October is Medical Librarians Month and Health Literacy Month

Posted by liaison on October 1st, 2021 Posted in: Blog

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What it means to be a Medical Librarian?

October is here! As National Medical Librarians Month and Health Literacy Month, I wanted to dedicate this post in particular to all of our wonderful colleagues across the nation doing work in this expertise area.  It is a rewarding and humbling experience to be a Medical Librarian.

In honor to this month, I asked our librarians to give me a brief description of what it means for them to be Medical Librarians. Below are their responses.

 

 “I enjoy helping others (including myself!) update beliefs on health and wellness as new evidence is discovered.

I am humbled by the hard work and dedication of patients and caregivers to pursue health information, often amongst tragic and heartbreaking events.” – Dana Abbey (Community Health Based Organizations Engagement Specialist, AZ, CO and NM)

 

“While I don’t consider myself a true “medical librarian” the field of medical librarianship is ever expanding and important for all who require medical library services. Medical librarians help health providers, patients and preservice health professionals find and evaluate sources to improve the health of their patrons.” – David Brown (Public Health Organizations Engagement Specialist ND, SD and WY)

 

 “I have way too much respect for my skillful colleagues at the University of Utah and all across Region 4 to call myself a medical librarian in the traditional sense. My systematic reviews would turn out a hot MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). However, I do get to play a part in facilitating access to health information by supporting libraries’ efforts to reach communities of health professionals, health sciences students, researchers and the general public with solid, evidenced-based information that suits their needs. It is a wonderful, challenging, often-unappreciated contribution that medical librarians make to society. If I can support it in some small way through my work at NNLM, I am grateful for the opportunity. “– George Strawley (Library Organizations Engagement Specialist ID, MT, UT)

 

 “It is an opportunity to work with people much smarter than me in a field made up of passionate individuals who support the healthcare professionals who make meaningful impact on people’s lives.” – John Bramble (Executive Director, NNLM Region 4)

 

If you are interested in sharing your experience as a Medical Librarian, please reach out to me at yme@arizona.edu. We want to feature your stories here.

Yamila M. El-Khayat, MA serves as Communications and Citizen Science Specialist at NNLM (Network of the National Library of Medicine) Region 4. She has a passion for health information and working with all communities in particular traditionally marginalized communities. Yamila is a medical librarian at the University of Arizona. In working as a Librarian, she has been determined to increase health literacy to better serve the needs of the Latino and Native American populations, improving access to information related to the health of Native American, Hispanic, Border, Evidence-based, intercultural, bilingual and culturally appropriate. She has experience training information for clinicians, students, and community members, including health promoters/ “Promotores de Salud”.