Practical Nursing Subject Guide
Getting Started: Selected Books
Begin your research with books to find background information and build a bibliography.
Atlas of pathophysiology
REFERENCE RB113 .A87 2002
A color atlas that illustrates how diseases develop and progress.
Bates' guide to physical examination and history taking. 9th ed.
REFERENCE RC76 .B38 2007
Includes online e-book.
Diseases. 4th ed.
REFERENCE RC55 .D558 2006
Disease reference resource for nurses.
Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary. 29th ed.
REFERENCE R121 .D73 2000
The Gale encyclopedia of medicine. 3rd ed.
REFERENCE RC41 .G35 2006
Gray's anatomy. 39th ed.
REFERENCE QM23.2 .G73 2005
The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 18th ed.
REFERENCE RC55 .M41 2006
A long-time authoritative source for medical diagnosis and treatment. Also available online.
Mosby's nursing drug reference. 2007 ed.
REFERENCE RM301.12 .M67 2007
Physicians' desk reference: PDR
REFERENCE RS75 .P5
OVERSIZE RS75 .P5
A classic and comprehensive reference on prescribed drugs.
Professional guide to diagnostic tests
REFERENCE RB37 .P735 2005
Professional guide to diseases. 7th ed.
MAIN RT65 .P69 2001
An up-to-date encyclopedia of illnesses, disorders and injuries, and their treatments.
Professional guide to signs and symptoms. 4th ed.
MAIN RC69 .P77 2003
Information on more than 550 signs and symptoms.
Spanish-English English-Spanish medical dictionary. 3rd ed.
REFERENCE R121 .M488 2005
Stedman's medical dictionary. 28th ed.
REFERENCE R121 .S8 2006
Comprehensive and illustrated, includes CD-ROM.
Finding Books
Begin your search with MnPALS, our online catalog. MnPALS provides access to books, audiovisual materials, eBooks, and other resources available at DCTC and at other libraries in the MnPALS system. Our books and audiovisual materials are organized according to Library of Congress call numbers. Items not available from the DCTC Library can be requested online through interlibrary loan (ILL).
The best way to begin a search in MnPALS is to enter one or two keywords on your topic. To focus your search, find the most relevant records in your results and look at their subject headings. MnPALS displays subject headings as links and clicking on them will begin a search for that particular topic.
MnPALS includes the titles of our magazine and journal subscriptions but does not provide the articles themselves. To search for articles, see the Finding Articles section below.
The following subject headings are relevant to practical nursing:
|
nursing nursing care plans patient care planning medical informatics nutrition |
practical nursing community health nursing geriatric nursing obstetrical nursing pediatric nursing |
Finding Articles
Use periodical indexes and databases to locate articles, reports, and other documents on your topic. Most of these resources provide full-text articles, which you can print, save, or e-mail. We also have print subscriptions to some magazines and journals that aren't available electronically. We keep the current year and three previous years of most magazine and journal issues. If an article you need is not available at the DCTC Library in either print or electronic format, you can request the article from another library through interlibrary loan (ILL).
Periodical Indexes & Databases
CINAHL Plus with Full Text (1937 - Present)
CINAHL Plus with Full Text indexes more than 1,700 nursing and allied health journals, with more than 600,000 full-text articles dating back to 1937.
PubMed (1965 - Present)
PubMed lets you search more than 16 million bibliographic citations and abstracts in the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and preclinical sciences.
EBSCO MegaFILE (1865 - Present)
EBSCO MegaFILE indexes nearly 24,000 publications and provides full text for over 19,100 publications. EBSCO MegaFILE covers virtually all subjects and includes biographies, company profiles, primary source documents, and images. EBSCO MegaFILE combines four EBSCO indexes and databases: Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MasterFILE Premier, and Regional Business News.
Journals
American Journal of Nursing
Indexed July 1, 1990 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE .
Harvard Health Letter
Available in EBSCO MegaFILE and through the Harvard Health Letter web site.
Indexed with full text October 1, 1990 to present.
Harvard Heart Letter
Available in EBSCO MegaFILE and through the Harvard Heart Letter web site.
Indexed with full text July 1, 1994 to present.
Harvard Mental Health Letter
Available in EBSCO MegaFILE and through the Harvard Mental Health Letter web site.
Indexed with full text January 1, 1994 to present.
Harvard Women's Health Watch
Available through in EBSCO MegaFILE and through the Harvard Women's Health Watch web site.
Indexed with full text January 1, 1994 to present.
Health
Indexed with full text February 1, 1992 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE .
Health Psychology
Indexed with full text January 1993 to present in PsycARTICLES.
Home Healthcare Nurse
Indexed July 1, 2002 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE.
JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
Indexed January 6, 1989 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE and through the JAMA web site.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Journal of Practical Nursing
Mayo Clinic Health Letter
Indexed January 1, 1992 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE .
New England Journal of Medicine
Indexed September 6, 1984 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE and through the New England Journal of Medicine web site.
Nursing
Indexed with full text January 1, 1975 to present, with one-month delay, in EBSCO MegaFILE.
Nursing Homes: Long Term Care Management
Indexed from January 1, 1992 to present with full text from May 1, 1993 to present in EBSCO MegaFILE.
Pharmacy Today top
Web Sites
Human Diseases & Conditions
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention
This web site provides information on health and safety topics, as well as state and national data. Also featured are special reports on topics such as pandemic flu and genomics. The site has a handy A to Z index.
Hardin MD
One of the best and most complete directories for up-to-date medical and health information, from the University of Iowa's Hardin Health Library.
HealthFinder
HealthFinder is an award-winning Federal web site for consumers, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HealthFinder is a key resource for finding the best government and nonprofit health and human services information on the Internet. HealthFinder links to carefully selected information and web sites from over 1,500 health-related organizations. Also available in Spanish.
HealthWeb
Provides links to all sorts of health information, compiled under the authority of the National Library of Medicine. Includes section on clinical resources for nurses.
Librarians' Internet Index — Health
Hundreds of links to sites dealing with medicine, nursing, pharmacology, nutrition, fitness, and specialized topics.
Mayo Clinic: Tools for Healthier Lives
The well-respected medical center's clearinghouse for all types of information related to health, medicine, and general wellness. The "Tools" section includes online calculators (including BMI, calorie, and heart disease risk), self-assessments (including depression, prostate, and weight), and quizzes.
MedLine Plus
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Search 650 health topics (diseases, conditions, and wellness), drug information, medical encyclopedia, dictionary, and interactive tutorials. Includes current health news, updated daily.
Study Aids for Nursing Students
Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body
Features over 1,200 pictures from the classic 1918 publication, as well as a detailed subject index.
Human Anatomy Online
Graphics and animations for 10 systems of the human body.
McGill University Virtual Stethoscope
This multimedia tutorial is a virtual stethoscope (RealPlayer needed) to assess both respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.
Medical Images on the Web
From the University of Nebraska Medical Center, an excellent portal to online image collections.
[Note: A Google Image Search is also an excellent way of finding medical images, including pictures, diagrams, charts, illustrations, and disease pathologies.]
NursingWorld - Reading & Reference Room
Official, up-to-date information from the American Nurses Association.
Physical Exam Study Guides
Created by the University of Florida medical program. These thorough, clear guides provide instruction for performing various types of exams.
RN Central
Created by nurses for nurses and students. Includes good resource links, as well as a "Careplan Corner," with predefined nursing care programs. Users can copy, save, or print and modify any of the plans, and there is also a blank plan template to print out and fill in.
RxList
Thorough information on drugs, including description, dosage, side effects and interactions, warnings and precautions, and patient information.
Some annotations adapted from "Internet resources for nurses and nursing students" by Miriam Laskin and Elisabeth Tappeiner, College & Research Libraries News, April 2006.
Selected Associations
American Academy of Pediatrics
National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses (NFLPN)
NFLPN represents LPNs, vocational nurses and nursing students. Information on scholarships, continuing education, and links to state affiliates are here, along with an online discussion forum.
Government Agencies
These governmental web sites are packed with useful, authoritative, and current information. These sites are useful for the latest information on current health crises, such as avian flu, infectious diseases, vaccine supplies, hurricane or earthquake aftermath, and more.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Since it was founded in 1946 to help control malaria, CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats.
Food and Drug Administration
The FDA is the government agency responsible for the safety of the nation's food and pharmaceuticals.
Food and Nutrition Information Center
Provides credible, accurate, and practical resources for nutrition and health professionals and consumers.
National Institutes of Health - Health Information
A U.S. government database with consumer information about specific diseases and conditions. Also includes information about health hotlines, clinical trials, drug information, and related topics. Includes excellent links.
Science.gov
Science.gov is a gateway to authoritative, selected science information provided by U.S. government agencies. Enter search terms or click on Health & Medicine for a wealth of information.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Contains background information and current news, plus lots of statistics.
World Health Organization
WHO is the United Nations' specialized agency for health. Includes much health news of international concern, such as pandemic influenza, and health issues in developing nations.
Reference Librarian
The DCTC Library's Reference Librarian is
Barbara Tuttle
651-423-8345
Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, concerns, or for additional help with your research.
Last updated: November 19, 2007.