School of Nursing Resources
Evidence-Based Practice
Databases
Use these databases to perform literature searches and find articles.
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowProvides access to over 30 million citations for the biomedical literature from MEDLINE, online books, selected publishers, and the PubMed Central repository.
- CINAHL This link opens in a new window
Provides citations and selected full text for the top nursing and allied health literature available and covers a wide range of topics including nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines.
- Web of Science (WoS) This link opens in a new windowBroad inter-disciplinary search including medicine, life sciences, social sciences, and more. Searches journal literature and conference proceedings. Also used to determine citation data (e.g. times cited) for journal articles.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Database covers the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, and linguistics. Updated monthly.
- OVID Medline This link opens in a new windowProvides access to over 28 million citations for the biomedical literature, covering biomedical research, clinical medicine, nursing, allied health, and health policy. Includes In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowFind articles from most online scholarly journals plus some books and Web sites.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowFor topics reaching outside of nursing and healthcare.
- EmbaseEmbase is a biomedical database that focuses on drugs and pharmacology, medical devices, clinical medicine, and basic science relevant to clinical medicine. It provides access to bibliographic citations to more than 8,500 biomedical journal articles from over 95 countries. It also contains over 2.4 million conference abstracts indexed from more than 7,000 conferences dating from 2009 to the present, and full-text indexing of drug, disease, and medical device data. It has especially strong coverage on drug trials. Over 1.5 million records are added yearly, with an average of over 6,000 each day.
- Scopus
Scopus is an abstract and citation database that indexes content from more than 25,000 active titles and 7,000 publishers—all rigorously vetted and selected by an independent review board.
Point-of-Care Resources for Background Information
Use these tools to answer quick questions and find background info, evidence summaries, updates on hot topics, and more.
- UpToDate This link opens in a new windowA physician authored clinical decision support resource with synthesized evidence ideal for point-of-care decisions. Compiles the most recent information to support its evidence-based recommendations.
- Lippincott Nursing Procedures and Skills This link opens in a new window
Contains almost 1,300 current, evidence-based procedures in all major clinical categories. It provides detailed descriptions of procedures that allows users to identify the procedure they need quickly and easily. Complete instructions, preparation guidelines, implementation steps, special considerations, and references are included in each entry.
- Essential Evidence Plus (Formerly InfoRetriever) This link opens in a new window
Consists of 8 separate databases that provide new research information, basic drug information, evidence-based clinical guidelines, and clinical decision-making tools.
- ClinicalKey This link opens in a new window
This medical search engine works a little like Google. It includes medical and surgical reference books, access to journals/articles, procedural content and videos, point-of-care summaries, drug info, and access to MEDLINE. Includes images and videos too.
- Cochrane Library This link opens in a new windowA collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to support healthcare decision making. Includes full-text access to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, as well as the full-records from DARE, Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA), and NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED).
- Access Medicine This link opens in a new windowOver 85 leading medical textbooks, including among others, Harrison's Online, Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment, Hurst's the Heart, Williams Obstetrics, Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery. Drug Monographs. Multimedia examination & procedural videos. Study Tools including Flash Cards and Review Questions
Unlimited simultaneous users. - Lexidrug This link opens in a new window
Provides point-of-care drug information, including dosing, administration, interactions, toxicology, warnings and precautions, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenomics, and more. Generic or product name searches link to additional information, including AHFS Essentials, AHFS DI, Martindale, Facts and Comparisons A to Z Drugs, as well as information for pediatric and geriatric populations. Also provides links to the UVA Health System Formulary, the Formulary Monograph Service, and Trissel's IV Compatibility.
Resources for Finding Clinical Practice Guidelines
PubMed and CINAHL can be searched for guidelines that were published in journal articles.
PubMed: Run your search, then select "guideline" under "additional filters." You may need to refresh your results to apply the filter after clicking "show."
CINAHL: Run your search, then choose "show more" under "limit to" menu on the left side of the screen. Under "publication type" choose "practice guideline."
- Guidelines CentralAccess to current practice guidelines and summaries.
- U.S. Preventive Services Task ForceRecommendations on preventive services. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF or Task Force) works to improve the health of people nationwide by making evidence-based recommendations on effective ways to prevent disease & prolong life.
Consider also searching sites of professional organizations (for example, the American Academy of Pediatrics) or national non-profit organizations such as the American Heart Associations.