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"Tips & Tricks"
Courtesy of Creative Commons
Are you a medical or dental student stuck in a studying rut? Do you need to shake-up your studying? If your study routine has become, well, a bit too routine, then make a visit to:
Resources for Studying
https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/studying_resources
The resources on this guide have a particular focus on the basic sciences and anatomy – perfect for first year medical and dental students! Featured resources include:
- Tools to create custom flashcard sets
- Sites featuring interactive games to help you study
- Practice quizzes and interactive reviews that help you assess your current knowledge level – and help take you to the next level
Studying for boards? Then check out:
Board Prep for Medicine
https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/boardprepmedicine
Dental Board, Licensure, and Post-Grad Exam Review
https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/dentalboardandpgreview
Happy studying!
Please enjoy the fourth installment of Ask Ms. Shelved, the irregularly scheduled advice column from HHSL!
Dear Ms Shelved:
Last night I studied, stressed and sleepy, sitting on the 7th floor,
And heard a phantom laugh–so creepy!–from behind a closèd door…
Oh, sorry about that…I still regret not being an English major.
What I mean to say is that I was on the quiet floor and everyone around me was working independently in carrels, but I could sometimes hear voices coming from different areas of the floor. Is the library CuRsEd??? Are these unsettling utterances the work of the phantoms of past pupils… crying out in eternal agony about an exam they never quite felt prepared for? Will a ghastly ghoul set upon me should I fall asleep at my books? Please let me know, for I am quite spooked and not at all procrastinating.
Sincerely,
Haunted in Hirsh
Dear Haunted,
Well, you certainly do have an active imagination. Perhaps you should consider creative writing as a hobby.
Fortunately, these voices you hear are not the work of otherworldly spirits, but rather the high spirits of your fellow (living) students. The group study rooms are not soundproof, so when one gets overly enthusiastic about biochemical pathways, one’s voice might carry across the rest of the floor.
Let this serve as a reminder to those who use the rooms—be mindful of your volume! Though you might feel tucked away in your own private space, if you get too loud, you will perturb (or possibly spook!) one of your compatriots. A measured, “indoor” voice should suffice for communication.
And, my dear Haunted…might I suggest that you use headphones or earplugs? You can find both at the Library Service Desk. While we encourage the users of group study rooms to moderate their volume, total silence cannot be guaranteed. That being said, should niggling noises continue to break through your noise-dampening efforts, do not hesitate to gently ask the room occupants to be quieter. Or, if you are too timid, ask a friendly Library Service Desk staff member to speak to them.
Ever yours,
Ms. Shelved
P.S.
A ghoul is specifically associated with graveyards, so even were the library to be haunted…it would not be by a ghoul. –M.S.
BLEH!
‘tis I, the Prince of Procrastination, the Lord of Laziness, the Dragon of Draggin’, COUNT BLOCKULA
When the moon is high and the spirit is weak, I emerge to feed on the living…no, not on blood (gross)… But on the ineffable power generated by your LATE RETURNS.
When you fall under my spell, powerless to resist and unable to return your Reserve items, Electronics, and Peripherals to the Library Service Desk on time, I grow stronger with each ensuing infraction.
ONE BLOCK – a light snack for me, you cannot check out materials for 24 hours
TWO BLOCKS – heartier fare indeed, succumb to me twice and you cannot borrow for one week
THREE BLOCKS – a delicious meal, leaving me full and you unable to check out materials for one full month! Plus a letter to your Dean about your naughty ways
FOUR BLOCKS – the full buffet! I am sated, and you are without laptops and phone chargers until the end of the semester
(thunder clap!)
If you are wise, you will resist me and return your reserve materials on time, mortals. Otherwise beware the wrath of COUNT BLOCKULA!
(The Hirsh Health Sciences Library overdue item policy can be found in its entirety here: http://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/about-us/policies/overdue-items)
So you’d rather be hitting the beach…but you’re here hitting the books instead, and you’re looking for a place to study. We have a variety of great individual spaces here at Hirsh, from standing desks to study pods, but where do you go if you need to do work with a group?
We have two types of rooms that are ideal for group work—collaboration rooms and study rooms, which you can find on the 5th and 7th floors, respectively. We know that there is sometimes a bit of confusion about how they differ, so we’re hoping this post helps clear it up!
Collaboration Rooms
Collaboration rooms are on the 5th floor. They all have whiteboards and screens that you can connect your computers to, their name reflects the fact that they have handy tools you might need to use collaborate with your classmates on a project or a presentation. However, the major thing that sets these rooms apart is that they are reservable. You can find the room use policies, the booking forms, and the schedule on our Collaboration Room website, but we’ll share the basics here.
Groups of 2 or more can reserve them for up to 4 hours a day, and up to 3 times a week. With these limits, we’re striving to hit a good balance between giving each group enough time, but making sure as many different groups as possible can use them. Reservations must be made by 11:59pm the night before so that we can post each room’s schedule outside the door first thing in the morning. If there isn’t a reservation in a room, you can feel free to use it on a first-come, first-served basis just like our study rooms.
So what is a study room? It’s also a small room where you can get work done with others, so what’s the difference?
Study Rooms
You can find our study rooms on the 7th floor (and there’s one on the 6th floor). They always operate on a first-come, first-served basis. You’re welcome to use the rooms if you’re studying alone, but we give priority to groups of 3 or more, so there is a chance that a larger group could ask to use the room. Also, please be mindful of your volume when using these rooms. The 7th floor is a quiet floor, and while the rooms isolate noise somewhat, they are not totally soundproof.
One final note–be sure you’re making good use of the rooms! Any room left unoccupied for more than 15 minutes becomes available for others to use, regardless of whether it’s reserved or if your personal belongings are left in there.
If you have trouble remembering what type of room you want, or you’re looking for another kind of space, visit our handy Room Reservation Wizard. Just put in some info about what you’re looking for and it will show you the spaces that best fit your needs.
Happy Studying!
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
So, you’re staff at Tufts and you’ve made some pretty useful stuff during your time here. Let’s say someone at another organization asks to reuse a flyer you designed, a figure you generated, pieces of a report you wrote or something else you created as part of your job here at Tufts.
Can you share your work? What’s the best way to do it?
Maybe you haven’t memorized the university’s Intellectual Property Policy, but it’s worth a look. Among other things, it says Tufts University owns the copyright on work staff produce as part of their duties (a.k.a, “work for hire”). Tech Transfer and University Counsel have created a protocol for sharing these works. It starts by you completing the Creative Commons Submission Form.
What is Creative Commons (CC)?
Creative Commons provides somewhat straightforward copyright license language protecting the rights holder while encouraging certain uses of the material by others. For example, some CC licenses prohibit commercial use of the work and some require that any other works produced using the original material carry the same CC license as the original. The concept is summed up on the submission form as, “By applying a CC license to a given work, authors can easily promote redistribution of their work with minimal paperwork, and without sacrificing control over certain important types of use.”
How does the process work?
After approval by Tech transfer and Legal Counsel, you’ll add notice of the license to your work and can share with others within the parameters of the license. The university can also make individual decisions to allow certain other uses of the material on a case by case basis.
For a great example of the Creative Common license in action, check out the Evidence Pyramid crafted by our librarian, Amanda Nevius. When Amanda was updating the content presented to our dental students on Evidence-Based Dentistry, she wanted to create an updated Evidence Pyramid with a focus on clarity and accessibility, using both color-blind friendly design and dyslexia-friendly font. With input from other librarians and design help from Katherine Morley, she did so. Anticipating that this visually appealing pyramid may be something others would want to use, she pursued the Creative Common license and applied it. Already, a clinical faculty member from Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health has let her know she is grateful for the CC license and is intending to use the pyramid.
Any questions about this process?
Contact the Tufts Scholarly Communication Team or University Counsel.
Post contributed by Judy Rabinowitz
Image source: https://pixabay.com/photo-514998/
Working on a cover letter? Stumped about starting your personal statement? Finishing up your thesis? Never fear, Health Sciences Writing Consultants is here! We interrupt our usual summer hiatus to bring you three special Thursdays where our consultant will be available to advise you on your writing projects.
On 7/18, 7/25, and 8/1, there will be four appointments available between 11am and 2pm. For more information or to register for an appointment please visit the Health Sciences Writing Consultants LibGuide.
Regular sessions will resume in August–stay tuned!
It’s July, so it’s time to welcome our new crop of Interns, Residents, and Fellows of Tufts Medical Center and our affiliated programs!
Doctor immunising a child, 1941 from the collections of the State Library of Queensland is in the Public Domain.
Remember, House Staff of TMC and affiliated hospitals have full access to the research collections of the Hirsh Health Sciences Library (for questions about access, visit this page. We are happy to assist you with all of your library research needs, including access to Point of Care Tools, access to Guidelines, access to ebooks, and much more! We can help you with your literature searches, and work with you on bigger research projects as well (just fill out this Consultation form and we’ll get right back to you).
We are available during Library Open Hours to help with all of your questions, no matter how big or how small. Feel free to call us at 617.636.6705, email us at hhsl@tufts.edu, or use our Chat feature to reach someone right away.
Welcome to Tufts, and we look forward to helping you navigate the next phase of your medical education!
So the HHSL Open Workshops Series is over for the semester and you couldn’t attend any workshops. Look, we’ve all been there. You really WANTED to attend that Thursday HHSL Open Workshop at 12pm, but you were engrossed in your studies/bumped in to a friend and started chatting/forgot to check the date on the topic you wanted/really needed to eat lunch…and so you missed it.
Have you squandered your last chance to learn EndNote? Thrown away your shot to master Web of Science? Wasted all opportunities to hone your PubMed skills? Are you doomed?
“On Fire” Gunshow #648 by KC Green. This is a meme all over the internet now, give its creator some love here.
No! Your friends at Hirsh Health Sciences Library would never abandon you! We know how busy you are, and we can’t schedule Open Workshops at times that fit everybody’s schedule or align the topic you’re interested in to the time it’d be the most useful for you. To better meet your needs, we bring you Workshops on Demand— gather a few friends, find some times that work for a group session, and tell the Library what you want to learn about. We will provide the content, and expert librarian instructor, and we’ll even book the room. Choose from the list of topics, or suggest your own- we’re listening! Just fill out the form and we will be in touch to set up your custom workshop. These sessions are a great way to maximize learning and interaction with an instructor and your classroom peers, and ideal for those embarking on group projects. Workshops on Demand can be scheduled M-F between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm, depending on the availability of librarians, and we can conduct them via WebEx as well for those off-campus.
(Of course, if you would like a one-on-one instruction session with a librarian, we can set that up too. Just contact us here)
Gather round ye good folk of Hirsh Library, for I hae something most odd and chilling to share with ye today. You may have heard whispers round the misty paths of the Boston campus, tales of strange beasts that dwell round the depths of the Library Service Desk.
Surely these creatures are but a myth? Or there is some scientific explanation for these rumors? An errant algal bloom from the Charles River. Mirages that appear before the eyes of exhausted students after they pull all-nighters. A flock of pigeons overfed on leftover pizza…
Nae, ‘tis none of these, and I’m sorry to say ‘tis no legend either. These are the creatures known collectively as THE BLOCK. And, disturbingly, sightings are on the rise.
Descendants of the great dragons of old, these four mystic beings are charged with guarding a hoard most valuable to all of us here who seek knowledge—the reserve collection. Under the ancient contract, these precious items—a collection of such goodly things as skulls, books, and laptops—may be lent freely to all those Tuftonians who might need them, for a period of four hours. If the borrower requires the item longer, it will be gladly be lent out for four hours more, provided they visit the Desk and kindly request a renewal.
Those who are vigilant and heed the timings of return need not fear THE BLOCK. But those misfortunate souls who keep things past due will attract the gaze of the creatures and incur their curse.
The First Block is tricky—it will catch you when first you let your guard down—but it is the most lenient of the quartet. The first time you forget to return an item in time, the First Block will bar you from borrowing for period four and twenty hours. Luckily, once this period has passed, it will not begrudge you a future loan.
Should you be careless and hold on to an item late for a second time, the Second Block will rise, with a harsher resolve than its fellow, and prevent you from borrowing for one week’s time.
Have you seen these two? Sightings are common, unfortunately, and while they should best be avoided, you can be hopeful that your experience will end with them.
Alas, there are those forget the lessons and power of the first two Blocks, and dare keep items late for a third time, thenceforth summoning the Third Block. The Third Block is resentful of being awakened from its sleep and will prevent you from borrowing items for one full month. It will also send a message on the wind to your Dean, notifying them of your failure to abide by the rules of the borrowing contract.
I cannae bear discussing the last creature. Truly, I shudder to share what will happen should you dare cross the monstrous Fourth Block. The most ancient and fearsome of all the Blocks, it has the longest memory and enacts the most rigid penalty of all. Should you keep items late for a fourth time, the Fourth Block shall rise from the murky depths of its cubic lair and prevent you from borrowing items for the rest of the semester. Once again, your Dean shall hear of your grave offence.
Sightings of the fearsome third and fourth blocks are on the rise and this is most distressing news to us.
Please, heed my warnings. Keep your wits about you! These creatures are old and their memories long. Remember, even if you summon the first Block in July, the other Blocks will remember all the way through the following June. ‘Tis a nasty surprise to forget your autumnal encounters with Blocks One and Two and be faced with the Third Block on a bonny day in May.
I entreat you, take my words to heart and readily share them with your fellows. Our wish is that all may use the Reserve collection in good health and good cheer, with nary a worry that they should ever face an encounter with a Block.
For the facts behind the fantasy, please visit our Reserve Policy page.
Please enjoy the third installment of Ask Ms. Shelved, the irregularly scheduled advice column from HHSL!
Dear Ms. Shelved,
I know that an important part of my educational development is learning to collaborate with my peers and work well with others. But when it comes time to study for exams, all I want is some peace, quiet, and PRIVACY to study. But the Hirsh Health Sciences Library rules thwart me at all turns! I cannot book a Collaboration Room on the 5th floor as a single scholar. I’ve even been asked to LEAVE when a group wants the room to study. There are people EVERYWHERE?! I am a solitary creature, like a sloth. What am I to do?
Sincerely,
Solo in Sackler
Sloth by henryalien is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Dear Ms. Shelved,
It has taken a lot of courage for me to write to you. By nature, I am a retiring and reticent person, disinclined to make a fuss. But recently, I have been searching for a room in which I can study, and so many of them are occupied by a person or a few people. Sometimes there is only a backpack in the room. What should I do? I do not want to offend anyone by claiming the room, even if it has been sitting empty and the lights are off. I am gripped with indecision and whipsawed by doubt! Also I have exams coming up and I need to study. But I’m so shy, like a sloth. Whatever shall I do?
Sincerely,
Shy in Sackler
Sloth by Ishamari Drennan-Colón is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Gentle Readers,
Solo, meet Shy. Shy, meet Solo. There, your problems are solved.
Ever yours,
Ms. Shelved
p.s. Okay, okay, let me explain…
Solo, you are correct that groups have priority for using all of our study rooms, including the 5th floor collaboration room and the 7th floor study rooms, and that groups may ask those studying alone to vacate. And Shy, it is true that people often do use rooms alone, and have a bad habit of leaving belongings behind to “claim” a room.
Not to play matchmaker (that’s another advice columnist), but if you want to use a quiet study room, why not SHARE? Solo, if a group asks you to leave the room, you can ask if they mind if you stay. Shy, if a room is empty except for some belongings, move right in and study! When the person or group returns, let them know you’re happy to share.
Ms. Shelved knows this is a high-stress time of year. Space is at a premium, and we need to work together, like female sloths (males are the shy, solitary ones my friends).
Ever yours (although it is incorrect to sign a letter again in the postscript),
Ms. Shelved
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