Clinical Librarianship

Image (c) Creative Commons - Susan Smith

Embedding the librarian role in the clinical setting is now an area of impact assessment for NHS libraries. As my role evolves to extend our outreach services to clinical teams, I find myself slightly overwhelmed. I shadowed the Clinical Librarian at a clinical meeting before gathering the courage to attend one in the Endocrinology department. I found it very interesting as the case study resulted in discussions on a paper to be written and I was asked to assist in the literature searches. I was also on hand to answer questions on assessing Athens as well as any clinical information resources we might currently have access to. I have worked in health libraries for a little while but this experience made me realise that as librarians, it is easy to cut ourselves off from the reality of the services we render. It has brought home the realities of individual patients. No longer do I deal with a scenario but I am performing a task to help a specific person who I know by name even if I never meet them.

I shadowed a cardiology ward round today which I found very tasking. Needless to say that after 4 hours straight on my feet I had a new appreciation for what ward rounds involve. I found I had to remind myself why I was there as each patient's situation left me somewhat sad. The ward round did result in two literature search requests as well as a request for help registering for Athens. I feel I am now able to attend a ward round on my own and plan to do so at the earliest opportunity. I am following the University Hospitals of Leicester Clinical Librarian Service Blog to keep abreast of new developments and I have been invited to attend grand round on my hospital site.

My other duties have not suffered though. I have been updating presentation and training materials. I trained a few nurses over the past week and represented the KLS at an induction for student nurses. I have also been able to make some headway with the pop-up library. I will be piloting the service once a week between 12pm and 2pm every Wednesday in April. I have been able to book a location and will pick up a display banner next week. I am now looking at how to obtain feedback to improve impact.