Partnership Learning Resource Centers

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The Internet provides opportunities for AIHA partnership institutions not only to improve communications, but also to access a global library of information. Physicians and other health professionals in all corners of the world no longer must feel constrained by the oftentimes limited resources available in the nearest medical library. With access to the Internet, these health professionals can now obtain the most up-to-date medical literature. Prior to the AIHA partnership program, however, most health professionals at CEE and NIS partnership institutions remained unaware of these opportunities and were continuing to work in information isolation. Through the creation of AIHA's 94 partnership Learning Resource Centers (LRCs), partnership institutions have established a sustainable link to the growing network of medical information available through the Internet-a link that provides new opportunities for continuing medical education for physicians, nurses, and other staff.

AIHA has equipped each partnership Learning Resource Center with a computer and printer, access to e-mail and the Internet, and a bulletin board for posting information and announcements. In addition, AIHA has provided the LRCs with access to a variety of on-line and CD-ROM information resources, including Ovid, Inc.'s Web-based Medline index of journal articles and full-text medical journal databases. In exchange for these resources, each partnership has established a separate room for the center that will be open and accessible to staff, and partnerships have designated a staff person, known as the "information coordinator," to maintain this center.

The primary responsibility of the information coordinators is to educate staff on the benefits of using the Internet. To accomplish this, information coordinators organize staff outreach activities such as lectures, presentations, and training workshops. In addition, the coordinator provides assistance to staff in searching for information and research materials and in using various Internet technologies for communications and teleconsultations.

Since 1995, AIHA staff has conducted a series of fourteen 3-5-day training workshops for information coordinators. These training workshops have evolved from basic instruction on how to use the Internet to advanced training on medical searching techniques, the use of Internet applications, and methods for critically evaluating information resources.

Besides staff training and outreach, information coordinators work with AIHA program staff on a variety of other project activities, including the design of institutional web pages, on-line discussion and chat sessions, staff information access surveys, and the introduction of evidence-based medicine. These activities are summarized in monthly activity reports that information coordinators submit to AIHA via e-mail.

The LRC project represents the focal point of AIHA's technology strategy for integrating information technology into the clinical work of partner institutions. Today, each AIHA partnership institution has successfully established its LRC as a central hub for partnership communications and information access. Together these LRCs make up a regional health communications network that supports ongoing educational exchange not only between the NIS and CEE and the US, but also among partners in the region -- one of the first such networks of its kind. Between training workshops, information coordinators maintain a continuous discourse and information exchange not only with AIHA, but also with each other via the Internet.

While information coordinators come from a variety of professional backgrounds, ranging from medical librarians to physicians and nurses to computer programmers, they all share a common interest in finding solutions to fill the information gap. Through their continued participation in the project, they have developed strong peer-to-peer relationships as health professionals that will help to sustain communications and partnerships long after AIHA's programs officially end.

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