In this latest episode of Medlibs Miscellany, Carrie and Tracy discuss library instruction - how we teach, who we teach, and our experiences with teaching.

Pedagogical (Tracy can’t say it, but she can sort of sometimes spell it) theories abound, but the big takeaway? Always have a backup plan. If things are going to go wrong, they will. Sometimes that mean no internet, or getting interrupted by a fire alarm.

Teach to your audience and have your elevator pitch ready. Medlibs may have limited time to pass along a lot of information to varied groups, like students, nurses, graduate students, physicians, or other staff. We think it’s good practice to know what your audience is like - different groups have different needs after all - and adjust to their needs.

The pandemic changed instruction in a lot of ways. Pre-pandemic, not wearing pants while teaching was an anxiety-ridden nightmare; post-pandemic and working from home means not wearing pants while teaching was a choice. (KIDDING!) We have the pandemic to thank for Carrie’s YouTube channel and videos.

It’s important to be mindful of accessibility. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 outlines what is expected and can guide what you do. Something as minor as checking your color palette for color blind compatibility can be a huge thing for users. Use Ctrl+ to increase screen size, because typography and fonts aren’t always large enough for good viewing. There are lots of tools to help you with accessibility compliance, including some built into office software like Word and PowerPoint. Need a place to start? Try writing good alt text for images in your presentations and online posts.

Getting folks engaged with virtual teaching is a struggle, especially with sometimes dry content like PubMed and MeSH. There are all kinds of tools to use for engagement. Carrie suggests using Padlet combined with a scavenger hunt. She also talked about the Cephalonian approach to library orientations. A few other things Carrie mentioned: Slido for interactive engagement; Microsoft Forms for classroom exercises; surveys for assessment.

We think pediatric residents and other providers have the most fun because they have toys. Dr. Glaucomflecken has some good advice on how to ace your pediatrics residency interview; I mean, pediatrics is so easy, right? STAT has a good profile of him.

We like to make people feel comfortable in our classes. Sometimes that means going off-script and creating a safe space for people to ask questions. Making the physical space welcome for training and instruction is good, too. Carrie suggests Lofi Girl’s YouTube channel for lofi music vibes as they come in, and timers like this 10-minute puppy timer during activities.

Some last minute advice: during your introduction, note how you like to be addressed (Miss Carrie! We’re not fans of “ma’am” though) and your pronouns (something we need to add to our episodes, come to think of it…). And typos might happen - shi(f)t work and pub(l)ic health have happened to us - so keep that sense of humor on your teaching journey.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit medlibsmiscellany.substack.com