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A new role for the clinical librarian as educator
L U Turman1, J L Koste, A S Horne
1Tompkins-McCaw Library, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298-0582, USA.
Medical Reference Services Quarterly
|April 1, 1997
Summary
The Clinical Medical Librarian program trains medical students in using clinical information resources. Librarians embed with medical teams to teach literature retrieval and provide access to journal articles.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Information Science
- Clinical Informatics
Background:
- Medical students require training in accessing and utilizing clinical information resources effectively.
- Integrating information literacy into clinical practice is crucial for evidence-based medicine.
- The Tompkins-McCaw Library developed a program to address these needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the Clinical Medical Librarian (CML) Program.
- To enhance third-year medical students' skills in using information resources within a clinical setting.
Main Methods:
- Librarians embedded with internal medicine teams for one week during work rounds.
- Instruction provided on utilizing medical literature and information retrieval.
- Assistance offered in identifying and retrieving relevant information via hospital computer workstations.
- Document delivery service provided for journal articles.
Main Results:
- Students received hands-on training in a real-world clinical environment.
- Librarians facilitated direct access to necessary medical literature.
- The program aimed to improve information retrieval efficiency for medical teams.
Conclusions:
- The Clinical Medical Librarian program offers a practical approach to medical information literacy.
- Embedding librarians in clinical teams enhances access to and use of medical literature.
- This initiative supports evidence-based practice by improving students' information-seeking behaviors.