Hello, and welcome to what I hope will be a regular series of posts on being a Clinical Librarian at George Eliot. I’m Lisa Mason, and I joined the Trust in June, so it was very satisfying to see the happy faces of the July inductees this month- that means I’m no longer the new girl!
I’ve had a whirlwind of a first month, and I’m getting to grips with working here at #teameliot, which really is as friendly as everyone said it was at my induction. I’ve found out about all the usual things you have to do to set yourself up in a new job- desk, stationery, ID card, parking, lovely new colleagues, biscuit tin… Now I feel I’m working out what it means to be a Clinical Librarian and how I can make a difference here.
So, a Clinical Librarian, what’s that then? Well working alongside the brilliant Library team, I’m here to make sure colleagues have the evidence they need to make evidence based clinical and management decisions. I’m about finding information, researching evidence, getting the right information at t
he right time.
This week that has meant attending a Controlled Document Review Group meeting. I do a lot of information searches before this meeting, checking that policy references are current, and suggesting further evidence to support the policy. This is where a Clinical Librarian adds value. Because I’m using my expertise to conduct the searches, the policy author doesn’t have to, saving them time, and I often identify new sources that might not have been considered.
The rest of my week has been a colourful mix of meetings about a new induction idea, my first official 1 to 1 with my manager, a visit to IT, and physically moving journals in the library, where I got to see an amazing bit of lifting and handling kit in action- it’s big, it’s orange and it helps us move items from high shelves safely!
Oh, and the best bit of the week- winning first prize in the #teameliot NHS 70th birthday quiz! Well if you will give a librarian a quiz, what do you expect? Here’s my manager, Stephen and myself, we proudly came 1st and 3rd!
If you’ve got any questions you’d like answered, drop me a line, I can help you to find the information you need, or I can do searches for you. I’m on lisa.mason@geh.nhs.uk or extension 3095