The Pathway Scholars Program (PSP) at The University of Arizona College of Medicine–Phoenix is intended for students who may have had fewer resources available to them because of socioeconomic status, educationalopportunities, and geography, or may have been a first-generation college graduate. The PSP serves as an alternate pipeline of medical student candidates.

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Journal of Hospital Librarianship
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Supporting a Pathway Scholars Program: How
a Librarian Can Add Information Literacy to
Premedical Education
Kathleen Carlson
To cite this article: Kathleen Carlson (2016) Supporting a Pathway Scholars Program: How
a Librarian Can Add Information Literacy to Premedical Education, Journal of Hospital
Librarianship, 16:2, 186-191, DOI: 10.1080/15323269.2016.1150751
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2. PATCHWORK
Supporting a Pathway Scholars Program: How a Librarian
Can Add Information Literacy to Premedical Education
Kathleen Carlson
Arizona Health Sciences Library, The University of Arizona College of Medicine–Phoenix, Phoenix,
Arizona, USA
Introduction
The Pathway Scholars Program (PSP) at The University of Arizona College
of Medicine–Phoenix is intended for students who may have had fewer
resources available to them because of socioeconomic status, educational
opportunities, and geography, or may have been a first-generation college
graduate. The PSP serves as an alternate pipeline of medical student candi-
dates (1). In the fall of 2013, the College, along with financial support from
their community partners, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Arizona Public Service,
DPR/Sundt Construction Inc., the Arizona Community Foundation and
United Healthcare, began accepting applications for the program. The PSP
is completed in less than one year and runs from June through May.
All applicants to the PSP must be Arizona residents and although the
application process for the Pathway Scholars Program (PSP) has changed
since its inception, this requirement remains constant. During the 2014/2015
Academic Year (AY), 288 student applicants were rejected from the MD
program; they then had the opportunity to apply to the PSP program at the
Medical College. The first cohort of 10 Pathway Scholars began their journey
in May 2014.
During the 2015/2016 AY, 188 applicants had to choose between the MD
(Doctor of Medicine) program at UA College of Medicine–Phoenix or the
Pathways program. Students could apply to either the MD Program or
Pathway Scholars Program, but not both programs. For the 2016/2017 AY,
applicants were able to apply to both the MD program and the Pathway
Scholars Program. The deadline was December 1, 2015.
In addition to these considerations, PSP applicants for the 2016–2017
Academic Year were required to have:
● Earned a four-year degree prior to the start of the PSP.
● A minimum GPA of 3.0 in undergraduate or graduate coursework.
Comments and suggestions should be sent to the Column Editor: Michael Heyd mheyd@comcast.net
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL LIBRARIANSHIP
2016, VOL. 16, NO. 2, 186–191
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15323269.2016.1150751
Published with license by Taylor & Francis © Kathleen Carlson
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3. ● Completed the medical school core academic prerequisite coursework
required for admission to the medical college.
● Taken the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) 2015 (no mini-
mum score is required) or receive a composite score of at least an 18 on
the Old MCAT within the last three years (2013, 2014, and/or 2015).
● The ability to obtain an Arizona Department of Public Safety
Fingerprint Clearance Card.
Background
The Pathway Scholars Program incorporates the elements of peer-assisted
learning and structured study in the medical curriculum, as well as medical
school coursework to assess the students’ ability to endure the rigors of the
medical school curriculum. The College provides educational resources such
as private and group tutoring appointments, learning workshops, individual
consultations with a Librarian, the Princeton Review MCAT prep material,
supplemental instruction, block director/faculty office hours, a Learning
Specialist dedicated to Pathway students, and support for students to retake
the Medical College Admission Test. Students gain clinical exposure while
shadowing health care providers in clinical settings in Phoenix, Arizona.
Upon successful completion of the Pathway Scholars Program, students
are granted a Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies in Health Sciences
and, if the student has achieved set milestones and competencies, will
matriculate into the UA College of Medicine–Phoenix (2). The importance
of the PSP is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students
(URM) that enroll in medical school and the need for high-quality health
care to the unserved and underserved (3, 4).
Embedded librarianship
The library’s participation in the PSP began in May 2014 with a physical tour
of the library and an online tour of library resources. The two-hour didactic
session also included a hands-on session and provided the necessary intro-
duction to the library’s electronic resources, including the online catalogue.
The Millennium-III integrated library system is used to find books, e-jour-
nals, DVDs and other library owned resources. On the Arizona Health
Sciences Library’s (AHSL) home page, the ‘Top Resources’ drop down
menu on the blue banner gathers all electronic databases for medicine in a
one-stop area called ‘Quick Links’. This link leads to the rich collection of
databases, point of care tools and non-medical resources.
Pathway Scholars have access to over nine thousand peer-reviewed journals
through the library’s e-journals link. A demonstration of how RefWorks can be
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4. used to enhance research in papers and Scholarly Projects was given. Similar
bibliographic managers like Endnote Online (available through the Web of
Science) and an open source resource called Mendeley were also briefly shown.
While the UA Pathway Scholars program was designed and implemented
in an academic library, hospital librarians could easily add their knowledge
and expertise to similar programs. Hospital librarians can promote and
participate in literacy programs at their institutions and could offer assistance
to postgraduate high school students interested in medical school and to
undergraduate college students who are taking premedical coursework. In
collaboration with a Pathway program or on their own, hospital librarians
are uniquely qualified to deliver 60- to 90-minute instruction on evidence-
based medicine databases such as PubMed and MedlinePlus (both free
access), using an online catalogue, and accessing full-text articles, and
e-books in the hospital setting.
The PICO question
A second class of ten Pathway Scholars was admitted to the program in May
2015. Following the 50-minute library resources session it was determined that a
second session would be dedicated to a hands-on demonstration of how to
formulate a patient centered question using the mnemonic PICO. This acronym
is used in formulating a patient-centered or diagnostic question in an evidence-
based way. PICO is based on these four areas of knowledge and action:
● Patient or Problem or Population
● Intervention (therapy/prevention, diagnosis/screening, cause/harm or
prognosis)
● Comparison or Control
● Outcome
This evidence-based method of searching the medical literature is designed
to make a valid, successful decision based on the skills and knowledge of the
researcher and clinician, the values of the patient, and the best available
medical evidence.
Assessment
This second class of 10 Pathway Scholars was asked to evaluate the instructor
of the library resources session. The assessment is based on the Likert Scale.
A scale from 1–5 was used to allow the individual to express how much they
agree or disagree with a particular statement. Two of the ten Pathway
Scholars were mandated to participate in the assessment of the library
session. On the Likert Scale (Table 1), the ratings were:
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5. Table 2 shows the post-session questions asked.
Comments made by the students in the assessment were as follows:
● The examples presented for the class to look up information on their
own worked well.
● There were too many examples and it became repetitive.
● The session should be shortened slightly. It went over the allotted time.
● I appreciated that the lecturer tested our understanding of information
presented, by prompting us to answer questions, find articles and search
for authors on our own. This made the session interactive and promoted
active learning.
● Presenting information about medical information and research, and
relating them directly to our scholarly projects was very helpful. Doing
so, helped me better understand not only how to find information, but
also how to use it and apply to scholarly research.
● Lecturer communicated information clearly and expressed willingness to
help us if further assistance was needed.
● Session was a little overwhelming because there was a lot of information
presented for allotted time. As a result, session wrapped up after sched-
uled ending time.
● In the future, it would be beneficial to extend lecture time or reduce
information.
● Another suggestion, might be to create a handout for lecture; one with
research and data Web sites available for students.
Table 1. Likert Scale Ratings.
Likert Scale
1.00 = Strongly Disagree
2.00 = Disagree
3.00 = Neutral
4.00 = Agree
5.00 = Strongly Agree
Table 2. Evaluation Questions.
15% of Pathway Scholars assigned to evaluate
Maintained
Professional
Behavior
Presented
Material in a
clear and
understandable
manner
Paced
session to
support
effective
learning
for time
allotted
Provided a
safe and
supportive
learning
environment
Used
educational
materials
(PPT, videos,
internet,
whiteboard,
etc.) to
enhance
learning
Offered
interactive
activities,
active
learning,
and/or
problem-
solving
exercises
Would
benefit from
presenting
the session
as an
Independent
Learning
Module
(ILM)
4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 5.0 5.0 4.0
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6. Successes
The first class of 10 Pathway Scholars received a Graduate Certificate in
Professional Studies in Health Sciences and met the competencies and mile-
stones to matriculate into the University of Arizona College of Medicine–
Phoenix in July 2015.
Summary
Each year the Director and Program Coordinator of the Pathway Scholars
Program have determined whether it is important to include a library literacy
session for the students. The author appreciates that they think of the library
and health literacy when fostering new physicians and is hopeful that each
year additional questions will be considered for the post session assessment.
Upon approval of next year’s program, the author plans to create library pre
and post evaluation instruments to find out what the Pathway Scholars knew
prior to and after the library instruction session.
There is a need to increase the number of physicians who are identified as
underrepresented minorities and the UA College of Medicine–Phoenix
Pathway Scholars Program is just one of the ways to do that. The medical
literature shows that these physicians are most likely to serve minority
populations and may be able to provide a more complete type of health
care because they can identify closely with their patients (2).
Conclusion
Hospital librarians can help to improve library literacy by seeking opportunities
for collaboration with academic health sciences librarians, community college
nursing and allied health librarians and high school biology teachers in deliver-
ing this type of information to students before they apply to medical school.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks Stephanie Hatlestad, Coordinator, Pathway Scholars Program, The University
of Arizona College of Medicine–Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona for her help with this column.
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