Establishing a New Clinical Informationist Role in an Academic Health Sciences Center

• Published in: Medical reference services quarterly Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 136 - 146
• Main Authors: Aldrich, Alison M., Schulte, Stephanie J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis Group 01-04-2014
• Subjects: Academic health sciences libraries; Academic Medical Centers; clinical informationists; Evidence-Based Medicine; Health administration; Health care libraries; Humans; Information professionals; Information Services - manpower; Librarians; Libraries, Medical; medical education; Medical school libraries; Patient Care Team - organization & administration; Professional Role; residents; Role; roles; rounds; United States; United States; clinical informationists; medical education; roles; residents; Academic health sciences libraries; rounds; librarians
• ISSN: 0276-3869; 1540-9597
• DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2014.897511

The concept of clinical informationists is not new, but has recently been gaining more widespread acceptance across the United States. This article describes the lessons and challenges learned from starting a new clinical informationist service targeted to internal medicine residents in a large academic medical center. Lessons included the need for becoming immersed in evidence-based practice fundamentals; becoming comfortable with the pace, realities, and topics encountered during clinical rounds; and needing organizational commitment to both the evidence-based practice paradigm and clinical informationist role. Challenges included adapting to organizational culture, resident burnout, and perceptions of information overload.