Find Your Professional Education
With MLA continuing education (CE), you get everything you need to advance your career. Here's how.
Over 200 courses are ready when you want to learn
MEDLIB-ED, "The Learning Destination for Health Information Professionals" is your portal to more than 70 MLA webinars and courses and over 150 MLA-approved educational offerings from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) and independent instructors. MLA adds over 20 webinars every year. More courses are available at scheduled times.
You choose your learning path
Your path begins with MLA's free competency self-assessment. Use it to rate your level of proficiency in the MLA Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success. Then plan your professional development, and find the learning opportunities you need in MEDLIB-ED.
I love the real-world situations and the ability to interact directly with the course. It helps me to think through a process and understand it more.
Build a foundation for your future
Health information professionals work in a wide range of settings and need diverse skills to succeed. Build a foundation for your future in one or more of the MLA Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success.
Choose the learning format that works best for you
What works best for you?
- You can take Self-Paced Online Courses when you want at your pace.
- Live Webinars are scheduled, and recorded webinars are offered on-demand.
- Instructor-Led Courses span multiple sessions and offer a small class experience for more in-depth learning.
- Join Discussion Groups if you like to learn by discussing ideas with peers.
- Take part in the Independent Reading Program if you like to learn through reading and reflection.
- Intensive, project-focused, and mentor-guided year-long research and leadership programs are also available.
I take these courses throughout the year to help keep my knowledge base current on best practices.
New to the Medical Library Profession? We have courses to get you started!
If you are just out of library school or transitioning from another profession, our series of self-paced courses and many of the other offerings on MEDLIB-ED are for you. You can:
- Gain a foundation in the growing area of research data management,
- Start on a path to becoming an effective meeting convenor,
- Start designing your own effective courses and sessions,
- and much more!
Are you a health information professional looking to move to the next level?
Refine or acquire searching expertise with one of our twenty webinars addressing many aspects of complex searching, from evaluating grey literature to setting up a systematic review service.
Apply to be a Rising Star and start on a path to leadership in MLA or your organization.
The Research Training Institute is a year-long program that gives you the skills and the mentorship to complete a publication-worthy study.
This course was beneficial in my current work and I look forward to identifying others of this caliber and interest.
Earn a credential that supports your career advancement
Credentials are a compelling way to show employers your skills and commitment to career advancement.
Qualify for membership in the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP), MLA's accomplishment-based career development program.
Earn a certificate that demonstrates your skills in a specific area:
- The Systematic Review Services Specialization (SRSS) shows you have the information retrieval and management skills needed to support conducting high-quality and reproducible systematic reviews.
- A Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) shows that you are committed to offering quality health information services.
- Your Data Services Specialization (DSS) shows employers and researchers that you can offer quality data services and stay current with developments in this rapidly changing field.
Learning that sticks with you
Our self-paced courses immerse you in realistic situations and call on you to make choices. You learn actively, by solving problems and reflecting on choices. Sample a scenario-based self-paced course to learn more.
- 97% are likely or very likely to take another course
- 90% are likely or very likely to recommend the course to a colleague
- 40% said they are able to use the skills taught at a fully competent level
- 50% said they can use the skills taught but need more practice
Experience and expertise behind every course
MLA webinars and courses are developed and presented by experts in their field. Here are some of them:
Wichor Bramer created a unique approach to advanced searching and is an international presenter on Systematic Searching.
Carrie Price, Albert S. Cook Library, Towson University - Towson
Lyle Foster, Sociology and Anthropology, Missouri State University - Springfield
MJ Tooey, Health Sciences and Human Services Library, University of Maryland, Baltimore - Baltimore
Amy Blevins, Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Indiana University School of Medicine - Indianapolis
Margaret Foster, AHIP, Center for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses, Texas A&M University School of Medicine - College Station
Amanda K. Rinehart, Life Sciences Librarian, The Ohio State University - Columbus
Shannon D. Jones, AHIP, MUSC Libraries, Medical University of South Carolina - Charleston