The LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans has announced the establishment of the Mary DeFoe Professorship of Innovative Learning in honor of Mary’s meaningful career in library sciences.
Mary, a 1976 graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy, began her association with LSU in 1993, initially working as a librarian at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. In 1996, she moved her work to the Baton Rouge campus of the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, located at Earl K. Long Medical Center. She continued there until the campus closed in 2013, then moved with LSU to its present medical education building on the campus of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.
With her master of library science degree earned at LSU, Mary developed a career that transcends the traditional duties of a librarian. What has endeared her to two generations of medical students and residents has been an innovative approach to learning. As part of the educational curriculum for those who train at the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans’ regional campus in Baton Rouge, there is a conference every weekday morning to discuss new admissions to the hospital over the preceding 24 hours. The sessions’ educational goals are to foster acquisition of knowledge, develop thought processes and stimulate critical thinking.
Unlike librarians at other medical schools, Mary attends the sessions, and by the end of the day has assimilated a relevant collection of both academic and clinical literature related to the topics discussed. She tailors her daily send-outs, which have become classics and a tradition of the educational experience, to the learning needs of medical students, residents and faculty in attendance. She demonstrates innovation and creativity that have benefited innumerable medical students and residents in their medical education while at the same time contributing in a meaningful way to patient care.
A physician who recently graduated from one of the residency programs that Mary supports summarized Mary’s contribution: “I am often asked by residency applicants what makes the learning environment at our residency program special. I always describe Mary DeFoe’s invaluable contribution. With busy schedules and clinical responsibilities, most residents struggle to get their ‘literature feet’ under them early in residency and to establish habits of daily or weekly literature review. Often the most significant barrier is that residents don’t know where to begin and which sources are worth reading. Rather than leaving our residents to navigate this alone, Ms. Mary thoughtfully curates a high-yield reading list based on the topics discussed at morning report and sends these articles to each resident’s inbox daily and posts them for the medical students. Through her services, residents have pertinent literature – ranging from case reports to randomized controlled clinical trials to thorough review articles – at their fingertips daily.”
Mary humbly refers to herself as a “trusted listener.” She values the privilege of being granted what she terms “insider’s access” to the profession of medicine and repays that opportunity with intentional listening that allows both students and residents to reveal through their questions and participation what they are hoping to learn from the discussion and, perhaps even more importantly, what concepts they are questioning.
With the announcement of the DeFoe Professorship, the importance of small but helpful actions was highlighted. This has been a defining element of Mary’s career. Never seeking the spotlight, Mary performs her work behind the scenes to assist those she helps train so they can better do their jobs of patient care. The Mary DeFoe Professorship of Innovative Learning pays tribute to Mary and to small acts of creativity and courage in work. Mary has masterfully demonstrated these qualities over a quarter century on behalf of students and residents learning to become physicians.
Mindy Brodhead Averitt
Communications Director
Photo by Jeannie Frey Rhodes