The Health Information Services division supports patient care and clinical research by providing critical information-finding services.
Librarians are active participants in clinical rounding at partner hospitals, are a trusted resource in evidence-based medicine, provide assistance with database searching, and systematic review services and support, and currently provide instruction within the medical, public health, physical therapy and occupational therapy programs. The division also operates the library’s information services desk.
TEACHING INFORMATION-FINDING AND EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE
Responding to student evaluations of the Practice of Medicine course, librarians designed the evidence-based session as a flipped classroom experience using mandatory pre-class videos to leave more time for hands-on, group activities during class time.
As part of the new occupational therapy curriculum, a librarian created an instructional session for the Using Evidence to Inform Practice course taken by all first-year students. The session employed a hands-on approach that prepares students to complete systematic reviews of the literature to answer clinical occupation-centered questions.
Since 2014, a library liaison provides yearly didactic sessions and a Guide to Global Health Resources to medical students and residents in infectious diseases studying global health. Topics include finding global health statistics, using databases for literature searches, and preparing an information toolkit prior to working abroad.
PROVIDING YOU WITH CRITICAL INFORMATION AT THE POINT OF CARE
Librarians continue to participate in teaching rounds, providing real-time answers to clinical queries at both Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. During the past year, librarians participated in an (ongoing) institutional review board-approved pilot study that seeks to discover whether including a librarian on clinical rounding teams increases the use of evidence-based resources.
YOUR LIFELINE TO INFORMATION
The library’s information services desk acts as the front line for inquiries and materials check-out. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual information services desk has fulfilled this role remotely via askbecker@wustl.edu and a number of measures have been enacted for the safety of staff and patrons.
GROWING A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SERVICE
The systematic review service continues to be heavily utilized by School of Medicine researchers, a trend which continued throughout the transition to library staff and researchers working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
LISTENING TO YOUR INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) students met with librarians and staff to help Becker Library understand DBBS students’ information needs. The focus group conversation resulted in a new-and-improved Guide to DBBS Education Resources that includes more emphasis on statistical resources and grant writing. A library overview will now be part of the DBBS student orientation because the focus group demonstrated that many students were unaware of relevant resources and educational opportunities available through the library.
PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE AND LEADERSHIP
Librarians collaborated with the Office of Medical Student Education to publish a paper describing curriculum improvements over a three-year period for the Practice of Medicine evidence-based medicine session.
For the third consecutive year, Becker’s Health Information Services librarians held a course teaching systematic review search strategies to peer librarians from a national audience. The course continues to be well-received as an excellent resource for other medical librarians.
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