Meet the team: Julian Robinson, Clinical Knowledge Specialist

My role is as a clinical knowledge specialist, and I’m one of a team of librarians that helps UH Sussex staff access the best information and evidence. A key part of my role is providing evidence-based support in the form of evidence reviews. These can be anything from quickly identifying a couple of key papers on a topic, to more systematic searches using a range of clinical databases, which can take the best part of a day to complete.

Topics cover everything and anything, from requests for evidence on precise treatments for specific conditions, to more general horizon-scanning on how other trusts are supporting, for example, staff wellbeing.

To produce an evidence review well takes time and a high level of information retrieval expertise that can’t reasonably be expected from a non-librarian. In other words, I’m always motivated to think my role can help frontline clinical staff save time and give confidence that their practice is informed by the most up to date and reliable evidence. This more systematic approach to searching is a crucial safeguard in the context of health care, where there’s a risk of key evidence being missed by a simple Google-style search.

Another aspect of my role is helping instil confidence in using information resources, for example the Medline and CINAHL databases. This is often in the form of 1-2-1 bespoke sessions with medics and nurses, where I can demo a ‘real life’ search. At the end of the session I share with the requester the search history so they can recreate it themselves as another way to consolidate their knowledge. More info on the training we provide can be found on our website: information skills teaching.

As well as supporting individual staff, I also provide divisional and team support, for example attending MDT meetings and occasional ward rounds. This collaborative approach helps promote a culture of evidence-based practice and continuous learning, in some cases being able to provide immediate access to research while real-time diagnoses and treatment plans are being discussed.