Better Search Skills - Better Healthcare for India

In July I crossed a count of 590 + lectures delivered in the last nearly 18 years! That is a LOT, for a Foundation that is tiny, and working in a space that so many do not understand. It has been a great journey

I would like to share some interesting analyses of the quiz we imparted at the end of an event. The event was an Advanced Research Methodology workshop for faculty from various medical and dental colleges. 

We had a question about "MeSH Terms" in searching. In several medical databases, the use of MeSH is really vital especially if one wants to find the most relevant results. The question was -  when did they first learn about MeSH.

Out of 23 who took the quiz:

• 16 mentioned that they learnt about MeSH from this lecture
• 4 mentioned that they had learnt it from me earlier (at earlier lecture / workshops of ours)
• 3 mentioned that they had learnt it from other sources

Sixteen individuals having learnt about MeSH only after completing medical degrees is not a great sign. (In fact the other seven may also have learnt it later - I am not sure about that)

It was similar for knowledge about Boolean operators. Applying these incorrectly, can play havoc with results. And we still often observe that people make mistakes with these.

Overall:

• 16/23 said that 80% or more of what they learnt was new for them.
• 21/23 wished they had learnt these skills in their UG days.
• 13/23 felt it should be introduced in the UG curriculum and 10/23 felt that it should be in the PG curriculum

We at QMed prove this in almost every lecture and workshop. When we approach participants about learning more, or speak about having workshops or taking up the Elearning in their institutions, the most common answers are: 

• They don't have time
• They don't have budgets
• And an "unspoken" - "We are getting away without knowing this skill"

The same participants agree that if this learning were made mandatory, they would go ahead and learn!! Getting the National Medical Commission, the Dental Council of India and other related bodies to make this happen is another challenge as they do not take this seriously too.

And I wonder

"Who will bell the cat?" ??

Links:

• QMedCourses
• QMed Foundation