- Getting Started
- Search Tips
- Databases
- Books
- Streaming Video
- Cite Your Sources
- Evidence-Based Practice
- PICO Research Question
- Open Education Resources (OER)
This guide will help you find resources for your nursing & allied health classes. The guide is divided into the following sections:
Search Tips
- Review basic search tips to help you be successful searching the library catalog and databases.
- View a list of recommended databases for nursing and health services.
Books
- Viewa list of recommended and newly added physical and electronic books.
Streaming Video
- Find streaming videos related to nursing and health services.
Cite Your Sources
- Access guides for citing your sources using APA format.
Evidence Based Practice
- Learn about Evidence-Based Practice (EBV), a process for using the best current evidence to make decisions about patient care.
PICO Research Questions
- Learn how to use the PICO framework to identify the best search terms/keywords for your clinical research topics.
When searching library databases, instead of typing in full sentences like we do in search engines, we need to search using only keywords. Keywords are the terms that describe the main concepts of your topic.
Example:
Topic: Are self-driving cars safe
Possible keywords: self-driving cars, self-driving vehicles, safety, risks, danger
Searching by keyword is like doing a word search activity. The database will search for your keywords in tvarious fields of the article including the title, authors, abstract and full text.
Example:
Topic: Are self-driving cars safe
Possible keywords: self-driving cars, self-driving vehicles, safety, risks, danger
Searching by keyword is like doing a word search activity. The database will search for your keywords in tvarious fields of the article including the title, authors, abstract and full text.
Unlike keyword searching, which looks for words anywhere in the text, subject headings are assigned by librarians and reflect the main topics of the materials. Subject heading searching helps us find relevant articles more efficiently and avoids irrelevant results. Searching by subject heading is especially useful for academic research where precision is important.
You can often find the subject heading search option on the front page of the database. For example, in EBSCO CINAHL, it is found bellow the search bar.
You can often find the subject heading search option on the front page of the database. For example, in EBSCO CINAHL, it is found bellow the search bar.
Use boolean operators to combine multiple keywords to get more accurate search results. The venn diagram below shows your search results in orange.
Use AND between your keywords to narrow your search. This will give you a smaller number of results that are more specific to your topic.
Use OR between your keywords to broaden your search. This will give you a larger number of results and is helpful for including synonymous terms.
Use NOT between your keywords to exclude keywords from your search. This is helpful for weeding out irrelevant results.
Additional examples of boolean searches
honeybees AND migration AND "climate change"
honeybees OR "native bees" AND habitat
honeybees OR "honey bees" AND Minnesota NOT bumblebees
The vast majority of our library databases include the ability to filter your search results.
Use the Full Text filter to only search for article you can immediately access in full text.
Use the Peer Reviewed filter to limit your search to articles from scholarly journals.
Use the Publication Date filter to limit your search to a specific date range. For nursing resources, you are often looking for information published in the last 5 years.
Additional filters are often available through the left side bar or by using the advanced search option.
Use the Full Text filter to only search for article you can immediately access in full text.
Use the Peer Reviewed filter to limit your search to articles from scholarly journals.
Use the Publication Date filter to limit your search to a specific date range. For nursing resources, you are often looking for information published in the last 5 years.
Additional filters are often available through the left side bar or by using the advanced search option.
Search the library catalog to find books, journal articles, media and more. OneSearch searches the majority of the library's journal databases and ebook collections as well as the physical collection including books, DVDs and course reserves.
Start with these recommended nursing databases to find scholarly journals and other evidence-based resources.
CINAHL Complete (EBSCO) This comprehensive nursing and allied health research database is a preferred resource for accessing full text articles and citations.
Additional materials include full-text evidence-based care sheets and quick lessons located on the top menu bar.
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition (EBSCO) Scholarly and professional publications across all medical disciplines including strong coverage of nursing and allied health.
Nursing & Allied Health Premium (ProQuest) This database offers scholarly literature, clinical training videos, reference materials, and evidence-based resources, including dissertations and systematic reviews suited for students, instructors, researchers, and healthcare professionals.
PubMed Comprises more than 33 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. When available, full-text links are provided.
CINAHL Complete (EBSCO) This comprehensive nursing and allied health research database is a preferred resource for accessing full text articles and citations.
Additional materials include full-text evidence-based care sheets and quick lessons located on the top menu bar.
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition (EBSCO) Scholarly and professional publications across all medical disciplines including strong coverage of nursing and allied health.
Nursing & Allied Health Premium (ProQuest) This database offers scholarly literature, clinical training videos, reference materials, and evidence-based resources, including dissertations and systematic reviews suited for students, instructors, researchers, and healthcare professionals.
PubMed Comprises more than 33 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. When available, full-text links are provided.
Alt Healthwatch (EBSCO) Includes full text articles for more than 180 international, and often peer-reviewed journals and reports on complementary, holistic and integrated approaches to health care and wellness.
Consumer Health Complete (EBSCO) CHC provides content covering all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated medicine.
Elsevier Clinical Key for Nursing Designed to help nurses clinically relevant answers through evidence-based content. Contains 500+ topic pages with concise overviews about disease conditions, 90+ nursing books, 60+ nursing journals, evidence-based nursing and drug monographs, multimedia, customizable patient education handouts, core measurements, labs, calculators, and more.
Oxford Academic Endocrine Society Journals Four major peer-reviewed journals about endocrinology and metabolism. Some articles are available in full-text.
Consumer Health Complete (EBSCO) CHC provides content covering all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated medicine.
Elsevier Clinical Key for Nursing Designed to help nurses clinically relevant answers through evidence-based content. Contains 500+ topic pages with concise overviews about disease conditions, 90+ nursing books, 60+ nursing journals, evidence-based nursing and drug monographs, multimedia, customizable patient education handouts, core measurements, labs, calculators, and more.
Oxford Academic Endocrine Society Journals Four major peer-reviewed journals about endocrinology and metabolism. Some articles are available in full-text.
Google Advanced Search Gives you additional options to narrow your search and get more useful web results for academic research.
- Search by a specific type of website
- .gov = government sites
- .edu = academic sites
- .org = non-profit sites
- .com = commercial sites
- Use your keywords and boolean operators just like you would search the library databases.
Google Scholar
Search the majority of articles published by major academic publishers and academic repositories. Many articles do not have full text available.
Search the majority of articles published by major academic publishers and academic repositories. Many articles do not have full text available.
- Under settings - search for and set your library links to FDLTCC to display a link when you can get full-text access to an article through the FDLTCC library.
- As you browse your search results, you will see a "cited by" link, showing you how many times an article has been cited by other scholars in the field. This helps you get an idea of which articles are most influential in the field.
- If full text access is not available, click the double arrow icon below the article title to show the "GetIt@FDLTCC". This will route you to the library catalog where you can sign in with your StarID and password and auto-populate an interlibrary loan request.
Primo OneSearch
Use the library catalog to search for physical books, eBooks, articles, media and more.
Need a book not in the FDLTCC collection? place a resource sharing request
Need a book not in the FDLTCC collection? place a resource sharing request
Drug Guides and Handbooks
![2024 Nurse's Drug Handbook [Book]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71TGHn-JYKL.jpg)
2024 Nurses's Drug Handbook, Jones & Barlett
Saunders Nursing Drug Handbook 2024
Mosby's Drug Guide for Nursing Students, 2023
Recent eBooks
Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses, Briggs, 2021
Introduction to Evidence Based Practice : A Practical Guide for Nursing, Hopp & Rittenmeyer, 2021
Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, ANA, 2015
Nursing theories and nursing practice
Smith, Marlaine C., author.; Gullett, Diane L., editor. 2020
Nursing Diagnosis Manual: Planning, Individualizing, and Documenting Client Care
Doenges, Marilynn E ; Moorhouse. 2022.
Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice: A Guide to Professional Resilience and Personal Well-Being. Wicks, Robert J ; Donnelly, Gloria F 2021
Nurse's Pocket Guide : Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions, and Rationales, Doenges, Moorhouse and Murr, 2022
Public Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Ed., ANA, 2022
Drug Guides and Handbooks
2024 Nurses's Drug Handbook, Jones & Barlett
Saunders Nursing Drug Handbook 2024
Mosby's Drug Guide for Nursing Students, 2023
Recent eBooks
Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses, Briggs, 2021
Introduction to Evidence Based Practice : A Practical Guide for Nursing, Hopp & Rittenmeyer, 2021
Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, ANA, 2015
Nursing theories and nursing practice
Smith, Marlaine C., author.; Gullett, Diane L., editor. 2020
Nursing Diagnosis Manual: Planning, Individualizing, and Documenting Client Care
Doenges, Marilynn E ; Moorhouse. 2022.
Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice: A Guide to Professional Resilience and Personal Well-Being. Wicks, Robert J ; Donnelly, Gloria F 2021
Nurse's Pocket Guide : Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions, and Rationales, Doenges, Moorhouse and Murr, 2022
Public Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Ed., ANA, 2022
Recent Physical Books
Medicine Women: The Story of the First Native American Nursing School, 2019.
The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine, Nuila, 2023.
Fast facts about LGBTQ+ care for nurses. Traister, Tyler, author.
2022
Dignity for deeply forgetful people : how caregivers can meet the challenges of Alzheimer's disease
Post, Stephen G. 2022
Brand New Nurse: Surviving Your First Day on the Job, Dovell, 2022.
The language of kindness : a nurse's story
Watson, Christie author.
2018
Fast facts for the hospice nurse : a concise guide to end-of-life care
Wright, Patricia Moyle, author.
2021
Medicine Women: The Story of the First Native American Nursing School, 2019.The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine, Nuila, 2023.
Fast facts about LGBTQ+ care for nurses. Traister, Tyler, author.
2022
Dignity for deeply forgetful people : how caregivers can meet the challenges of Alzheimer's disease
Post, Stephen G. 2022
Brand New Nurse: Surviving Your First Day on the Job, Dovell, 2022.
The language of kindness : a nurse's story
Watson, Christie author.
2018
Fast facts for the hospice nurse : a concise guide to end-of-life care
Wright, Patricia Moyle, author.
2021
Films On Demand: Health and Medicine An online video streaming database of educational videos including A&E, PBS, BBC, National Geographic, HBO Documentary Films and more. The Health and Medicine section includes videos related to public health, health care and treatment, health careers, disease, disorders and disabilities and more.
Kanopy A streaming video service providing access to feature length films, documentaries and education videos across a wide range of subjects. Use the browse feature to view films on the subject of health including nursing, midwifery, child health and more.
Kanopy A streaming video service providing access to feature length films, documentaries and education videos across a wide range of subjects. Use the browse feature to view films on the subject of health including nursing, midwifery, child health and more.
Academic writing requires you to correctly format your papers and cite your sources. The field of nursing uses APA style.
See the library's guide on APA formatting for an overview of the most common citation skills you will need as a nursing student:
APA 7th Ed. Citation Guide | Ruth A. Myers Library (mnpals.net)
Purdue OWL offers a more extensive guide you can reference for more advanced citation questions:
APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University
See the library's guide on APA formatting for an overview of the most common citation skills you will need as a nursing student:
APA 7th Ed. Citation Guide | Ruth A. Myers Library (mnpals.net)
Purdue OWL offers a more extensive guide you can reference for more advanced citation questions:
APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University
The library catalog and most of the library databases have built in tools to help you format citations for your works cited/reference page.
After finding an article, look for a "Cite" icon. Choose the whichever you are using (APA, MLA, etc.), then, copy and past the citation into your document. Always double check the format for any errors.
After finding an article, look for a "Cite" icon. Choose the whichever you are using (APA, MLA, etc.), then, copy and past the citation into your document. Always double check the format for any errors.
What is Evidence-based practice in nursing?
“Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.” Sackett, D. L. (1996). Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. BMJ, 312, 71-72.
Evidence-based practice in nursing draws upon the patient's values, the best available scientific evidence, and current clinical expertise to make informed decisions.
Five Steps for Implementing Evidence-based Practice in Nursing
Step 1. Ask a searchable question
Step 2. Acquire information
Step 3. Appraise search results
Step 4. Apply the evidence in practice
Step 5. Assess the provided care
Evidence-Based Practice Levels of Evidence Pyramid
Levels of Evidence (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2023)
TRIP Database
For further information about EBP, see this guide by the University of Minnesota:
Evidence-Based Practice from the University of Minnesota
Evidence-based practice in nursing draws upon the patient's values, the best available scientific evidence, and current clinical expertise to make informed decisions.
Five Steps for Implementing Evidence-based Practice in Nursing
Step 1. Ask a searchable question
Step 2. Acquire information
Step 3. Appraise search results
Step 4. Apply the evidence in practice
Step 5. Assess the provided care
Evidence-Based Practice Levels of Evidence Pyramid
Levels of Evidence (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2023)
- Level I - Evidence from a systematic review or meta-analysis of all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or evidence-based clinical practice guidelines based on a systematic review of RCTs or three or more RCTs of decent quality with comparable results.
- Level II - Evidence obtained from at least one well-designed RCT
- Level III - Evidence obtained from well-designed controlled trials without randomization
- Level IV - Evidence from well-designed case-control or cohort studies
- Level V - Evidence from a systematic review of descriptive and qualitative studies (meta-syntheses)
- Level VI - Evidence from a single or descriptive or qualitative study
- Level VII - Evidence from the opinion of authorities and/or reports of expert committees.
TRIP Database
The TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) Database simultaneously searches evidence-based sources of systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and critically-appraised topics and articles. Also searches MEDLINE’s Clinical Queries, medical image databases, e-textbooks, and patient information leaflets.
For further information about EBP, see this guide by the University of Minnesota:
Evidence-Based Practice from the University of Minnesota
PICO
PICO is a framework used to identify the best search terms/keywords for your clinical research topics.
P - Patient/problem/population: How would I describe the patients, problem or population similar to my study (specific characteristics such as age, geographic location, diagnosis)?
I - Intervention: What management strategy, intervention or exposure am I considering?
C - Comparison intervention: Is there a control group or other "gold standard" study that I can compare my intervention to?
O - Outcome: What do I hope to accomplish, measure, improve or affect?
PICO is a framework used to identify the best search terms/keywords for your clinical research topics.
P - Patient/problem/population: How would I describe the patients, problem or population similar to my study (specific characteristics such as age, geographic location, diagnosis)?
I - Intervention: What management strategy, intervention or exposure am I considering?
C - Comparison intervention: Is there a control group or other "gold standard" study that I can compare my intervention to?
O - Outcome: What do I hope to accomplish, measure, improve or affect?
World Health Organization (WHO) - Global Health Observatory
The Global Health Observatory (GHO) offers over 1,000 indicators on emergency health topics.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Data on health topics and current outbreaks provided by the CDC.
FastStats: This index provides selected statistics on a variety of health topics including reports, databases and other data tools.
United States Census Bureau: Health The Census Bureau provides accurate, detailed, and up-to-date statistics—covering people and business—relating to health in America.
Data.gov
the United States government’s open data website. It provides access to datasets published by agencies across the federal government.
The Global Health Observatory (GHO) offers over 1,000 indicators on emergency health topics.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Data on health topics and current outbreaks provided by the CDC.
FastStats: This index provides selected statistics on a variety of health topics including reports, databases and other data tools.
United States Census Bureau: Health The Census Bureau provides accurate, detailed, and up-to-date statistics—covering people and business—relating to health in America.
Data.gov
the United States government’s open data website. It provides access to datasets published by agencies across the federal government.
Open Textbook Library - Nursing Textbooks
A collection of openly licensed nursing textbooks. Authors must be affiliated with a higher education institution and must be complete textbooks with an option for downloading (pdf, epub).
Open RN
Open Education Resources for Nursing led by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Includes five OER Nursing Textbooks with 25 associated Virtual Reality scenarios.
Merlot - Health Sciences Materials
Merlot is a OER repository provinding access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools. Filter by discipline, material type and audience.
NCBI Nursing Bookshelf
National Center for BioTechnology Information (NCBI) provides access to free books and other materials in life science and healthcare. Filter by resource type and publication date.
IntechOpen
IntechOpen aims to increase awareness and promote scientific research. Over 7300 peer-reviewed open access books.
Health Education Assets Library (HEAL)
HEAL is a collection of over 22,000 freely available digital materials for health sciences education.
A collection of openly licensed nursing textbooks. Authors must be affiliated with a higher education institution and must be complete textbooks with an option for downloading (pdf, epub).
Open RN
Open Education Resources for Nursing led by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Includes five OER Nursing Textbooks with 25 associated Virtual Reality scenarios.
Merlot - Health Sciences Materials
Merlot is a OER repository provinding access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools. Filter by discipline, material type and audience.
NCBI Nursing Bookshelf
National Center for BioTechnology Information (NCBI) provides access to free books and other materials in life science and healthcare. Filter by resource type and publication date.
IntechOpen
IntechOpen aims to increase awareness and promote scientific research. Over 7300 peer-reviewed open access books.
Health Education Assets Library (HEAL)
HEAL is a collection of over 22,000 freely available digital materials for health sciences education.
Open RN
Open Education Resources for Nursing led by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Includes five OER Nursing Textbooks with 25 associated Virtual Reality scenarios.
Open Education Resources for Nursing led by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Includes five OER Nursing Textbooks with 25 associated Virtual Reality scenarios.