I was fortunate enough to win a $500.00 stipend to help cover my costs, so I could attend 2019's WHSLA/SWHSL/Midwest Chapter MLA. The conference being in Milwaukee, WI, allowed me to visit the Bronze Fonz and stop at Kopps while also learning the latest greatest in medical librarianship.
I’ll be honest, I ended up taking more away from the conference than I had even hoped. The highlights:
- I won the jackpot and received a free membership to MLA. Seriously, I went out and bought a lottery ticket because I was feeling so lucky.
- Drinking adult beverages at the hotel bar with fellow librarians. Along with my coworkers, Melinda Orebaugh and Eileen Severson, I was able to visit with Julia Esparza, MLA president, who is a hoot.
- MK Czerwiec, RN, MA, uses comics in healthcare. You can read more about her at www.comicnurse.com, My main takeaway is that comics are a powerful tool that can be used to convey highly dense important information in high stress situations. I need to investigate further to see if anyone is currently using comics to create patient ed hand-outs. I am familiar with the graphic novels such as Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green or the Medikidz series, but I am wondering if anyone is creating one or two page hand-outs on health topics. Also, Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant has been added to my to-read list.
- Evening at the Harley Museum. It was a super fun evening networking with fellow librarians and seeing how Harley’s have changed over the years. This must be a dream job for any archivist. Oh, and the gift shop isn’t too shabby.
- I was completely fascinated with the Social Determinants of Health: From the Patient to the Community and Beyond panel of speakers. The future of healthcare really is going to be going where the patients are. I can’t recall, which group is doing it, but they have had positive outcomes with centering pregnancy and centering parenting appointments, which are group driven visits.
Toodles -
Megan Olson
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