Discover how the Touro University library partnered with Osmosis to deepen usage and identify faculty champions across the university system.
The Program
Touro University educates caring healthcare professionals who desire to serve and lead in their community. The university’s culture of putting students first is evident throughout every aspect of campus life, especially in the libraries.
The Touro University librarians in Harlem and Middletown, New York serve students at the College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Pharmacy. They are instrumental in setting up libraries and content collections at new Touro health professions school sites across the country. Rhonda Altonen, MS, MLS, Library Director at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and Pharmacy in Harlem, and Jennifer Santos, MLIS, Library Director at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Middletown, are two of the many staff members who are driven by Touro’s students-first philosophy, exemplified by their open door policy that considers student recommendations for new library content.
The Challenge
Providing trusted, high-quality resources that students engage students.
Students in the health professions must master a substantial volume of complex information within a compressed timeframe to prepare for clinical practice. As a result, educational programs are designed to challenge learners while emphasizing learning efficiency and effectivity. At Touro University, librarians play a critical role in this ecosystem, continuously evaluating how to deliver high-quality resources that support both student learning and faculty teaching. Their efforts are focused on aligning resources with curricular goals, enhancing instructional effectiveness, and ensuring that both learners and educators have access to tools that promote meaningful, efficient learning.
With the abundance of medical education resources available, the challenge often lies in identifying and curating the most effective tools to support student understanding and long-term retention.
A key subsequent challenge then lies around increasing awareness and adoption of available resources across both faculty and student populations. “You do have to do a few clicks to find our resources. We can’t put everything on the homepage, that would look like chaos,” Altonen explains.
The Solution
Adding Osmosis to available library resources to giving students and faculty access to the comprehensive medical education platform.
A student first approached the librarians at Touro about their desire for Osmosis access. At the same time, Dr. Junsanto-Bahri, MD, Department Chair of Basic Biomedical Sciences and Course Director of Pathology, was using Osmosis in her classes and was passionate about furthering Osmosis intergration across the program. After a demo of the platform and hearing about its strong foundation in learning science principles, Altonen and Santos also became enthusiastic champions because of the quality, features, and level of support services from Osmosis.
One of the primary motivations for getting Osmosis was its reliability says Altonen. What sold them on Osmosis was “the attention to detail in the product, and that Osmosis is constantly updating and improving.”
Osmosis consistently meets the students’ needs by not only providing high-quality, medically accurate videos, but also access to additional features like flashcards and question banks. The interactive multimodal content reinforces student learning and supports a variety of learning preferences.
One of the most utilized features is the Osmosis Study Schedule, which keeps student on track and motivated. “Students come in and comment on the fact that they’re a little more comfortable,” shares Altonen. When it comes to organizing study sessions the Osmosis Study Schedule “takes some of the stress off the students.”
Altonen also appreciates the relevant and timely communication from the Osmosis team. Her dedicated Osmosis Academic Success Manager consistently communicates about new features and is always available to help when anything is needed. This level of support is accessible to everyone using Osmosis, from the dedicated Academic Success Manager working with university staff, to the Customer Experience team who are available to help at the click of a button on the Osmosis site.
Additonally, The Osmosis team worked closely with the library to help raise awareness and support usage of Osmosis. Altonen introduces Osmosis to students during orientation and reinforces its value through periodic communications, including update emails. “We promote Osmosis; the emails that my Academic Success Manager Jill sends, if they’re relevant, I forward them on whether it’s faculty or staff,” states Altonen “and she’s always willing to do workshops with us.”
“Osmosis is not just a valuable tool, it is a reliable tool. Our Academic Success Manager, Jill is always available to ensure our students have a smooth experience.”
Jennifer Santos, MLIS, Library Director at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
The Result
Positive student feedback facilitated introductions to Osmosis team members, helping faculty maximize the value of their subscription and supported expanded use across Touro programs.
Osmosis is one of the most frequently utilized resources provided to students by the Touro medical library. “When we see students studying watching videos, Osmosis is the one we’re always seeing open and being used,” reports Altonen. This is backed up by the positive student reviews of the platform. “When we get asked about board review it’s on the top of the list because so many of the students like it. All the feedback we get is positive.”
Osmosis popularity has also grown among faculty thanks to the strong work from its librarians facilitating connections between Osmosis teammates and Touro faculty. Osmosis is now integrated into a prematriculation program that gives students foundational knowledge before starting medical school. Osmosis videos have also been integrated into the DO program’s genetics curriculum and is used in courses throughout the pre-clerkship curriculum.
Touro’s positive experience using Osmosis led Altonen to include Osmosis as a recommended resource for Touro sister campuses, including the new PA program in California and new DO program in Montana. Deep faculty engagement from the pharmacy program has also led to interest in expanding use in the New York podiatry program as a core curricular resource.
“Osmosis is definitely the bar we use. If it’s not as useful as Osmosis then what’s the point?”
Rhonda Altonen, MS, MLS, Library Director at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and Pharmacy
When deciding to buy new resources, the librarians at Touro evaluate both the financial costs and usefulness. Altonen says they evaluate “usefulness to the students, usefulness to the faculty. Osmosis is definitely the bar we use. If it’s not as useful as Osmosis then what’s the point?”
