Information literacy in health sciences education: proposal of a new model in a multi-perspectivism setting

Abstract

Information literacy (IL) has become a core skill within health sciences education. Curriculum developers invest a lot of energy in the development of curricula to integrate IL training in an effective way. To optimize this implementation, a new IL model for health sciences education in a multi-perspectivism setting is proposed. Information literacy should be integrated and practiced within a complete curriculum by using horizontal (basic IL skills) and vertical integration (IL integrated within the discipline) that would guarantee equal opportunities for students’ IL development and which could be a more cost-effective solution within curriculum development. The emerging technologies and the impact on educational models will more and more demand different expertise and thus collaboration of experts with different backgrounds.