Skills workshops
Our librarians run skills workshops for NHS staff on the wide range of medical, nursing and evidence-based information available online.
At present, most teaching sessions are online via Microsoft Teams.
Booking is via KnowledgeShare. Log in with your OpenAthens account, select the Skills tab, then click on Forthcoming Skills Sessions. If you need assistance please email nhslibrarysupport@imperial.ac.uk
Skills workshops
Accessing and reviewing evidence-based practice
Evidence-based practice is the core of professional healthcare practice. This workshop will discuss resources for evidence-based practice and, after considering hierarchies of evidence, will focus on filtered resources including the Cochrane Library, everyday apps, and clinical decision support tools including BMJ Best Practice. You will discover where to find and access evidence and consider how evidence can be used with patients.
This session will be delivered online via Microsoft Teams. Once you have booked through KnowledgeShare you will be sent a link to the Teams meeting by email.
By the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Understand where and how to look for information
- Understand the hierarchies of evidence
- Understand the difference between filtered and unfiltered resources
- Understand and use point of care tools including BMJ Best Practice
- Access evidence on different devices
- Consider how to use evidence with patients
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) – Domain 3, 8, 9
- NMC Code – Sections 6.1, 6.2, 9.4
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals – Standard 4
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics - Sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.5
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England - Sections 3.6, 4.3, 6.3, 6.4
Date and time | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Monday 12 June 2023 | 15.00 - 16.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Tuesday 13 June 2023 | 09.30 - 11.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Monday 19 June 2023 | 12.00 - 13.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Tuesday 20 June 2023 | 14.00 - 15.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
Getting the best results: improving your database searching
Finding the strongest evidence requires searching beyond Google and PubMed and using medical databases such as Medline and Embase. This session outlines the principles of database searching and introduces some advanced techniques, focusing specifically on the Ovid platform.
Some of these sessions will be delivered online via Microsoft Teams. Once you have booked through KnowledgeShare you will be sent a link to the Teams meeting by email.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Understand where to search for academic literature and evidence on health topics
- Develop a research question into a structured search strategy
- Carry out a search for literature on a specific topic using the Ovid platform
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics - Sections 2.5, 2.6, 3.3, 3.4, 10.1
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) - Domain 3, 6, 9
- NMC Code - Sections 6.1, 6.2, 8.6, 9.4, 22.3
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals - Sections 1, 4, 5
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England - Sections 3.6, 6.4, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Thursday 22 June 2023 | 14.30 - 16.00 | Online via Microsfot Teams |
Friday 23 June 2023 | 10.30 - 12.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Monday 26 June 2023 | 12.00 - 13.30 | St Mary's Fleming Library |
Thursday 29 June 2023 | 14.00 - 15.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
How to read a research article: an introduction to critical appraisal
Critical appraisal and evidence-based medicine can seem daunting, but with practice and confidence anyone can pick up the necessary skills to improve their engagement with, and understanding of, the literature. Working on these skills allows us to better approach clinical evidence and research, reading journal articles with a critical eye and an idea of if and how we might transform evidence into practice.
This session is aimed at those with no prior experience of critical appraisal but would be a good refresher for anyone who wants more practice. This session will focus on providing an overview of the critical appraisal process as applied to both quantitative research (in particular randomised controlled trials) and qualitative research, how it is undertaken, and why it is important.
By the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Understand what critical appraisal is and why it is useful
- Distinguish between different research methods and their applicability
- Have an insight into the process of critical appraisal as recommended by CASP for different research methods
- Understand and begin interpreting commonly used statistics and theoretical frameworks
- Prepare for undertaking critical appraisal of an article
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics - Sections 2.5, 3.3
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) - Domain 2, 3, 6, 9
- NMC Code - Sections 6.1, 6.2, 9.4, 19.2, 22.3
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals - Sections 4, 5, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England - Sections 2.4, 3.6, 6.4, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Monday 26 June 2023 | 14.00 - 16.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Wednesday 28 June 2023 | 12.00 - 14.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Monday 3 July 2023 | 09.30 - 11.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Wednesday 5 July 2023 | 09.30 - 11.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
How to read a research article: critical appraisal of a randomised controlled trial
Critical appraisal and evidence-based medicine can seem daunting, but with practice and confidence anyone can pick up the necessary skills to improve their engagement with, and understanding of, the literature. Working on these skills allows us to better approach clinical evidence and research, reading journal articles with a critical eye and an idea of if and how we might transform evidence into practice.
This session is aimed at those with no prior experience of critical appraisal but would be a good refresher for anyone who wants more practice. This session will focus on the practical aspect of critically appraising a randomised controlled trial and offers the chance for experiencing critical appraisal and discussion in a group environment online.
This session is intended for those who have attended 'How to read a research article: an introduction to critical appraisal', which introduces the concept, theory and tools required for critical appraisal, so it is highly recommended that participants also book a place on that session.
By the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Understand critical appraisal in a practical context
- Have an insight into the process of critical appraisal as recommended by CASP for randomised controlled trials
- Understand and begin interpreting commonly used statistics
- Critically appraise an article and consider its value to clinical practice
- Engage in group discussion of an article during and following critical appraisal
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more infomation.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics - Sections 2.5, 3.3
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) - Domain 2, 3, 6, 9
- NMC Code - Sections 6.1, 6.2, 9.4, 19.2, 22.3
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals - Sections 4, 5, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England - Sections 2.4, 3.6, 6.4, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Monday 3 July 2023 | 12.00 - 13.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Wednesday 5 July 2023 | 14.00 - 15.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
How to read a research article: critical appraisal of a qualitative article
Critical appraisal and evidence-based medicine can seem daunting, but with practice and confidence anyone can pick up the necessary skills to improve their engagement with, and understanding of, the literature. Working on these skills allows us to better approach clinical evidence and research, reading journal articles with a critical eye and an idea of if and how we might transform evidence into practice.
This session is aimed at those with no prior experience of critical appraisal but would be a good refresher for anyone who wants more practice. This session will focus on the practical aspect of critically appraising a qualitative article and offers the chance for experiencing critical appraisal and discussion in a group environment online.
This session is intended for those who have attended 'How to read a research article: an introduction to critical appraisal', which introduces the concept, theory and tools required for critical appraisal, so it is highly recommended that participants also book a place on that session.
By the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Understand critical appraisal in a practical context
- Have an insight into the process of critical appraisal as recommended by CASP for qualitative research
- Understand and evaluate the use of different theoretical frameworks and methods of qualitative analysis
- Critically appraise an article and consider its value to clinical practice
- Engage in group discussion of an article during and following critical appraisal
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics - Sections 2.5, 3.3
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) - Domain 2, 3, 6, 9
- NMC Code - Sections 6.1, 6.2, 9.4, 19.2, 22.3
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals - Sections 4, 5, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England - Sections 2.4, 3.6, 6.4, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Wednesday 12 July 2023 | 12.00 - 13.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Friday 14 July 2023 | 14.00 - 15.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
How to read a research article: critical appraisal of a systematic review
Critical appraisal and evidence-based medicine can seem daunting, but with practice and confidence anyone can pick up the necessary skills to improve their engagement with, and understanding of, the literature. Working on these skills allows us to better approach clinical evidence and research, reading journal articles with a critical eye and an idea of if and how we might transform evidence into practice.
This session is aimed at those with no prior experience of critical appraisal but would be a good refresher for anyone who wants more practice. This session will focus on the practical aspect of critically appraising a systematic review and offers the chance for experiencing critical appraisal and discussion in a group environment online.
This session is intended for those who have attended 'How to read a research article: an introduction to critical appraisal', which introduces the concept, theory and tools required for critical appraisal, so it is highly recommended that participants also book a place on that session.
By the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Understand critical appraisal in a practical context
- Have an insight into the process of critical appraisal as recommended by CASP for systematic reviews
- Understand and begin interpreting commonly used statistics
- Critically appraise an article and consider its value to clinical practice
- Engage in group discussion of an article during and following critical appraisal
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics - Sections 2.5, 3.3
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) - Domain 2, 3, 6, 9
- NMC Code - Sections 6.1, 6.2, 9.4, 19.2, 22.3
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals - Sections 4, 5, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England - Sections 2.4, 3.6, 6.4, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Tuesday 11 July 2023 | 12.00 - 13.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Wednesday 12 July 2023 | 14.00 - 15.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Creating great poster presentations – bite-sized
A good academic poster at a conference enables you to both network and communicate clearly the work that you've been doing. This bite-sized session will help you in designing and producing a great conference poster to make you and your work a talking point.
By the end of the session, participants will learn:
- What makes a good poster
- How to summarise your text effectively
- How to plan and design your poster for maximum interaction
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics – Sections 2.5, 3.3, 5.1, 5.2
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) – Domain 2, 3, 5, 6, 9
- NMC Code – Sections 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 9.4, 10.6, 21.4
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals – Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England – Sections 3.6, 5.2, 6.2, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Tuesday 18 July 2023 | 12.30 - 13.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Tuesday 25 July 2023 | 12.30 - 13.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
Using Twitter professionally - bite-sized
Twitter is a resource that we may all know of, but may not be especially familiar with. But, it can be a valuable tool in the sharing of information between professionals. This session will cover the use of Twitter, and how it can be used in your work, as well as some of the ethical issues surrounding its use.
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics – Sections 1.7, 2.7, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1, 9.2, 9.3
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals – Sections 2, 4, 6, 7
- NMC Code – Sections 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 20.6, 20.8, 20.10
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) – Domain 1, 3, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England – Sections 2.6, 4.1, 5.1, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Friday 21 July 2023 | 12.30 - 13.15 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Friday 28 July 2023 | 12.30 - 13.15 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
Introduction to evidence reviews: processes, tools, and presenting your findings
This session will be a helpful overview if you are undertaking an evidence review, be it a literature review, scoping review or systematic review. It will introduce you to review processes, tools and resources to select and organise your papers, look at approaches to writing a methodology, and suggest ways to present your findings.
By the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Understand the importance of a focused, answerable research question
- Recognise differences and similarities between different kinds of reviews
- Identify and understand review processes Know about resources to help organise and manage review processes
- Consider ways to present results
- Recognise how the Library can support those undertaking reviews.
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics – Sections 2.5, 2.6, 3.3, 3.4,9.1, 9.2, 10.1
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) – Domain 2, 3, 6, 9
- NMC Code – Sections 6.1, 6.2, 8.6, 9.4, 10.3, 20.2, 20.8, 21.4, 22.3
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals – Sections 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 4, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England – Sections 1.2, 3.6, 6.2, 6.4, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Tuesday 1 August 2023 | 11.00 - 12.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Monday 7 August 2023 |
14.00 - 15.30 |
Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
Managing your references accurately
Whether you’re writing academic assignments, doing research or keeping up with the evidence, managing your references well can save you time. Reference management software allows you to organise your reading materials and cite what you’ve read easily and accurately. In this session we cover the reasons you may wish to use reference management applications, provide examples of these, and demonstrate the main functions on freely available software (Mendeley or Zotero).
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Understand how reference management tools help to reference and avoid plagiarism
- Choose an appropriate reference management tool for their own needs
- Use a reference management tool to save and organise references
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics – Sections 3.3, 3.4 9.1, 9.2
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) – Domain 2, 3, 5, 9
- NMC Code – Sections 10.3, 20.2, 20.8, 21.4
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals – Sections 6, 8, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England – Sections 1.2, 6.2, 6.6
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Monday 31 July 2023 | 14.00 - 15.15 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Thursday 3 August 2023 | 12.00 - 13.15 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
Introduction to preparing for publication
This session will introduce you to the basics of preparing your piece of work for publication. It aims to provide a set of tools and principles with which to approach publishing your piece of work, as well as aiming to increase your awareness of the areas of academic writing you need to focus on and improve.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Understand what 'writing for publication' means
- Have explored the places that writing can be published
- Think about what they could write, and why it could be published
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics - Sections 2.5, 3.3, 5.1, 5.2
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) - Domain 2, 3, 5, 6, 9
- NMC Code - Sections 4.2, 5.2, 9.2, 10.4, 10.6, 21.4
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals - Sections 7, 9
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England - Sections 3.6, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 6.4
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Tuesday 9 May 2023 | 11.00 - 12.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Wednesday 10 May 2023 | 10.00 - 11.30 | Chelsea and Westminster Campus Library |
Friday 12 May 2023 | 14.30 - 16.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Tuesday 8 August 2023 | 11.30 - 13.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Wednesday 9 August 2023 | 12.00 - 13.30 | Chelsea and Westminster Campus Library |
Friday 11 August 2023 | 14.30 - 16.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
Introduction to health literacy
Ensuring that individuals and communities can access, understand, appraise and use information and services to make decisions about health is key to health literacy. Improving people’s health literacy will enhance their ability to self-manage their health. This session will introduce the concept of health literacy, show examples of both good and bad resources providing information to patients, and demonstrate ways to help improve how information is provided to patients to allow them better control over their own health care.
This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.
- HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics – Sections 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 2.3, 6.1
- GMC Generic Professional Capabilities Framework (PDF) – Domain 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
- NMC Code – Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.3, 7.1, 7.4
- GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals – Sections 1, 2, 3, 6
- Professional Standards Authority Standards for Members of NHS Boards and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Bodies in England (PDF) - Standard 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support Workers and Adult Social Care Workers in England – Sections 2.4, 3.6, 4.1, 4.3, 4.5
Date | Time | Location |
---|---|---|
Tuesday 16 May 2023 | 14.30 - 16.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Thursday 18 May 2023 | 11.00 - 12.30 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Wednesday 16 August 2023 | 11.30 - 13.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Friday 18 August 2023 | 14.30 - 16.00 | Online via Microsoft Teams |
Contact your NHS librarian for details |
If you have any questions, please email nhslibrarysupport@imperial.ac.uk