Finding Quality Health and Medical Information on the Web:
Complementary and Alternative (CAM) Health Information
Web-based (Moodle) course - Register to work -at-your-own-pace anytime - 20 CE from the MLA
Topic 1. Defining Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) Terms and Evaluating CAM Information
Lectures and Required Readings on Defining Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) Terms and Evaluating CAM Information
Learning Activities:
Topic 2. Finding Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) Research
Lectures and Required Readings on Finding Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) Research
Learning Activities:
Topic 3. Finding information about CAM Therapies & Traditions
Lectures and Required Readings on Finding information about CAM Therapies & Traditions
Learning Activities:
Topic 4. CAM Wellness, Health, & Prevention Resources
Lectures and Required Readings on Topic 4. CAM Wellness, Health, & Prevention Resources
Learning Activities:
In this hands-on course, you will learn the key medical terminology and how to search for quality complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) information on the Web. You will also finish the course with a set of core Web reference tools to use in providing reference services to health care consumers.
We will begin by defining "alternative" & "complementary" and some learning some other key medical terminology. You will learn evaluation criteria to apply to all kinds of medical information found on the Web. How do we know what is quality information about alternative medical traditions or complementary medicine practices? How will you teach others to avoid and to be critical about fraudulent or exploitative information?
We will concentrate on identifying complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) information published on the Web by credible sources - that is research supported or otherwise critically reviewed by knowledgeable conventional or CAM medicine researchers or practitioners.
You will learn about and use information resources that clarify and explain different complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) Traditions. Web sites that provide warnings of dangerous practices, side effects, or complications are emphasized.
Librarians, library paraprofessionals, and other information specialists who work with health care consumers and/or health care professionals who need to find high quality information about alternative and complementary medicine on the Web.
Some experience with searching on the Web is assumed. Participants should know how to use e-mail anda current standard Web Browser, e.g., Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer -- current versions are best.
I thoroughly enjoyed the CAM course. A classroom based course is limited by time constraints. Ones personal goals and information needs sometimes cannot be met due to other participants' questions and skills. A self-paced web class allows one to fully explore the material and areas of interest. I've never devoted so much time to a MLA course or gotten so much out of one; according to the effort is the reward. Even familiar websites provided gems of information. Thank you for developing the course and providing feedback along the way. I highly recommend your offerings!" Nancy Lynam-Davis, Medical Library, Hillcrest Hospital
"I really enjoyed this class, as I did "How to Find Medical and Health Information on the Internet. Both are fantastic courses, and in both, I felt as if I learned a ton of information."Ann Phillips, Medical Librarian, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Library and Resource Center
Register anytime to work-at-your-own pace with an instructor through e-mail and Web $200 - 20 CE from the Medical Library Association
Diane K. Kovacs is President of Kovacs Consulting - Internet &Web Training.She has been a Web Teacher and Consultant for nearly 20 years. She designs and teaches Web-based and in-person courses for organizations and individuals including UIUC GSLIS LEEP, SJSU SLIS, ALAEditions, ACRL, MLA, and others. Diane has been designing and teaching Web-based and in-person MLA Approved CE Courses since 2001
Her most recent book is 7 Steps to Effective Online Teaching forthcoming from ALA Editions. The Kovacs Guide to Electronic Library Collection Development: Essential Core Subject Collections, Selection Criteria, and Guidelines, 2nd Edition was published in 2009 by Neal-Schuman Publishers. The Virtual Reference Handbook: Interview and Information Delivery Techniques for the Chat and E-Mail Environments Neal-Schuman Publishers (2007) was published concurrently in the United Kingdom by Facet Publishers (2007).
Diane Kovacs is the 2000 recipient of the "Documents to the People" award from the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association. She was also the recipient of the Apple Corporation Library's, Internet Citizen Award for 1992 and was the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science Alumni Association's first recipient of the Leadership Award in 1996.
Diane received an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois in 1989 and an M.Ed. in Instructional Technology from Kent State University in 1993. She has a B.A. in Anthropology also from the University of Illinois, 1985.