ChatGPT in Medical Librarianship: A Game-Changer in Information Access

(Michelle writing) I was at an meeting last week on the use of AI in science, labs, medicine, librarianship, etc. It was very interesting and I really believe AI will evolve to have a greater role in our professional lives. I was talking with another librarian at the meeting who mentioned my blog. I told him that I haven’t been able to post as much as I would like on it because of other commitments. He suggested in half joking way that I should get ChatGPT to write my posts.

Boom the light bulb went on. What better way to play with ChatGPT or other AI’s than to use them to create and write posts. Please understand I will be very transparent and upfront about when the AI is writing and when I am writing. So this will be my first post having ChatGPT write a post on the use of ChatGPT in librarianship.

(ChatGPT writing)

Medical librarians play a crucial role in the healthcare industry, acting as gatekeepers to a wealth of knowledge. Their job is to provide healthcare professionals and researchers with reliable, up-to-date information. In recent years, the advent of artificial intelligence has transformed the way medical librarians work, and one of the most remarkable AI tools in their arsenal is ChatGPT. Let’s explore how ChatGPT is making waves in the field of medical librarianship.

  1. Efficient Information Retrieval: Searching for medical literature and research papers can be a time-consuming task. With ChatGPT, medical librarians can now swiftly retrieve the most relevant information. Its ability to understand complex medical terminology and provide contextually accurate search results is invaluable.
  2. Answering Clinical Queries: Healthcare professionals frequently have specific clinical questions that demand well-researched answers. ChatGPT can analyze vast databases and scientific literature to provide concise and evidence-based responses. This not only saves time for librarians but also ensures that healthcare providers receive accurate and current information, directly impacting patient care.
  3. Enhanced User Experience: ChatGPT offers a user-friendly interface. Medical professionals and researchers can interact with the AI model conversationally, making it more accessible for users. The ability to understand natural language queries simplifies the search process and allows for a smoother information retrieval experience.
  4. 24/7 Availability: Unlike human librarians, ChatGPT is available around the clock. This means healthcare professionals can access information whenever they need it, even outside regular office hours. The availability of ChatGPT enhances the efficiency and accessibility of information resources.
  5. Patient Education: Medical librarians often play a role in patient education. ChatGPT can generate patient-friendly explanations of medical conditions, treatment options, and preventive measures. This empowers patients to better understand their health and medical choices.
  6. Consistency and Reliability: ChatGPT provides consistent, reliable responses based on the latest medical literature. Librarians can rely on it to ensure that the information they distribute is accurate and up to date.

While ChatGPT offers numerous advantages in medical librarianship, it is essential to be mindful of potential challenges, such as ensuring data privacy, addressing issues of accuracy and bias, and using AI responsibly to complement rather than replace human expertise.

In conclusion, ChatGPT is transforming the landscape of medical librarianship. With its efficiency, 24/7 availability, and user-friendliness, it empowers medical librarians to provide healthcare professionals, researchers, and patients with top-notch, up-to-date information. As AI continues to advance, ChatGPT’s role in medical librarianship is only set to expand, further improving the quality of healthcare and research in the medical field.

(Michelle writing)

My notes:

  1. I used ChatGPT 3.5 for this post. I will use 4.0 in the future too.
  2. I copy pasted the entire thing.
  3. I asked it to write a medium length post and that was seriously too long. So this was its version of a short post.
  4. My prompt was “write a short blog post on the use of ChatGPT in medical librarianship”
  5. It didn’t really list any concerns or possible negative things we need to be aware of.
  6. I need to be more detailed in my post to have it mention both positives and negatives to its use.

I hope to post once a month using ChatGPT or an AI. I am thinking for next month’s post to ask ChatGPT to analyze all of my posts and see what kind of results I get. Since this is an experiment on the use of AI please let me know what you would like me to test and I will see if I can do it because this is the perfect low risk way to do it.

Let me know. 🙂