Becoming a Medical Librarian

Medical Librarians are generally interested in helping people with the information they get from various sources. They also coordinate with the doctors to make them informed about the recent happenings as well as the past developments, medical facts and research techniques etc. Medical Librarians must possess excellent communication skills to interact with doctors, surgeons, patients and their family members.

Education Requirements:

  1. Earn a Bachelor’s Degree: Aspiring Medical Librarians must enroll into a bachelor’s degree program first and study basic science subjects, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology apart from English. Any coursework in library science and information science is advisable.
  2. Get Masters’ Degree: A Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science is must for the aspiring Medical Librarians. They are also required to complete courses in book history and research, censorship, research techniques, online reference systems and medical terminology.
  3. Internship: During internship, the students will gain experience and expertise in Anatomy, Nursing, Epidemiology, Computer Science, Database Structure, Design, Web Design, Teaching etc.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Acquire information for the users
  • Provide recommendations to patients and doctors
  • Conduct research on illness and diseases for individual patients
  • Purchase and organize materials and maintain library records
  • Hire medical library staff and supervise their work
  • Provide specialized information on researches and latest clinical trials.

Salary & Job Outlook: According to the Medical Library Association, the starting salary for Medical Librarians is over $40,000 per year. The average salary stands at around $65,000. After being promoted as Library Directors, they can earn up to $158,000 per year. The job outlook for this career remains bright. The Medical Librarians get employment at Hospitals, Medical Schools, Healthcare facilities, Clinics, Academic Medical Centers, Research Centers, Research Foundations, Government Agencies, Pharmaceutical units etc.

(7 COMMENTS)