Integrating a Librarian into a Multidisciplinary Rounding Team Christine Caufield-Noll, MLIS, AHIP Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Harrison Medical Library October 21, 2008

Overview Rounding in the literature Rounding at Bayview –History –Interdisciplinary burn rounds Benefits of rounding Implementing a rounding program in your hospital

Rounding in the literature “Clinical medical librarian” first documented in a 1974 article by Virginia Algermissen Many different titles like clinical medical librarian, clinical librarian, librarian in context and informationist Algermissen V. Biomedical librarians in a patient care setting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. Bull Med Libr Assoc October; 62(4): 354–358.

Rounding in the literature How are these information professionals different from traditional reference librarians? –They take library services to health professionals by attending rounds, morning report and conferences –Attending these functions allows these librarians to anticipate information needs of the clinical staff (Miller 1985) –Working with the clinical staff in context is their primary duty

Rounding at Bayview How we began –Asked by a medicine faculty member to participate in teaching rounds –Conducted a two month trial of rounding on a medicine floor

Rounding at Bayview –Librarian attended medical rounds twice a week for 2-3 hours –Trial was successful and burn unit director asked the librarian to participate on his rounds after hearing about her work on the medical unit –Staff appreciated the research provided by the librarian and thought her contributions added to the educational value of rounds

Rounding at Bayview Interdisciplinary burn rounds –Tuesday mornings between 7:30 and 8:30 –Attendance ranges from 12 to 40 people –Takes place in Burn ICU

Examples of search requests Burn injuries and liver disease (cirrhosis) Contraindications for skin grafting on a patient with lupus Virtual reality/distraction programs for pain during procedures (i.e. debridement) Studies on using essential oils vs. petroleum products on burn wounds Prevention of smoking on home oxygen

Benefits of rounding To the medical staff –Increases the educational value of rounds –Provides high-quality information to answer patient care questions –Saves time and effort

Benefits of rounding To the library and the librarian –Helps the librarian know what the important topics or common diagnoses are in that unit May impact collection development –Increases the librarian’s value to the hospital –Boosts the visibility of the library and its services May increase use of library resources Provides a venue to promote library resources

Benefits of rounding –Opportunities to assist with patient education –Ties the library into the hospital’s mission –May lead to other opportunities within the hospital Serving on other committees or the IRB

Implementing a rounding program Begin with departments with whom you have an existing relationship Support from department leaders is key If you do not have teaching rounds established in your institution, think about other groups to work with (nurses, therapists, social workers) – be creative! Have a trial period and establish own measures of success

References Algermissen, V. (1974). Biomedical librarians in a patient care setting at the university of missouri- kansas city school of medicine. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 62(4), Brandes, S. (2007). Experience and outcomes of medical librarian rounding. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 26(4), Burdick, A. (2004). Informationist? internal medicine rounds with a clinical medical librarian. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 4(1),

References Marshall, J. G., & Neufeld, V. R. (1981). A randomized trial of librarian educational participation in clinical settings. Journal of Medical Education, 56(5), Miller, N., & Kaye, D. (1985). The experience of a department of medicine with a clinical medical library service. Journal of Medical Education, 60(5), Schwing, L. J., & Coldsmith, E. E. (2005). Librarians as hidden gems in a clinical team. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 24(1),