Introduction: Increasing recruitment of students who are Underrepresented in Medicine (UiM) aims to align representation in medical schools to the broader population, but retention and attainment still lag. We aimed to synthesize the literature to honour the stories of UiM medical students, building a deeper understanding of their complex experiences.
Methods: We followed the seven-step process for meta-ethnography, a critical qualitative synthesis that emphasizes richness and depth over comprehensiveness. We developed MEDLINE and Scopus searches and conducted a synthesis through reflexive team and individual processes, cultivating rich data from included studies. Involvement of a librarian, UiM students and graduates, and PhD scientists with diverse lived expertise brought rich insight into the meta-ethnographic process.
Results: We included 37 studies describing the experiences of UiM students: racial/ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, first in family, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, and multiple groups. Synthesis generated four cross-cutting themes: “Working ten times as hard:” highlighting UiM students’ additional labour; “Let me control my tone:” addressing the disciplining of UiM bodies; “I stuck out like a sore thumb:” involving othering, isolation, and visibility; “Sticking together:” exploring coping strategies.
Discussion: Three overarching barriers complicated the stories in the literature: 1. The Disembodied doctor; 2. Impossible professionalism, which creates additional labour for underrepresented medical students in the form of: 3. Hidden work: compensation, masking, and passing. The stories from UiM students disrupt the narrative of a normative, idealized physician identity. Working on this project permitted the librarian to engage with novel methods and a diverse, interdisciplinary team.

Introduction: Academic health librarians regularly teach students evidence synthesis (ES) search skills through research consultations and group sessions. Increasing demand to support student projects can challenge boundaries regarding librarians’ role in ES methods and provoke decisions about how and what to teach. We know little about librarian teaching practices during remote instruction of ES methods so I aimed to untangle the organizational, technological, pedagogical, and methodological aspects of online teaching practices regarding ES methods and make visible the diverse strategies for engaging learners.
Methods: In this digital ethnography using sociomaterial theories, 11 Canadian health librarians participated in two focus groups, eight observations of online research consultations, and five interviews. Analysis focused on tracing actions and disruptions to build relational understandings of the human, non-human, material, and immaterial entanglements in online teaching practices.
Results: Digital learning objects, such as video tutorials and library guides, along with ES methods guidance and review-related technologies mediated librarians’ online teaching practices. In response to methodological expectations and learners’ demonstrated abilities, librarians calibrated their teaching to balance technical and conceptual learning objectives related to the interconnected steps of ES methods. Librarians teach searching, question formulation, and more using the affordances of various technologies, both to deliver the training and in conducting steps of the review.
Discussion: I propose a model to frame decisions about how technologies, techniques, methods, content, and format influences online ES methods instruction, depending on the audience, setting, and context. This framework can help make explicit the often invisible labour of teaching ES methods.

Introduction: Requests for support regarding knowledge syntheses (KS) have steadily increased and expanded beyond health disciplines. The objective of this CARL quality improvement project was to support professional development (PD) planning through understanding the needs of Canadian library workers interested in KS, regardless of discipline.
Methods: This cross-sectional study used online bilingual surveys open to all Canadian library workers to collect baseline data about KS support and PD needs. Twenty questions were organized into four sections: 1) role at library and with KS support; 2) levels and types of KS services; 3) PD training needs and preferences; and 4) additional desired resources and supports.
Results: 137 library workers responded (101 English and 36 French). Respondents had liaison and KS responsibilities with all listed disciplines, with approximately half working in health. Most respondents provide consultant support and mainly cover aspects related to searching and managing citations, but many also collaborate on and teach KS and cover other steps of the review process. Respondents preferred opportunities to learn about KS through structured PD, although the majority had previously built knowledge through self-directed readings and webinars. Respondents desired more time and human resources and PD on review methodologies and automation tools.
Discussion: KS support in Canadian academic libraries is varied and expanding beyond health. Health librarians report supporting multiple disciplines, suggesting cross-over that can help build capacity into other areas through workshops and other PD. The results of this survey provide insights to guide development of KS support and capacity within and beyond health libraries.