On Thursday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the prestigious annual Health Tech Fair was hosted by the Health Institute and the University Libraries.
This year, respected staff representatives and abundant resources were gathered at the Health Sciences Library (HSL) main entrance. Sunny Chang, a HSL librarian and liaison to the Stony Brook School of Nursing and the program in public health, expressed the goals of the fair.
“The Health Tech Fair aims to show the resources currently subscribed to our students, faculty and hospital staff, and it is also open to everyone. Local medical librarian staff also stopped by to speak to our vendors,” Chang said.
Students were treated to exhibits from esteemed representatives and companies, including the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM), the Clinical Simulation Center (CSC), Elsevier, the Long Island Library Resources Council and Thieme, who showcased their exceptional resources and services such as UpToDate and Complete Anatomy.
Bennie Finch represented the NNLM at the Health Tech Fair. She earned a master’s of library and information science (MLIS) and a master’s of social work from Southern Connecticut State University. She works in Region 7, which covers New York State and New England.
“We also work to provide information from the [NNLM] to the public to researchers to physicians to libraries so that they can improve health information,” Finch said.
Riley Hicks, a simulation operation specialist for the CSC, emphasized their involvement in coordinating training and simulations for those involved with the hospital.
“We work with students in all hospital capacities, from nursing students to medical students to everybody who sees any type of patient here at the hospital,” Hicks said. “We also do test training and mannequin simulation[s] for anybody who needs to practice.”
Adam Cummings, an UpToDate clinical decision support representative, showcased Walter’s Clare Health and its clinical decision support tools, including referenced drug information. Cummings also utilizes UpToDate and Lexicomp’s resources.
“Lexicomp is a program available for everybody at Stony Brook, a drug information resource,” Cummings said. “Walter’s Clare Health supports Stony Brook University with clinical decision support resources and referential drug information resources, and we do that through a product known as UpToDate. Collisions are used to connect clinical decision support resources, either at the point directly at care or pas[t] [the] point of care …”
Elsevier, a 125-year-old publishing company, recently unveiled ClinicalKey. This innovative resource provides an evidence-based overview of the present states of clinical diseases. It is accompanied by Complete Anatomy, a groundbreaking tool that allows medical students to delve into the complexities of the human body and offers detailed insights into anatomical structures.
“It gives you not only books to journals to articles that support [anatomical research], but you have access at your fingertips to all the information with one click,” Jamie Dromerhauser, a health system sales executive for Elsevier, said.
Natasha M. Kvlid, MLIS, discussed Stony Brook’s featured materials, such as e-books, digital journals, self-quiz options and image libraries, as well as information on MedOne Neurosurgery and MedOne Education.
“This is great for residents; [MedOne] Neurosurgery and Education are excellent [programs] for anyone who is a health science major, physical therapy major [and students who are] pre-med [or in] years one [or] two of med school,” Kvlid said. “It covers [much] of [the] basic human anatomy, physiology and pharmacology — things like that.”
Although not directly affiliated with the health tech industry, Executive Director Tim Spindler vouched that the Long Island Library Resources Council can still be a valuable resource for those looking for more information.
“Our organization, Long Island Library Resources Council, provides services to hospital libraries and helps science libraries like this one,” Spindler said.
The attendance at the Health Tech Fair demonstrated Stony Brook University’s strong commitment to enhancing healthcare education and research. At the raffle drawing at the end of the event, a few lucky participants won prizes such as water bottles and an Amazon gift card. The raffle added a refreshing, fun note to an otherwise professional event.
