Objectives: Access to high-quality information improves the quality of patient care, but lack of time and sufficient skills in information-seeking can prevent access to information by clinicians. To solve this problem, clinical informationists can provide high-quality, filtered information for clinical team members. In this study, we identified the core competencies needed by clinical informationists to effectively fulfill their role in clinical teams.

Methods: Participants were selected purposefully from clinicians and medical librarians. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: We identified six competencies—communication, research, education and training, domain knowledge, information services, and technology—which together were used to develop a CREDIT model of core competencies for clinical informationists.

Conclusions: The CREDIT model can be used as criteria for evaluating the performance of clinical informationists as well as for developing and assessing clinical informationist educational programs and curriculum.

The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis used to analyze data. 

This is a semi-processed data transcript from an interview with 10 librarianship professions who provided CI services for at least 2 years in clinical settings and 12 clinicians who received CI services for at least 2 years to identify the competencies needed by clinical informationist. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. A qualitative content analysis led to the identification of 6 main categories and 25 subcategories. In this transcript, there are quotations from participants below each subcategory. Similar quotations have been removed.