Tuesday, September 10, 2019

A gateway to lifelong learning

From vintage class notes to the most recent scientific studies, the ADA Library & Archives is a fount of knowledge for both dental students and seasoned professionals. Although most people may think of a library as a physical place (and there is a physical library in the ADA building in Chicago), the Library & Archives has a wide selection of online collections, including about 10,000 journals and hundreds of textbooks, all available to any ADA member with an internet connection. The resource contains clinical resources, evidence-based clinical summaries, drug information and, according to Heidi Nickisch Duggan, director of the ADA Library & Archives, “an awesome archives collection covering both the history of the ADA and the history of dentistry in general, along with biographical information on famous dentists — and an amazing staff.”

In an upcoming episode of the ADA’s Beyond the Mouth podcast, Nickisch Duggan says, “One of the most important things to us is [making] sure all of our users get the information they need to answer their clinical questions. Scholarly publishing is such a large industry, and there is simply no way we could have direct access to everything. We try to get direct access to the best and most relevant information.”

Via the Library & Archives, ADA members have access to an array of services and resources, from conducting research to document delivery, relevant journal literature and databases to benefit both your dental practice and career. In addition, a growing collection of electronic journals and research databases offers extensive resources on the dental profession.

“We concentrate on developing a robust set of evidence-based, peer-reviewed scholarly resources,” Nickisch Duggan says. “That you don’t have to figure out on your own whether something is published out of somebody’s basement or whether it’s got some peer-review heft behind it.”

Among its variety of resources, the Library & Archives offers an additional benefit to ADA members: free access and use of DynaMed Plus, a clinical summary resource app designed to assist both dentists and physicians with chair-side decision making. 

“If you haven’t seen a patient in a while and want to make sure that your knowledge is current, DynaMed Plus is a great resource for patient information, drug interaction information and clinical guidelines,” Nickisch Duggan says. “It also includes about 600 medical and dental calculators, and if you have it installed on a tablet or on your phone, you can bookmark those calculators. The information is often available in more than one language and always from vetted sources. It’s much beloved by our members.”

Heidi Nickish Duggan’s comments were lightly edited and drawn from Beyond the Mouth, a podcast series from the ADA Center for Professional Success. It is available at ADA.org/BeyondtheMouth and through most major podcast distribution channels. This season’s episodes include an interview with new ADA President Dr. Chad P. Gehani and cover topics such as elder care, in-office dental plans and the value of volunteering. The interview with Nickisch Duggan will be released Sept. 17.

~ADA Center for Professional Success

This blog post was sponsored by the ADA Center for Professional Success.

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