Health library support for Australian medical training programs – a content analysis.

Abstract

Background/aim: Health libraries play a critical role in supporting medical training in Australia. Accreditation is an important means of ensuring a program of study and the education provider suitably equips trainees with the knowledge, skills and professional attributes necessary to practise in the profession. This study identifies a lack of consistency and specificity in Australian medical colleges accreditation requirements as they pertain to health libraries. Population/setting: The Australian context. Methods: Accreditation standards from 52 medical colleges and associations supporting Australian medical training programs were reviewed. Information extracted from accreditation documents was entered into a working text spreadsheet. Data was organised under three key categories; Collections, Services and Space. Additional categories were added to record the use of the noun Library and expectations for journal access. A data extraction tool was created in Microsoft Excel to note the requirements of each provider for libraries and collections, services and spaces. Results/findings: The results of the content analysis highlight a lack of consistency in accreditation providers' expectations for library collections, services and spaces. Most providers (87% n=45) required host organisations to provide access to collections. Requirements for library space were mandated by 54% of providers (n=28). Less than 50% of providers (n=22) specified library services as requirements. Conclusion: This content analysis highlights the role of health libraries in supporting medical education, research and evidence-based practice. It also reinforces the need for improved specificity, consistency and clarity in accreditation requirements for health libraries in post-graduate medical training. Translational impact/implications for future practice: The recommended benchmark accreditation standard developed in this study is a step toward addressing these issues and ensuring equity of access to library services and facilities for all medical trainees in Australia, with the potential of additional support for those in regional and rural areas.