Health professionals are beset with profuse demands on their time. Over and above meeting the exigencies of patient care they must expend considerable time dealing with issues of increased accountability and quality assurance in their provision of care. The very weight of all of these demands mandates their need for unlimited, direct access to the medical literature to facilitate efficient and optimum use of time and enhanced patient care. Although end-user searching of the biomedical literature is fast becoming commonplace in academic settings, it is still unusual to find such facilities in community hospital libraries. Miami Children's Hospital (MCH) Medical Library proposes to facilitate health professionals' access to health science information by providing cost-effective computer facilities for, and training in, end-user searching. Short-term objectives are to: establish a computer station for end-user searches via CD-Plus/MEDLINE accessible 24 hrs/ day, 7 days/week; develop a training module and related materials emphasizing effective search techniques; provide training and computer access to 96 faculty and staff, including physicians, residents, and allied health professionals; evaluate the impact of the program, including trainees' use of and satisfaction with CD-Plus/MEDLINE; disseminate the program and its impact as a health science information tool; and adopt the program as an integral component of the library's services. Long-term objectives are to: expand the literature base; and offer multiple and/or remote access to the library's CD-Rom holding when the technology to do so has been perfected. A total of forty (40) small group (2-3 trainees) interactive training sessions will be implemented by the Chief Medical Librarian/Program Director. Training coverage will be provided by the Library Technician/Project Assistant. The hospital's Department of Education and Staff Development and the editorial staff of the MCH International Journal of Pediatrics will provide expertise in training materials development and dissemination activities respectively.
