Embedded Graduate Assistants Collaborations between Library and Nursing Students Alexandria Brackett, MA, MLIS Student University of Oklahoma [email protected] “This experience gave me an invaluable opportunity to provide advanced instruction to the students on database searching. It allowed me to work with students of different learning styles and learn how to customize my instruction approach to best fit their individual needs. All in all, this has been a rewarding project for all parties involved and should definitely be offered more regularly in the near future.” --Nha Huynh, SLIS Student & Graduate Assistant “The experience of assisting my group of nursing students gave me great insight into how to tailor library instruction methods to the specific needs of health sciences students. As a result of this experience, I have an improved understanding of how to more effectively explain clinical and nursing databases; and, the nursing students have a better understanding of the amazing resources to be found in libraries and library professionals." --Leah Weyand, SLIS Student & Graduate Assistant Setting The Schusterman Library at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa campus is home both to a College of Nursing and School of Library and Information Studies. In the 2014 Spring Semester, six groups of nursing students were assigned a library graduate assistant as a reference consultant to their EBP capstone project. GA Experience 1. Training on PICO question development and Evidence-Based Practice 2. Training on OVID Medline 3. Initial meeting with group of nursing students and their adviser to design a plan for research 4. Periodic meetings or email communications with group to provide additional support through the duration of the project Problem Library students have limited classroom and instructional experience before their academic library careers. Nursing students are generally unaware of the databases and resources available to them, and are unsure how to find Evidence-Based Practice articles. Rewards & Challenges The partnership allowed library graduate assistants to directly work with a group of nursing students from their initial point of research to the final project. Graduate assistants learned the importance of embedded librarianship, and had a unique opportunity to experience the positive outcomes and difficulties librarians face in the classroom, specifically clarification of schedules and expectations.