A day in the life of a clinical librarian

Hello and welcome to our second post in our brand new blog series, A day in the life of a clinical librarian. This is a monthly series sharing what a day at work for those working in clinical librarianship actually looks like and finding out about the person behind the job.

This month we've had the pleasure of interviewing a lovely, clinical librarian from Australia!

Who are you and where do you work?
Hello! I’m Catherine Voutier and work full time at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The RMH is a large metropolitan hospital operating over 2 campuses. It has almost 1000 beds, specialty clinics, a major trauma service, and the Victorian Infectious Diseases Service.  It is the oldest hospital in Victoria, opening just after the Gold Rush.

How long have you been there?
I have just started my fifth year here. I joined the Health Sciences Library team on the 14th February 2011. I’m just at the cusp of that "been here forever" and newness stage.

What attracted you to Clinical Librarianship?
I was attracted to the varied activities that clinical librarians were involved in. A much more expanded role than the standard medical librarian role. There are not many clinical librarians in Australia – it is still a role that is gaining acceptance.

What does an average day at work involve?
The average day involves a journal club, perhaps a patient discharge/outpatients audit meeting, meeting with hospital staff to discuss projects, database searching, and teaching and planning education activities. My first ward round experience will be in August. Here at RMH, rounds are called ward service. And of course, every day involves sending and reading email!

If you weren’t a Librarian, what would you be?
Well now, this is a tough question! When I was a child I thought I would like to be a plumber. I thought that was a sensible option (I must have been about 8 at the time). My first job out of university was at an art conservation laboratory and I loved it. I wanted to be a conservator but there was no training in Australia at the time. Now, I think I might have ended up being a museum curator or working in the event industry.

Tell us a joke or a non-work fact about yourself
I like to make my Mum laugh. She bought a book not long ago that had the title “What I know for Sure” so I just had to ask her, is it a big book or a small book? Tee hee!!