HEALTH-SCIENCES INFORMATION TOOLS 2000 - A COOPERATIVE HEALTH-SCIENCES LIBRARY PUBLIC-SCHOOL INFORMATION LITERACY PROGRAM FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANT STUDENTS

Educating diverse groups in how to access, use, and evaluate informati on available through information technologies is emerging as an essent ial responsibility for health sciences librarians in today's complex h ealth care system. One group requiring immediate attention is medical assistants. Projections indicate that medical assistant careers will b e among the fastest growing occupations in the twenty-first century. T he expanding use and importance of information in all health care sett ings requires that this workforce be well versed in information litera cy skills. But, for public school vocational education staff charged w ith educating entry level workers to meet this specialized demand, the expense of hiring qualified professionals and acquiring the sophistic ated technology necessary to teach such skills poses a dilemma. Health Sciences Information Tools 2000, a cooperative work-study information literacy program jointly formulated by the Wayne State University's S hiffman Medical Library and the Detroit Public Schools' Crockett Caree r and Technical Center, demonstrates that cooperation between the heal th sciences library and the public school is a mutually beneficial and constructive solution. This article describes the background, goals, curriculum, personnel, costs, and evaluation methods of Tools 2000. Th e Shiffman-Crockett information literacy program, adaptable to a varie ty of library settings, is an innovative means of preparing well-train ed high school vocational education students for beginning level medic al assistant positions as well as further education in the health care field.