1. A librarian can help you…
Medical libraries: Your source for the evidence
in evidence-based practice
Loren Hackett, MLIS, AHIP Melissa Kovac, MLIS, AHIP
Centura Evidence-Based Practice Conference
October 28, 2016
Porter Adventist Hospital
Introduction
Discussion and Conclusions
While you’re…
Creating a PICO question
Looking for existing research on your topic
Developing a research plan
Performing your research
Assimilating your findings
A librarian can help you…
Find literature that answers your question or supports the need for your research
Learn about the library’s resources, train you to use them, and provide literature search support
Find published resources to help you develop the best design for your research
Find answers to any questions that arise along the way
Provide additional resources from the literature, such as additional articles or books
Background
Hospital libraries have a history of successfully supporting clinicians in searching for quality literature (McGrath 2014), incorporating evidence into and improving everyday practice (Krom 2010, Marshall 2013), and achieving Magnet® status (Garcia 2009). Staffed by master’s-prepared medical librarians, Porter Adventist Hospital’s library collaborates with staff nurses, nurse educators, and nurse scientists to replicate these successes at Porter Adventist Hospital. The librarians’ collaborative roles include search-strategy guidance, literature searches, article retrieval, and library instruction. Topics of collaboration can be clinical or non-clinical; recent subjects have ranged from prevention of falls or retained surgical items to nurse staffing and retention. Together with Porter’s nurses, the hospital’s librarians find information nurses can use to effectively guide their practice in pursuit of successful patient outcomes.
Objectives
Identify library resources used to support evidence-based practice.
Discuss the role of medical libraries in evidence-based practice.
Using library services and resources has been shown to improve the quality of patient care (Garcia 2009). Porter Adventist Hospital’s nurses have the opportunity to work with their library’s staff and resources to incorporate the best available evidence into the patient care they provide and, in turn, improve patient outcomes.
Materials and Methods
In addition to maintaining a collection of biomedical books and journals, the librarians at Harley E. Rice Medical Library provide the following services to all Porter Adventist Hospital associates and select other Centura facility associates:
Literature searching: Using a variety of health science databases, including MEDLINE and CINAHL, the librarians can provide a focused and limited set of references to articles on the requested topic (Figure 1). Searches can be performed for one‐time needs or on a recurring basis, retrieving only the newest articles each time. Results are delivered within two to three days of the request.
Article retrieval: Using the library’s local resources and those of cooperating libraries around the country, the librarians can usually obtain requested article(s) in approximately one to three days, depending on the availability of the item.
Resource borrowing: Books borrowed from the library’s local collection are available for same-day retrieval and a three-week lending period. Books acquired through interlibrary loan have variable availability and lending periods based on the policy of the lending library.
Consultation and education: If you prefer to do your own searching, the librarians can help you learn more about the library’s resources. Whether one-on-one or in a group setting, librarians can guide you through the literature search process and help you locate the best evidence possible to guide your research or practice (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Sample literature search request form used by library patrons to request information from the library.
Literature Cited
Krom, Z.R., Batten, J., & Bautista, C. (2010). A unique collaborative nursing evidence-based practice initiative using the Iowa model: a clinical nurse specialist, a health science librarian, and a staff nurse's success story. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 24(2),
Garcia, J.L., & Wells, K.K. (2009). Knowledge-based information to improve the quality of patient care. Journal for Healthcare Quality, 31(1),
Marshall J.G., Sollenberger J., Easterby-Gannett S., Morgan L.K., Klem M.L., Cavanaugh S.K., … Hunter S. (2013). The value of library and information services in patient care: results of a multisite study. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 101(1),
Contact Information
Loren Hackett, MLIS, AHIP
Melissa Kovac, MLIS, AHIP
Figure 2. Library support during the research process.
Contact the library directly at or