Muddling Through My First Blog Post

Finding digital health information has been an evolving task for me. Prior to being an educator I did not have much need to do so and heavily relied on Google to find any information that I needed. I always took this with a grain of salt since I am aware that just because it's on the internet, that does not mean its true!

After I became an educator and had to do my first policy review I quickly realized that I needed to have access to reliable information. This is when I discovered how wonderful librarians are. I was lucky enough to have a library on site and the librarian was a great resource for helping me find information and would conduct searches on my behalf. What I had to learn was how to formulate my questions in order for her to be able to find what I was looking for. Through the hospital library I also had access to the University of Manitoba's online library where I could muddle through searches on my own. I mostly used PubMed to search information and would do so by searching key words related to the information I was looking for.

Once I started in my current role I still had access to a librarian to help me with searches, but as I was working through the process of creating a new guideline for a best practice I decided to take a full day course on evidence informed practice tools. Through this course I learned how to conduct searches on different databases and file information using RefWorks. I have to admit that after that project ended most of what I learned went out the window as I did not continue using these tools.

The quality of the information I find varies. Because I work in a bit of a niche area it has sometimes been difficult to find reliable studies done on certain topics. When I search the AORN Guidelines for Perioperative Practice the level of evidence is indicated on a scale of one to five so there is an understanding whether or not the evidence is research based or not. When I have received literature searches done by a librarian she has rated the reliability of the sources as well.

If I find a good article online I usually save it in a folder related to the topic. If I find a good website I will bookmark it in my "favorites". I realize that both of these methods have flaws, the first being that I end up with so many bookmarks that I forget the reason I bookmarked it in the first place. The second flaw being that I'll remember saving an article but can't find it among all the other folders. I am looking forward to learning how to use different tools to store digital information, and how to be more efficient in finding reliable information.

Currently when I look for information I start by searching what I know, I follow links on reputable websites such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), and the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN). In addition I use Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.ca/) but I usually use this as a broad search tool to get a feel of what kind of information is available on the topic I am researching. I have now began to expand my horizons when it comes to content curation, and I am exploring new sites such as Scoop.it and Inoreader, as well as Pocket to store my finds. I am hoping to become a more proficient searcher and organizer, wish me luck on my journey.

Reference:

Conner, Ramona (Ed.). (2018). Guidelines for Perioperative Practice. Denver, CO: Association of perioOp