Librarians Promoting Resources to Nursing Staff at the Point of Care

Emily Vardell, MLSBrenda Linares, MLIS

Gediminas Paulaitis, RN, MBA, MLIS, AHIPVedana Vaidhyanathan, MSLS

Tanya Feddern-Bekcan, MLIS, MOT, AHIPSuzetta Burrows, MSLS, AHIP

Louis Calder Memorial LibraryDepartment of Health Informatics

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

• What information resources do practicing nurses in a 560-bed hospital use?

• What is the best approach for teaching nursing staff on site?

• Can nursing staff find ways to implement resources such as MedlinePlus and DynaMed into their daily practice?

Who?

• Four medical librarians • 26 hospital

departments • 4 librarians 26

departments = 400 nursing staff members

Where?

• Large, metropolitan, teaching hospital

• Hospital purchased by university in 2008

• In the middle of all the action!

When?

• Nursing “huddles” – Short meetings – Night staff leaving – Day staff arriving – ~ 7 am– Nurses share important

patient care information

Round One

• Promoted DynaMed• Distributed handout• Collected information – Topics searched– Questions asked– Resources used– Familiarity with the

resources

Handout

Front Back

Round One

• 26 different huddles• 250 nursing staff• Demonstrated – Citrix– Library home page– Nursing portal– DynaMed

searches conducted

Email feedback

“I appreciate your time and flexibility. The staff enjoyed it.”

“Thanks.”“Thanks a lot.”“Thank you for the In-Service. They mentioned that it

was very useful information. I would be happy to distribute the handout for you.”

“… We are happy to see staff that are educating us with our system, once again thanks for your time, effort and availability to teach 9 South staff.”

Round Two: Goals

Cover more databases Provide continuity of trainingEstablish relationship as “their” librarianFocus on consumer healthPromote library classesEncourage more questionsReach more nursing staff

Round Two

• Promoted MedlinePlus to 200 nursing staff– Only ~50 “repeats”

• Collected information – Topics searched– Questions asked– Resources used– Familiarity with the

resources

Resource Use

0 people63%

1 person32%

2 people5%

Since round one how many have used resources we demonstrated?

Other: PDR EHR E-Journals ProQuest

library homepage

DynaMed CINAHL Other0

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.54

4.5

DynaMed Use

Septem

ber

October

November

December

January

Febru

aryMarc

hApril

MayJune

July

August

Septem

ber

October

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

SessionsSearches

Use and Barriers

yes22%

no78%

Did it impact patient care?

patient care school personal browsed0

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.5

What did you use the resource for?

no time access issues don't know how to use resources

didn't need it0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

If you didn't use any resources, why not?

Patient Education Materials

• In half (52.6%) of the huddles, at least one nurse had heard of MedlinePlus.

• Nurses expressed concerns about policies.

• Most stated they would use MedlinePlus in the future. nurses’ health education resources

Nurses’ Response

• Positive responses from the nursing staff, both verbally, via email, and through requests for further information.

• Nurses were responsive to follow up visits and showed interest in the promoted resources.

"I like the multiple languages feature.“

"I can tell you're a librarian.“

"Are you coming back tomorrow?“

"I like when you say [you're going to take] 5-10 minutes, you mean it."

Lessons Learned

• Time is valuable.• Use common jargon. • Charge nurses are the best contacts. • Locations vary. Be prepared! • Multiple visits begets multiple contacts.• Handouts are well received. • Take every question seriously (even about

Superman).

Barriers

Limited time to listen to librarians.Limited time to use resources.Access difficulties impede use.Hospital policies can restrict the resources nurses can use and promote to patients.

Solutions?

Be brief! Be punctual! Be flexible!Follow-up encourages more use.Focus on nurses who are administrators or who are pursuing further degrees.Work with hospital administrators to create policies and select health education materials.

Next steps

Follow up meeting with Director for Nursing Education at hospital.Target nurse administrators and those pursuing further degrees.Conduct focus groups.Promote through hospital library, nurses week activities, and other avenues.

Image Credits

• Images by Byron Maldonado, Biomedical Communications, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine except credits below

• http://www.newyorkparkingticket.com/Blog/bid/29265/A-Sure-Fire-Way-to-Beat-a-NYC-Parking-Ticket

• http://blog.uces.edu.ar/2009/05/27/una-carrera-del-futuro-enfermeria/

• http://www.jghfoundation.org/sections/campdollars.html• http://www.supplylinedirect.com/assets/items/b653325962f

84c9e9960a4d4e85d72be.jpg• http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/enews/Enews%20archive/1

00402-FutureHikes.htm• http://www.chiadex.com/files/3865384/uploaded/erlenmeye

r%20flask.jpg

Thank you!