Candidate(s), Flu, Budget, Nursing Dean

Candidate
Congratulations to Jacque who has been selected as a candidate for the Medical Library Association (MLA) Nominating Committee. (“Our own” Jerry Perry is a candidate for MLA President!)

Pandemic planning
The H1N1 virus or swine flu has been in the news a lot lately. Last May the campus asked each unit to develop a plan for dealing with a possible outbreak. Our plan is focused on providing services that might be needed by medical professionals and also addresses how we would continue to function if many of the staff became ill. You can expect to be hearing more about campus planning and our plans if the outbreak becomes more widespread.

Budget non-news
We still have no definitive news on our budget for the year. However Dr. Crist has asked me to be prepared for a 5 to 7% cut. I have been planning for various contingencies since last spring and have plans in place for a 7% cut. We have slowed our spending until we know what the exact figures will be.

Meeting with Dean
On Wednesday Jeanette, Sandy and I met with Joan Shaver, PhD, RN, FAAN, the new Dean in the College of Nursing. We described AHSL services with an emphasis on the liaison program and outreach. The Dean described her plans that include more distance education and an emphasis on graduate education. We look forward to partnering with the CON in the future.

Congratulations to Tessie

Congratulations to Tessie, who had one of her photos published in the Arizona Daily Star last Saturday (in the A section near the back).  The photo was taken at the Zilker Botanical Garden in Austin Texas.   Here's link:

 http://regulus2.azstarnet.com/gallery/view/43098

She also has photos in the Wildlife gallery.

Three cheers for Tessie!!

Jeanette

Teaching and teaching!

WeSearch
Last week Pat and Annabelle again taught the We Search students and SIRLS Knowledge River mentors. The students, from Sunnyside High School, learned about finding reliable health information and created their own digital stories about a personal healthcare experience.

Prologue
On Wednesday AHSL librarians took over the “Prologue” - orientation for incoming College of Medicine students. Annabelle took on the classroom session – co-teaching with Dr. Sean Eliot about the principles and practice of Evidence-based medicine. Meanwhile the other half of the student group was in our lab, searching for the answers to their first clinical questions with help from Mari, Carol and Sandy. After an hour the groups switched places. Sandra Martin and I observed both sessions and it was great to see the new students so engaged in learning. They got a wonderful introduction to library resources and to our staff.