Recently Sarah Jewell, reference librarian worked with Elizabeth A. Quigley, MD, a general dermatologist focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of skin cancers from our Basking Ridge location. Dr. Quigley led a small team in submitting a systematic review for publication in the “Journal of General Internal Medicine.” You might wonder how Sarah could support and contribute to this publication. Dr. Quigley certainly knows how!
A systematic review is an in depth literature review centered on a research question that tries to identify, appraise, select, and synthesize all high quality research evidence relevant to that question.
When Dr. Quigley decided to move forward with a systematic review, she initially conducted the review with her team and then submitted the article. She was surprised when the publisher wrote back because they wanted a systematic plan and suggested that a medical librarian help prepare the search strategies and conduct the database searches necessary for extracting related published literature about skin cancer education interventions.
This prompted Dr. Quigley to reach out to the MSKCC Library where she learned about our Systematic Review service we are about to launch. Dr. Quigley partnered with Sarah to determine the best search strategies and databases to use and documented the process. She learned about other information resources worth leveraging and the meticulous process and steps involved in preparing and maintaining a systematic review.
Dr. Quigley eventually submitted the revised publication, receiving no further comments or issues. The article was accepted and published online on April 7, 2011. Entitled “Skin Cancer Education for Primary Care Physicians: A Systematic Review of Published Evaluated Interventions”, this paper represents the first article to her knowledge that pulls together known interventions.
When asked about the support the library delivered, Dr. Quigley stated “[this service] is a wonderful discovery” and that Sarah “was helpful and met all deadlines.” She would not hesitate to work with the Library for any future publication of this nature.
The Institute of Medicine in March 2011, published standards for systematic reviews entitled “Finding What Works in Health Care: Standards for Systematic Reviews.” Libraries and librarians (or other qualified information professionals) are mentioned nine times in Chapter 3 (SEE specifically section 3.1.1). Working with a librarian or an information specialist with expertise in this area is definitely recommended.
The MSKCC Library is continually evolving to meet the growing information needs of our clients. If you are thinking about a Systematic Review, you don’t have to look too far to find the right partner and co-author. To learn more about this service, please do not hesitate to contact Donna Gibson, Director of Library Services.