Liaison librarian advances her knowledge at pharmacy conference
When Jessica Jones started work as the liaison librarian to VCU’s School of Pharmacy, she quickly realized that she had much to learn about the field of pharmacy education. As a new librarian with no graduate-level teaching experience, Jones saw that she needed to learn more about the instructional strategies used in pharmacy schools to tailor her own teaching and reference services. To gain this knowledge about pharmacy education, Jones attended the 2023 annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) in Denver. She obtained a Sewell Stipend to support her conference attendance and travel, as well as support from the School of Pharmacy.
At the conference, Jones attended a number of sessions that increased her knowledge of current trends and instructional practices in pharmacy education. Some sessions, such as the opening keynote address, discussed incorporating emerging technologies such as Generative AI into pharmacy education. Others focused on identifying ways to incorporate evidence-based medicine principles and active learning strategies throughout different parts of the pharmacy curriculum.
Jones also networked with School of Pharmacy faculty and students to learn more about their research interests and became a member of AACP’s Drug Information and Library Science section, attending its business meetings and learning about opportunities for committee involvement.
Jones plans to apply the instructional techniques that she learned at the conference into her own library instruction. “An effective liaison librarian is one who knows how to speak the language of the field that they serve,” said Jones. “I believe that attending AACP helped me learn the language of pharmacy education and identify teaching practices that will resonate with students and align with the values and objectives of pharmacy education.”
Categories Faculty/Staff, health care, Health Sciences Library, Librarians at Work, Pharmacy