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

Introduction to Library and Evidence Services (induction session)

Library and Evidence Services provide support to all members of staff at associated trusts, including those working in clinical and non-clinical roles, and at every stage of your career. Whether you're a new starter, a returning member of staff, new to using the Library, or simply want a refresher, this induction session provides a quick overview of everything we offer: on-site and remote access resources, as well as services provided by a dedicated team of NHS Support Librarians and library staff. We recommend attendance for all new staff, as this is your opportunity to meet online with one of your librarians, ask any questions, and find out how we can help you.

By the end of the session attendees will: 

  • Know how to sign up for access to the Library, OpenAthens and KnowledgeShare
  • Know about Library locations and on-site services
  • Know about electronic resources and remote services provided by the Library
  • Understand how to use Library resources to inform professional practice

Session dates

Date Time Location
Thursday 21 March 2024 12.15 - 12.45 Online via Microsoft Teams
Wednesday 17 April 2024 12.15 - 12.45 Online via Microsoft Teams
Wednesday 22 May 2024 12.15 - 12.45 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details    

Resources for 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 clinical decision support tools including BMJ Best Practice
  • Consider how to use evidence with patients

This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.

Session dates
Date and time Time Location
Monday 12 February 2024 14.30 - 16.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Tuesday 20 February 2024 10.00 - 11.30 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
Wednesday 21 February 2024 14.30 - 16.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Monday 26 February 2024 12.30 - 14.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
 Wednesday 28 February 2024 12.00- 14.00  Online via Microsoft Teams
 Monday 4 March 2024 14.00 - 16.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
Thursday 7 March 2024 13.00 - 14.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Wednesday 13 March 2024 12.00 - 13.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
Friday 15 March 2024  13.00 - 14.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Wednesday 20 March 2024  12.00 - 13.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
 Friday 16 February 2024  12.00 - 12.30 Online via Microsoft Teams
 Friday 22 March 2024  12.00 - 12.30 Online via Microsoft Teams
 Friday 19 April 2024  12.00 - 12.30 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Workshop dates

Introduction to undertaking an evidence review: literature review

This introductory session will be a helpful to staff undertaking an evidence review for a dissertation, QI project or other work-based project. The workshop will focus on planning an evidence review, constructing the methodology section of the review, and some options for presenting your results. It will show a step-by-step pathway for undertaking this kind of review, some top tips for keeping on track with your review, and resources to support your skills in this area.

N.B. If you are undertaking a more comprehensive review, such as a scoping or systematic review, please book instead on our other skills workshop, Introduction to undertaking scoping and systematic reviews.

If you do not feel confident with database searching, or critically appraising papers, please complete our Database Searching and Critical Appraisal workshops before attending this session.

By the end of the session participants will:

  • Understand how to plan a review
  • Know the factors in constructing a methodology
  • Recognise some ways of presenting results
  • Know what resources there are to support undertaking an evidence review

This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.

Session dates
Date Time Location
 Monday 8 April 2024  16.00 - 17.00  Online via Microsoft Teams
 Wednesday 17 April 2024

 10.00 - 11.00

 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

Introduction to undertaking scoping and systematic reviews

This session will be a helpful overview if you are undertaking a 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, suggest ways to present your findings, and signpost you to resources to further develop your skills in this area. If you do not feel confident with database searching, or critically appraising papers please complete our Database Searching and Critical Appraisal workshops before attending this session.

By the end of the session participants will be able to:

  • Understand review processes
  • Know about resources and tools to help organise and manage review processes
  • Consider ways to present results
  • Know where to get further information and support to develop review skills
  • Know how library and evidence services can support those undertaking reviews

This session will allow you to meet the following professional standards. Contact us for more information.

Session dates
Date Time Location
Tuesday 9 April 2024  10.00 - 11.30 Online via Microsoft Teams
Thursday 18 April 2024  14.30 - 16.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
 
Summary of the table's contents

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
 Monday 22 April 2024  11.30 - 13.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
 Friday 3 May 2024  11.30 - 13.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

 

 

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
Friday 26 April 2024 14.00 - 15.30 Online via Microsoft Teams
Monday 6 May 2024 11.30 - 13.00 Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the

 

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.

Session dates
Date Time Location
 Tuesday 30 April 2024  11.00 - 12.30  Online via Microsoft Teams
 Friday 10 May 2024  14.00 - 15.30  Online via Microsoft Teams
Contact your NHS librarian for details
Summary of the table's contents

If you have any questions, please email nhslibrarysupport@imperial.ac.uk