The Role of a Health Science Librarian in the Promotion of Quality Care
Like other professional librarians, a health science librarian selects, fetches, arranges, circulates, and maintains various materials in the library. He or she assists healthcare personnel, health science students, and patients by guiding them on how to locate the information that they require. For an individual to be accepted and recognized as a professional within this career, they must have a fundamental understanding of the principles of library management and substantive practical experience in a real-world setting.
Regarding the promotion of quality health care, health science librarians have various roles to play. They make medical-related information available to the medical student, nurses, practitioners, and physicians. This information is often referred to by the given groups in case they want to seek clarification on a particular medical issue. Primarily, the reference to such accurate data could significantly reduce the occurrence of medical errors, hence promoting patient safety and achieving quality care for clients.
Most health science librarian often conducts research on various medical subjects in an attempt to discover new knowledge that can enhance the efficiency of healthcare delivery to the patients. They frequently and adequately search through several medical databases to find further information that can be used to improve a nursing procedure, a pharmaceutical intervention, or a medical decision. Ideally, enhancing the given processes automatically translates to the promotion and delivery of quality health care.
Even though health science librarians significantly promote quality care through research and provision of critical medical information, they are, unfortunately, least recognized in many healthcare settings. Little is often known about their career and contribution to the field of health sciences.
References
Cooper, I. D., & Crum, J. A. (2018). New activities and changing roles of health sciences librarians: a systematic review. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 101(4), 268.
Nair, B., & Anand, E. (2016). Emerging roles and activities of health sciences librarians: A literature review (2004–2014). QScience Connect, 2016(3), 1.