We offer a wide range of information skills sessions, mostly delivered on MS Teams. If you are new to virtual training don’t worry – our librarians can take you through it step by step, and we use screen sharing to give you a hands on experience.
Need evidence for revalidation or CPD? Ask us for a certificate of attendance.
Training Schedule
| Session | Date | Time | Length |
| Check back soon for more scheduled training sessions. Meanwhile, why not get in touch to discuss your training needs? You can find upcoming training sessions from external providers here. | – | – | – |
What training is available?
Introduction to Literature Searching (60 mins) Discover how to find relevant research articles for patient care and assignments using databases such as Medline and CINAHL. Learn how to plan your search, get the skills to search effectively, and save time.
Elearning is also available on the elearning for Healthcare website https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/literature-searching/
Introduction to searching Medline (Ovid) (60 mins) Learn how to perform an effective search for evidence within Medline using the Ovid platform. Learn how to access Medline; how to search using keywords and thesaurus terms; how to save articles of interest; and how to save and export your results.
Introduction to searching CINAHL for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health professionals (60 mins) Learn how to search the healthcare database CINAHL to find evidence and information for your work or study. Understand how to construct a search strategy and generate keywords; how to find, access and save articles; and how to apply limits to focus your results.
Critical Appraisal (90 mins) To understand the usefulness of a research article, you need to consider its quality, results and applicability to local settings. This session introduces Critical Appraisal and shows how to put these ideas into practice by appraising a research article using an appropriate checklist.
If you’d prefer to work through training materials in your own time see our page on Critical Appraisal to access elearning and more.
Introduction to Referencing (60 mins) Demystify this key academic skill which can be adapted to your University Referencing Style. We’ll explain how to do it, step by step. Improve your assignment marks, save yourself time, and reduce your referencing stress.
Introduction to Health Literacy (60 mins) Understand the role that health literacy plays in health and social care systems. Learn how low health literacy affects patient health outcomes and services, and discover resources to help you make a difference in your own practice.
Getting the most out of your NHS OpenAthens account (20-45 mins – depending on your time and interests). Set up your account and learn how to access all the fabulous free electronic resources available to you.
Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical and Cancer Nursing Procedures Online (30 mins) Learn how to browse and search this essential evidence based manual of clinical skills using the intranet or on any PC.
Journal Clubs
Library staff can facilitate a journal club for those who are interested. A suitable paper is selected in advance and then evaluated on the day by using a checklist appropriate for that study design. If you want the library to assist you in a journal club in your department then please contact us. See our Journal Clubs page for more information.
External training
Click here for details of training available from external providers.
1:1 training and self study
1 to 1 and Bespoke Training
1 to 1, small group sessions or peer group sessions are available on demand. Please contact your librarian to discuss your training needs. Email library@swft.nhs.uk or library@geh.nhs.uk
Self study
If you’d prefer to work through study materials in your own time, take a look at our self-study pages