Chapter 4: Medical Librarian Rounding with an iPad

Abstract

Beginning in July 2011, a medical librarian has accompanied physicians and students during rounds on the pediatric and neonatology units of the University of Illinois Medical Center. The librarian was invited as a direct result of her six-year involvement in the Evidence-Based Medicine initiative conducted by a pediatric attending and a professor in the Department of Medical Education. In order to facilitate reference provision in the hospital ward environment at the point of care, the librarian chose to use an iPad. Chapter 4 of Library Technology Reports (vol. 48, no. 8) “Rethinking Reference and Instruction with Tablets” includes a description of the library and hospital context, a brief explanation of the clinical librarian and newly evolving informationist roles, the advantages that a tablet brings to the situation, specific downloaded applications that have proved helpful, and insights gained by her experiences in the hospital as part of the caretaking team.