Apologies for cross posting

Information links between higher education and the National Health Service

Thank you to everyone who responded to my recent email requesting
information about how university
libraries are managing the registration process for part-time
post-registration nursing students and how they
are ensuring these students have the necessary skills to make effective use
of electronic information services.

Individuals from eight institutions responded and their responses are
summarized below.

The registration process for part-tine post-registration nursing students:
* Nursing students register through their own department. 25
temporary numbers are used to provide
students with log on facilities. These are generic numbers but students may
change them via the IT Helpdesk.

* Nursing students are not registered centrally at the university so
they are given "affiliated member" status.
They only have access to the databases from the university main library and
from clinical sites with Trust Libraries

* All nursing students become full members of the university with
access to all the provided facilities.
They are aiming for a system where more registration will occur prior to the
course starting.

* The registration process for nursing students is done through the
main university and students
receive an individual network ID. To receive their ATHENS password students
have to access the university
web pages. These passwords are valid for 12 months

* Student nurses are encouraged to use their union card as this
provides them with better borrowing rights.
As there are many short courses running nursing students end up with a
number of different cards and keep swapping
between their student card and their NHS card. These students lose access
to the university library in-between their
courses. For local users this does not cause too much of a problem as most
NHS staff are entitled to use the library, however
distance learners have to rely on patchy access elsewhere.

* Student nurses are registered as university students and issued with
a union card, computer username and
password (for courses longer than 10 weeks). The NHS staff working at the
26 NHS Trusts in the area have access to
Biomed through the NHSnet. This is the responsibility of the individual
trusts IT department.

* Nurses sign for a password to allow campus access to Ovid's web
version of Medline and CINAHL. They can
also set up a password enabling access to the same databases from outside of
the library

* While registered on a course students have full access to CINAHL,
COCHRANE, BNI and Medline via passwords.
Passwords are available via the information desk. Nursing users not
undertaking a course but supporting a course as a
mentor can have access by another password. Once a nurse finishes a course
the membership to the library ceases and they
have the option to become a Public Member which is fee based with no access
to the databases

Information skills:
* Nursing students are offered 3-4 hours of LIS instruction focusing
on the library catalogue, basic Internet searching and
CINAHL.

* Students are provided with approximately 3 hours instruction on the
computerized catalogue, the book loan system,
literature searching, use of databases and health information.

* Induction for nursing students is undertaken at the teacher's
request. This university is developing a key skills
program for all Level 1 students from Sept. 2000

* Drop-in sessions and more formalized courses are offered. LIS staff
are working closely with the teaching staff on a
new IT skills module

* Some course tutors book introductory orientation sessions and
registered users can book individual sessions.

* Nursing students are offered user education skills via the
information desk and in specially organized library sessions and
short mini tutorials.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathryn Ray
Research Assistant

List Owner: Lis-perf-measures

School of Information Studies
University of Northumbria at Newcastle, NE1 8ST
Tel: 0191 227 3855, Fax: 0191 227 3671
Email: [log in to unmask]




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