A Commentary on PhD Curriculum of Medical Library and Information Science: Comparative Study of Three Curriculums

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to compare and implement the curriculum of the PhD in medical library and information science, with similar fields in Iran. Methods : This research used comparative method. For collecting data, a checklist consisting of medical library and information sciences, knowledge and information sciences and library and information sciences was designed and analyzed using descriptive statistics, tables by excel software. Results: Overlap rate of the PhD curriculum in Medical Librarianship and Information science was 94.4% (for information retrieval) and 88.8% (for information management) with the courses of 2 areas of study of knowledge and information sciences, and 93.3% with the courses of library and information science. The main difference between 3 curriculums was in the number of educational units. The main weakness of the curriculum was the lack of attention to the basic topics of the discipline, the overlapping with similar curriculums and low-relevance as well as unrelated lessons. The strong points were some related lessons about health system and educational planning unit. Conclusion: Regarding the objectives of the PhD program, the functions of the medical library and information science, as well as the lack of attention to the theoretical basis of the field, it seems that a change in the curriculum of this field is necessary. It is suggested that courses such as future studies, information theories, clinical information residency, medical informatics, disease registration system, summarizing and compressing clinical information are included in the curriculum.