available to the public, also, for researching health issues. They include the National Guideline Clearing House, www.guideline.gov; American Family Physician, www.aafp.org; and Drug Information Portal, druginfo.nlm.nih.gov.

Dr. Lisa Fiorentino, director of the center, said that she plans to bring Flewelling back to provide the training to a wider audience. In addition to showing the nurses specific web resources, she also taught them how to identify effective search terms and evaluate the validity of a study.

In addition to presenting the workshop for the center, Flewelling met with librarians at Hanley Library at Pitt-Bradford to share the same information, which also can be of use to students in nursing, education and other programs.

This project has been funded in part with federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Health Sciences Library System.

For more info/rmation on future offerings, contact the Center at 814-362-5050.