3the benefits of integrating information literacy activities into the higher education curriculum of future healthcare professionals

Abstract

It is often said that Internet users are not information literate at the level they are expected to be. Internet is right now the most used means to search and find information on any field of knowledge, and has become 'the' primary source of information for both health professionals and patients. It is essential for medical students to master information literacy skills. Since digital education has been revealed as indispensable for improving users’ information skills, and the labour market is requesting more and more information literate people, academic structures are the most indicated to take over this issue. This paper provides a reflection on the benefits of embedding information literacy into the academic curriculum of students in Medical and Health Sciences, and on institutional measures that can contribute to the improvement of the information literacy skills of the future health professionals.