Show Me the Evidence: Mark Vrabel, Oncology Nursing Society

Mark Vrabel is so devoted to the best available evidence that he can't even give a friend a CD without adding voluminous documentation.

Anne Snively, director of periodicals publishing at the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), says Vrabel, the society's information resources supervisor, supports ONS evidence-based practice initiatives by keeping nurses apprised of research on best practices in clinical treatment of cancer patients. He not only assists society members with their own research, but he writes articles for clinical practice journals himself.

Vrabel never stops spreading the word. He has participated in ONS's Leadership Development Institute, Research Grant Writing Education Mentorship Program, and retreats, showing members how to find the most trustworthy research and identify the most effective clinical practices.

He's walking proof of the value of a partnership between clinicians and librarians. But as Vrabel demonstrates by volunteering at a local Gilda's Club in Pittsburgh, his work is really about the patients who benefit from that partnership.