The Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library supports the educational, research, patient care, and community service missions of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (HSC) by meeting the information needs of faculty, students, staff, and the local health sciences community. The library provides a full complement of services, including access to scholarly bibliographic resources, borrowing privileges, use of individual and group study areas, photocopying and printing, document delivery/interlibrary loan, expert instruction in the use of information resources, and access to professionally trained librarians for reference and literature search assistance. The library also offers a computer lab outfitted with up-to-date hardware and software used in both teaching and research on campus.
Lewis Library’s staff of 35 full-time employees (FTE), including 18 professional librarians, provides in-person assistance for 109 hours per week. Each of the library’s three floors is available for student and faculty use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The library’s scholarly collection contains approximately 12,000 electronic journals, 14,700 print and electronic books, and 125 searchable databases in the biomedical sciences, clinical medicine, public health, and affiliated fields. All electronic resources can be accessed through the Lewis Library web site at http://library.hsc.unt.edu and are available to HSC students, staff, and faculty from anywhere in the world at any time of the day and night.
Lewis Library also maintains the HSC Scholarly Repository, an online resource that preserves intellectual works created by HSC faculty, staff, and students and enables discovery of these works by the international scientific community. You can view repository items, including student theses and dissertations, at http://digitalcommons.hsc.unt.edu/. In addition to working on the cutting edge of digital content creation and preservation, Lewis Library maintains a special collections unit consisting of a rare book collection and a university archives operation. These print-based collections give users the opportunity to access historical material in osteopathic and physical medicine and items related to the founding and operation of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.
Lewis Library uses an online system from SirsiDynix to acquire, process, and provide access to its collections. Students and faculty may obtain books and journals not owned by the library using the ILLiad web-based order and delivery system. Lewis Library has been a resource library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine since 1991 and is also a member of the South Central Academic Medical Libraries Consortium, a group of 17 academic medical/health science center libraries in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Additionally, the library participates in TexShare, a state of Texas cooperative library program. TexShare allows HSC students, staff, and faculty physical access to and borrowing privileges from all public libraries as well as various public and private institutions of higher education in Texas. As a member of the University of North Texas System, the library is able to gain access to a wide array of electronic resources outside the health sciences. The library’s participation in these collaborative endeavors ensures that HSC students and faculty have access to the world of information beyond the walls of Lewis Library.
Lewis Library has been the home of the Regional Medical Library (RML) for the South Central Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM SCR) since May 2016. The library’s service as the RML is based on a National Institutes of Health award, Cooperative Agreement 1UG4LM012345-01. As a unit of the National Library of Medicine, the NN/LM SCR aims to advance the progress of medicine and improve public health through increased access to health information within the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The RML extends the services and programs of the NN/LM and the National Library of Medicine by partnering with health information agencies and organizations, public health entities, community based organizations, libraries, and the general public to offer outreach, funding opportunities, and educational programming throughout the region.
Beginning in the summer of 2017, HSC entered into an agreement with JPS Health Network for Lewis Library to manage the provision of library and information services to the Health Network. The combination of Lewis Library’s professional expertise and JPS’ excellent care will lead to improvements in patient care, teaching, and research at both JPS and HSC and help to sustain the important mission of improving health status and access to care in Tarrant County.
Information Technology Services provides quality computer services to all academic and administrative areas at HSC. The departments of Information Technology Services that provide services to students are Helpdesk & Client Services and Infrastructure & Security. These departments are located in Room 202 of the Library building and can be accessed through the Student Support helpdesk. For more information on Information Technology Policies, please visit the policies website at https://www.unthsc.edu/administrative/institutional-compliance-office/unt-health-science-center-policies/.
Helpdesk and Client Services provides consultation and user assistance to computer users relative to hardware and software use, communications, printing, email, and provides computer purchase recommendations. In addition, the helpdesk resells certain software to students under academic purchase agreements. It manages and provides warranty support for the student laptop one-to-one program. All student laptops are supported by this office located in the Library main floor, Room 219. Other services include classroom lecture capture, setup of audiovisual equipment for classroom use, and equipment checkout for faculty and staff.
Infrastructure and Security is responsible for the design, installation, and maintenance of academic and administrative local-area networks (LANs), wireless networks on campus, email systems, servers, data storage, user access, and accounts. Computer users connected to the HSC network have access to a variety of software programs and are able to exchange data and e-mail with users across the institution and off-campus. VPN access is available for both PC and Macintosh platforms.
The HSC records management program is managed by the Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library and is designed to assist all non-clinical departments with management of a record’s entire lifecycle, i.e., from creation to final disposition. The program helps to reduce cost and liability by promoting adherence to State of Texas record management guidelines but it is also supports university operations and managerial decision making through the provision of timely access to needed material. As part of the program, training and support are provided to campus departments in all areas of records and information management.
The Research Office is responsible for all basic and applied research, clinical trials, and biomedical technology programs. Programs that promote these activities include seminars, workshops, faculty research programs, collaborative and community outreach activities, and a variety of programs to encourage students to pursue careers in research.
The Research Office develops policies and administers programs to enhance research and scholarly activity and to assure institutional compliance with all mandated requirements related to research. The office assists in proposal development, identification of and negotiations with potential sources of support, and post-award management of research funds. The office manages intellectual property (patents and copyrights), institutional policies, and research contractual matters.
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC INNOVATION
The Division of Academic Innovation is a collaboration of experts focused on cutting edge innovation that synthesizes and delivers novel learning experiences for all learners. With a commitment to excellence, relevance, and authenticity, the Division of Academic Innovation is comprised of:
- the Center for Innovative Learning (CIL)
- INCEDO
- SaferCare Texas
- Regional Simulation Center
- Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP)
The HSC Center for Innovative Learning (CIL) supports faculty, staff, and students by providing a wide variety of services to improve teaching and learning. The Center for Innovative Learning specializes in educational technology, course and instructional design, faculty development, Canvas learning management system, and instructional media including the One University Studio.
The CIL provides support to programs, faculty, and students for academic instruction that is provided through online tools and resources. It partners with academic departments to develop programs and deliver face to face, hybrid, and distance education. Students may find help and support for their online experience at http://www.unthsc.edu/education/onlineeducation/.
INCEDO, the professional and continuing education office, connects the colleges, providers, and administrators to outcomes‐driven continuing education solutions. INCEDO is the academic home for all HSC graduates. It consistently discovers new ways to engage and enlighten practicing providers, researchers, and leaders in continuing education activities, community programs, and internal and external collaborations that focus on improving quality across organizations through meaningful, measurable impact.
INCEDO plans discipline-specific and interprofessional conferences, quality improvement initiatives, online programs, and other types of continuing education for HSC providers and non-affiliated health care professionals in Tarrant County and beyond. Its online learning management system provides a convenient way for students and providers to access learning, retrieve participation records, and stay connected to their academic home as they enter their professions.
In 2012 HSC created the Department of Interprofessional Practice with the mission to create a culture of interprofessional education to advance integrated health services and improve the health and quality of life for the people of Texas and beyond. Healthcare research supports the positive impact of effective healthcare teams on improved quality of patient care and reduction of medical errors. HSC’s five schools: The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Health Professions (Physician Assistant, and Physical Therapy), UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Public Health, and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are collaborating to provide opportunities for health professions students to train together in promotion of achievement of interprofessional practice competencies across four domains: Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, Roles/Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication, and Teams and Teamwork.
Interprofessional education partnerships are also being developed between HSC and local educational institutions educating those health professions not represented at HSC in order to broaden these training opportunities. Physicians, nurses, physical therapists, physician assistants, social workers, public health specialists, chaplains, biomedical researchers, other allied health, and extender health providers have an opportunity to learn about, with, and from each other through interprofessional training opportunities.
SaferCare Texas is comprised of interprofessional, patient-safety subject matter experts committed to creating a new culture of safety in health care for Texas. The mission is to challenge traditional thinking to eliminate preventable harm. SaferCare Texas is focused on reducing medical errors and assuring Texans receive the highest quality of health care. SaferCare Texas is expanding its profile and raising state and national awareness through education, health literacy, community outreach initiatives, and quality improvement programs. SaferCare Texas’ efforts are integrated into the Texas State Health Plan and other state agencies to facilitate the awareness and elimination of preventable harm. A few of the key focus areas include Health Literacy, Geriatrics, Pediatrics, Rural Health, and Medical Education. IHI Open School, Fort Worth Chapter is a global learning community supporting students and teams in providing the best possible care through online patient safety education, project-based learning, and interprofessional networking. It is supported and facilitated by SaferCare Texas. For more information, please visit safercaretexas.org.
The Simulation Center provides training and education for students in all HSC academic programs as well as for community healthcare providers by offering realistic simulated patient experiences and deliberate practice of procedural skills in a safe learning environment. The Simulation Center provides opportunities to apply knowledge acquired in pre-class and in-class activities to prepare students for the provision of safe patient care. Learning experiences include faculty feedback, opportunity for repeated performance, and facilitator guided self-reflection. Through participation in simulation learning activities, students develop confidence and competence in psychomotor skills, clinical decision making, effective communication, and teamwork. The Simulation Center offers students the opportunity to practice skills required for licensure exams and to prepare for clinical practice settings. In addition, simulation courses are available to experienced healthcare providers on an array of topics. The Simulation Center is expanding and will become the new Regional Simulation Center scheduled to open in Spring 2022.
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