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Professional Development

General Information

MLA offers professional and career development opportunities and resources for practicing health sciences librarians, recent graduates, nurses, and others. Check out upcoming live MLA CE here. And scroll down to learn more about the different types of CE created specifically for health sciences librarians! We offer site licenses for live and recorded webinars.

CE Passport

Purchase full access by June 30, 2023 to access MLA online webinars courses through December 31, 2023. Visit the CE Passport page for more information.

Competencies for Professional Success

MLA's Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success defines core health information professional competency areas. Take the free MLA Competencies Self-Assessment to rate your skills in each area. Use your ratings to plan your professional development.

Webinars

MLA offers live and recorded webinars that serve skill development in the professional competencies.

Self-Paced Courses

MLA offers engaging and powerful self-paced online courses.  Each course places you in a realistic situation in which you must acquire and use skills to solve a problem or complete a task. Downloadable resources help you deepen and extend your skills.

Instructor-Led Blended Courses

Join your colleagues for innovative and practical Instructor-Led Courses. Instructor-led courses combine live sessions with activities before and after sessions, participant chat open for the duration of the course, instructor feedback, and opportunities to engage instructors outside of sessions.

Discussion Group Program

Select a well-defined topic for a discussion group with other professionals and earn MLA continuing education (CE) contact hours for professional development.

Independent Reading Program

Read a pre-selected article from the Journal of the Medical Library Association or a book or other article in an MLA competency area, complete the online application, and receive MLA CE credit.

Illinois Continuing Education for Nurses (CNE)

MLA is an Illinois Continuing Education Sponsor (License No. 236.000169). Courses approved for Illinois CNE serve Advanced Practice Nurses, Registered Nurses, and Licensed Practical Nurses in Illinois and other states.

MLA has reviewed the nursing continuing educations requirements for all states to identify those that accept Illinois CNE. We urge you to confirm our interpretation of statutes by checking the nursing education requirements in your state, professional organization, or certifying body before assuming that an Illinois CNE course will serve your purpose.

Find all courses approved for Illinois CNE in MEDLIB-ED, our online course catalog. Please check back often, as the number of CNE courses will grow as more courses are approved.

To learn more about our requirements for CNE presenters and how you or a colleague can apply for CNE approval please see How to Get Your Course Approved for MLA CE or Illinois CNE Credit.

AHIP Credential: The Academy of Health Information Professionals

Whether you are new to the profession or have been working in it for many years, the Academy has a membership level for you! Academy membership reflects the investment of time and effort required for exemplary professional performance.

Specializations

Complete an approved curriculum of courses and earn one of MLA's specializations.

  • Consumer Health Information: improve your health information services for consumers and  find new resources and ideas to serve the public, patients, and families. Apply today for MLA's Consumer Health Information Specialization.

  • Data Services:  gain recognition for the accomplishment of acquiring skills in providing data services to researchers and others who work with data. A Basic DSS certificate is available now. An Advanced DSS certificate is planned for 2021.

  • Systematic Review Services: Earning a Systematic Review Services Specialization (SRSS) shows employers and colleagues that you have the information retrieval and management skills to support users and researchers in conducting high quality and reproducible systematic reviews.

  • Disaster Information: Sunset on April 30, 2023. See link for archived information.

Mentoring

MLA can help you meet your career goals by connecting you with an experienced heath sciences information professional.  Find or become a mentor with MLA.

Grants, Scholarships and Fellowships

MLA offers a variety of funding opportunities to assist qualified students in graduate library science programs and to enable practicing health sciences librarians to pursue professional development.

Career Center

Find available jobs in MLA's Career Center.

Educators

 

Have questions? Please contact the MLA Professional Development Department.