Nursing & Health Sciences
Freely-Accessible Profession & Patient Resources after you graduate from NMU
Accessing NMU Olson Library Resources after graduation
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Open to anyone walking in; may use library computers to access online databases. May e-mail material to self.
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Photocopiers use cash.
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Courtesy Card ($25/year) allow patrons to check out materials (same as students). Must
live in the Upper Peninsula. Note: Fee is waived if member of NMU Alumni Association.
Nurses should also seek out similar resources through professional organizations.
Coping with Information Overload of the Literature
Twitter & Facebook - What else can I say in fewest words possible? Many organizations, CEU's, firms, and news providers communicate via Twitter. One example is: http://www.medscape.com/nurses
CATALIST - Directory of professional discussion lists (not chat rooms).
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) - A convenient, spam-free feeder method to automatically receive journal table of contents, tracking news, web sites, and other information. Look for orange icon. Built-in "Live Bookmarks" function through FireFox & Internet Explorer, and Chrome plugin make RSS much easier. Sometimes also labeled as Alerts.
Note: RSS available through many resources listed on this guide.
Schloman, B. F. (2005). Staying current: What RSS can do for you. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.
RSS/Blogs & News feeds Readers - bring together in one place
The Old Reader
Nursing Center - provided by LWW - gateway of resources.
Google Alerts - automatic e-mail updates of latest Google search results on your specific topic.
MEDLINEplus - Sponsored by the NIH & NLM. Includes interactive tutorials, health topics, drug information, illustrated medical encyclopedia, dictionary, health directory, and other resources. Many resources are bilingual.
NLM's Databases & Electronic Information Resources - U.S. Government-hosted online health-related databases. Examples include Visible Human Project® and Turning the Pages (digitized rare biomedical books), plus specific resources for Native Americans, Asian Americans, clinical trials, etc.
MEDLINEplus - Information portal Sponsored by the NIH & NLM. Includes interactive tutorials, health topics, drug information, illustrated medical encyclopedia, dictionary, health directory, and other resources. Many resources are bilingual.
WebMD - Connects consumers and physicians to the health care industry.
Teachertube - Peer-reviewed broad spectrum of patient- and profession-oriented information.
MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning & Online Teaching) - Peer-reviewed online teaching & learning materials.
Google Videos - Familiar search interface to broad spectrum of videos appearing on Teachertube, YouTube, etc.
UpToDate - Patient & Professional-oriented information.
START WITH HIGHLY-AUTHORITATIVE ORGANIZATIONAL WEB SITES
Cleveland Clinic (authoritative web site)
Mayo Clinic (authoritative web site)
CDC (authoritative web site)
WHO (authoritative web site)
...then use a specialized search engine which finds only credible authoritative web sites:
Michigan eLibrary (MeL) - Requires Michigan Driver’s License # or State ID
Includes over 40 databases (some full-text) including EBSCO's e-books.
BadgerLink - Registered ISP or Wisconsin public library card number
Cyberdrive Illinois- Requires contacting local Illinois public library for authorization & password
INSPIRE Indiana Virtual Library- Requires submitting Indiana local address info for password
Minnesota Statewide Access through ELM (Electronic Library for Minnesota)- Requires Minnesota public library card barcode number
Links to 49 Statewide Virtual Library Collections - Requires DL or library card number to access collections.
OneSearch - Searching is free, but access to articles in subscription journals not available to the public.
WorldCat - simple search interface to the worldwide library catalog also available through FirstSearch. May also locate nearby libraries who hold materials by entering zip code.
Medscape Nurses - free online content includes full-text of articles with free login.
Scirus has retired.
NLM For Healthcare Professionals - National Library of Medicine's portal for healthcare workers. Search clinical trials, located drug information and much more.
MEDLINE / PubMed - Includes links to many freely available online journal artilces.
IngentaConnect – free Table of Contents searchable database (charges for articles) + free e-mailing of contents for up to 5 journals.
SUMSearch 2 - searches a variety of web resources including PubMed and metasearch engines. Excellent medical/nursing-oriented limiting (filters).
Medscape Nursing journals (select titles/articles available with free login)
Free Medical Journals (open access)
Free Medical Journals: Pulmonary / Respiratory (open access)
DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) - Free online access to full content of over 4,000 scientific & scholarly journals, including Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health titles. Holdings vary by title. Click on title to access journal. Searchable on the web site; many are also indexed in CINAHL &/or MEDLINE.
BioMed Central - over 300 peer-reviewed online free Open Access journals.
LinkOut (National Library of Medicine) - Free online access to full content of over 650 journals; holdings vary by title. Click on title to access journal. All are indexed in MEDLINE.
Online Journal of Nursing Informatics -- 1996-present, free online access. View the current issue or create an account (free) to view the complete archive. Also available through searching the HIMSS site. Also indexed in CINAHL.
NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (UK) - Simultaneous searching of three databases, plus abstracts of Reviews are searchable/viewable from this site.
DARE - database of quality assessed systematic seviews
NHSEED - economic evaluations of health care interventions
HTA - health technology assessment agencies
RePORT Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) (form. Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects) - is a biomedical database system containing information on research projects and programs supported by the Department of Health and Human Services. Most of the research falls within the broad category of extramural projects, grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements conducted primarily by universities, hospitals, and other research institutions; and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other government agencies.
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Nursing Informatics Working Group
American Nursing Informatics Association
Canadian Nursing Informatics Association
International Medical Informatics Association Nursing Informatics (IMIA-NI) A Special Interest Group (SIG) on Nursing Informatics
Resources in Nursing & Healthcare Informatics - List of state, regional, national, and international web sites. Maintained by ANIA.
Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS)
From the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), the IIMS is one of 60 health research institutions working to improve the way research is conducted, and reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - AHRQ - Check especially Evidence-based Practice link.
Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-based Handbook for Nurses
(HTML version) (PDF version - 9.8MB)
NIH Clinical Alerts & Advisories - Findings from NIH-funded clinical trials
Clinical Trials - Federally & privately supported clinical research projects in human volunteers
Evaluating Internet Information - Provided by Olson Library
HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) - for medical and health websites
National Academies Press- Search full-text of books & reports "issued by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council, all operating under a charter granted by the Congress of the United States." Free login required to view free PDF books or book chapters. .
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (open access)
ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE PLUS™ & AHFS DI® ESSENTIALS™ (American Hospital Formulary Service Drug Information)
In book outline, choose Essential Evidence Topics then select organ/disease/condition.
Entries include diagnosis, etiology, prevalence, etc.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Centers Reports
Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science (IIMS)
From the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), the IIMS is one of 60 health research institutions working to improve the way research is conducted, and reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients.