Start here
Most health sciences assignments at Porter ask for evidence, not just sources. That means starting with a focused clinical question in four parts: the patient or population, the intervention, what it is compared with, and the outcome. “In older adults after hip surgery, does early walking compared with bed rest reduce pneumonia?” gives you four concepts to search, each with its own synonyms.
Then work down the evidence ladder. Start with practice guidelines and systematic reviews, then randomized trials, then cohort studies. Stop when the question is answered. A care plan for NURS 3000 does not need a 60-source literature review, but an evidence summary for the B.S.N. capstone does.
Databases and indexes
| Database | Best for |
|---|---|
| Clinical Nursing Index | The core nursing and allied health literature, about 3,400 journals, with a filter for evidence-based practice articles |
| Point-of-Care Evidence Summaries | Short, graded summaries of what the evidence says about a condition or intervention. They are a starting point. Do not cite one as your only source. |
| Systematic Review Register | Published and in-progress systematic reviews, so you can see whether someone has already done the work |
| Drug Monograph Reference | Dosing, interactions and nursing considerations. It is also installed on the workstations in the simulation hospital. |
| Health Statistics Navigator | County and regional health data, including Porter County, for community and public health assignments |
Books and e-books
| Call numbers | Subject |
|---|---|
| RT 1–120 | Nursing |
| RA 1–1270 | Public health, epidemiology, health care delivery |
| RM 1–950 | Pharmacology and therapeutics |
| RC 31–1245 | Internal medicine and specific conditions |
| R 858–859.7 | Health informatics and medical records |
| QM, QP | Anatomy and physiology |
Required nursing texts are on two-hour course reserve at the Level 1 desk, and most are also e-books for up to five readers. Licensure exam review books are on Level 2 at RT 55. They are the most-stolen books in the building, so the current editions now live behind the desk.
Specialized sources
- Practice guidelines from professional and government bodies. Check the publication year, because guidelines are revised and an outdated one is a common reason for lost points.
- Rural health research. The Center for Rural Health & Aging publishes regional reports. The rural telehealth project is a local example of how to use them.
- Clinical skills videos licensed for the nursing program, linked from each course site.
- Your own research. Any project that collects information from people needs IRB review first. No patient identifiers go in any assignment, ever, even from your clinical placement.
Citing and getting help
Nursing, public health and dietetics courses use the author–date style in its 7th edition unless the syllabus says otherwise. Cite a drug reference entry by its monograph title, a guideline by the issuing body and year, and a point-of-care summary with the date you consulted it, because it changes.
Corinne Haugland is the health sciences librarian. Besides her office in Halvorsen 250, she holds hours in the Health Sciences Center student lounge on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon, between simulation blocks. Book a consultation for capstone evidence summaries at least two weeks before they are due. See also finding evidence in the health sciences.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This nursing and health sciences guide is fictional and is not clinical guidance; the drug reference, evidence summaries and county health data it describes do not exist. The databases, call-number shelving, collections and librarians on this guide are invented, so nothing here can actually be searched, borrowed or booked, and none of it describes a real library.