For Medical Literature Expertise, Ask a Librarian

Posted by Patricia Devine on July 28th, 2016 Posted in: News From NNLM PNR

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As the role of medical librarians expands, their instruction and research skills are being utilized in healthcare settings to produce high quality systematic reviews, contribute to establishing practice guidelines, and consult about meaningful use. A librarian is the guide to learning how best to evaluate the medical literature and find evidence-based resources. In a time of economic challenges for many institutions, librarians can continue to increase value by offering services and participating on teams to improve access to resources, knowledge of healthcare providers and as a result, patient care.

Rachel Walden, Associate Dean of Learning Resources at the Quillen College of Medicine Library in Mountain Home, Tennessee, has a letter to the editor published in the August issue of the Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Her letter responds to an earlier letter to the editor about evaluating medical literature. Rachel adds the points that medical librarians have specialized training and are an important part of evaluation information. They can also offer the education needed to help researchers better assess the information and chose the best source. The freely accessible article is available at: http://bit.ly/2a2JmgV

For more information on this topic, see:

1. Aldrich AM, Schulte SJ. Establishing a new clinical informationist role in an academic health sciences center. Med Ref Serv Q. 2014;33(2):136-46. Epub 2014/04/17. doi: 10.1080/02763869.2014.897511. PubMed PMID: 24735263.
2. Cruse P, Protzko S. Librarian contributions to clinical practice guidelines. Med Ref Serv Q. 2014;33(3):327-34. Epub 2014/07/16. doi: 10.1080/02763869.2014.925710. PubMed PMID: 25023021.
3. Dorsch JL, Perry GJ. Evidence-based medicine at the intersection of research interests between academic health sciences librarians and medical educators: a review of the literature. J Med Libr Assoc. 2012;100(4):251-7. Epub 2012/11/08. doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.100.4.006. PubMed PMID: 23133324; PMCID: PMC3484942.
4. Nix AT, Huber JT, Shapiro RM, 2nd, Pfeifle A. Examining care navigation: librarian participation in a team-based approach? J Med Libr Assoc. 2016;104(2):131-7. Epub 2016/04/15. doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.104.2.007. PubMed PMID: 27076800; PMCID: PMC4816480.
5. Sollenberger JF, Holloway RG, Jr. The evolving role and value of libraries and librarians in health care. Jama. 2013;310(12):1231-2. Epub 2013/09/26. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.277050. PubMed PMID: 24065006.