Communicating with Clarity: Plain Language Strategies That Work

Scheduled: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 1:00pm–2:30pm, Central Time

Clear communication is essential in healthcare and education—yet complex language and unfamiliar terminology often create barriers that impact understanding, patient safety, and learning outcomes. This interactive 1.5-hour webinar is designed to equip medical library staff and faculty with practical plain language strategies that make information more accessible, engaging, and effective for diverse audiences.

Participants will explore the core principles of plain language and learn how to apply them when creating instructional materials, research guides, patient education resources, and faculty communications. Through real-world examples, before-and-after exercises, and discussion, attendees will discover how small adjustments in wording, structure, and design can significantly improve comprehension and connection.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

Define plain language and explain its connection to health literacy and patient outcomes.
Apply plain language strategies to both written and spoken communication.
Integrate clear communication practices into library instruction, patient education, and faculty or clinical collaboration.

Audience

Medical librarians, library staff, library leadership, healthcare professionals, and medical educators who create or share information for patients, clinicians, and students.

Presenter:

Jessica Daly is the Health Literacy Coordinator at the R.A. Williams Library at AdventHealth University in Orlando, Florida, where she also serves as a faculty librarian with the rank of Assistant Professor.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Library Science from East Carolina University. A published author, columnist, and public speaker, Jessica is a dedicated health literacy educator and advocate. Her years of experience as a medical research librarian working within a large healthcare organization and as a family caregiver is where she learned the importance of health literacy for both patients and clinicians.

Her contributions to the field have earned her several prestigious awards, including Hospital Librarian of the Year (2020) from the Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association, the Exemplary Instructional Programs or Services Award (2022) from the Florida Library Association, and most recently, Librarian of the Year (2024) from the Florida Health Sciences Library Association.

She has earned her Consumer Health Information Specialization – Level I (CHIS) from the Medical Library Association as well as her IHA Health Literacy Specialist Certificate.