Learning Resource Centers  
on campus and online, serving the campuses of
International Institute of the Americas and Stellar International Institute
Nursing Sites
See also Medical Sites, especially Medical Megasites (Diseases and Conditions).

Healthcare Research Sites for Nurses:

  • The American Holistic Health Association website introduces and describes the principles of holistic healthcare.  Click on Self-Help Articles and find over 100 articles on holistic topics. Click on Other Resources for a career and education guide; on Resource and Referral Lists for local  practitioners; and on First Step to Wellness for consumer information.
  • BMC Nursing contains original articles on all aspects of nursing research, training, education, and practice. It is indexed in PubMed. (See PubMed below.)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has up-to-date info on health and safety issues, statistics, current infectious diseases, etc.  
  • Information for Health Professionals, from the U.S. Food and Drug Association, contains information on drugs, both prescription and over the counter; food safety; medical devices; clinical trials; bad clinical trial investigators; how to contact the FDA for specific problems, etc..
  • Free Medical Journals.com claims to have 1450 journals in its database, which can be searched by specialty or by title.  The list includes very well-known journals with articles that are free after a certain amount of time.  It also includes journals in English, Spanish, and several other languages. Not every journal, however, can be accessed entirely for free:  refer to the icon after each title for cost.
  • The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy (17th edition) provides extensive information on health disorders, symptoms, and treatments, by body system or by type, such as psychiatric disorders.  Use keywords to search the entire manual; search for both color plates and sound clips by typing keywords and adding Plate or Audio.
  • The Merck Manual of Geriatrics contains the same extensive information on disorders as the Merck Manual above, but the information is centered around the geriatric community and geriatric disorders. 
  • Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a newsletter published by the Centers for Disease Control, covers current healthcare news, disease trends, disease facts, international health news and issues; and has links to European and other world health sites, public health resources, and etc.
  • PHIL: the Public Health Image Library features illustrations, photos, and videos on healthcare topics.
  • PubMed, published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, is a database of over 14 million biomedical articles dating back to the 1950's and as recent as the current month. PubMed was created for healthcare professionals; it searches MEDLINE and additional life science journals. It is not a full-text database (it has only brief summaries of articles), although it does have some links to web sites and full text articles.  In the Search box, type a keyword, and PubMed will retrieve the most recent articles first.  Click on See Related Articles or Links to find other related information.   
  • PubMed Central is another database created by the National Library of Medicine, but its articles are full-text, from more than 170 online life sciences journals, and date back to the early 1900's.  Articles can be viewed in several formats, including full text, page browse, PDF, and summary. 

    • Issues in Nursing:

  • The Center for American Nurses has articles and information on news, careers, nurse wellness, advocating for nurses, fast facts and statistics about nurses, and many other topics.
  • Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (OJIN) is published jointly by the American Nurses Association and the Kent State University College of Nursing. It is peer-reviewed and its goal is to present different perspectives on topics that affect nursing practice, research, and education.  Click on Journal Topics to find a list of topics and articles or type a keyword in the Search OJIN box.

    • Popular Megasites for Nurses by Nurses:

  • Allnurses.com is a bulletin board web site that has information, comments, discussions, news, current nursing issues, and job listings for almost 60 different types of nursing jobs.
  • Nurses.com describes itself as a marketplace for industry professionals; it features nursing products, free newsletters, links to trade publications, job searching, nursing and healthcare news and headlines, a training network, recruiters, and continuing education.
  • RN Central is "a website where nurses can enjoy themselves, support each other, and find information important to nursing and patient care." Click on Links to find job search sites, nursing resources, and services. Click on Careplans and find 50 careplan forms for illnesses and conditions.

    • Nursing Career and Job Sites:

  • CareerBuilder.com is an excellent source for local jobs and beyond. Search jobs by keyword, city, state, job category, by company, or industry.
  • LifeWorks, from the National Institutes of Health, allows the user to explore over 100 careers in the healthcare industry and allied fields. Browse the alphabetical list of careers: each has a job description, the required education, median salary, a profile of an actual person in that career, etc.
  • Nursetown.com: Jobs for Healthcare Professionals allows the user to search employers and nursing jobs, but also has links to other major nursing job sites, helpful articles on current nursing topics, as well as a variety of discussion forums.
  • NurseWeek.com is an online magazine featuring links to jobs, career guidance, career fairs, resume builders, continuing education classes, news, information, and clinical aids (such as flu and pollen reports).
  • Nursing Spectrum offers a quick job search feature for nursing jobs of many specialties. It also has regional news, jobs and employers, continuing education opportunities, a students' corner, a career management section, ask the experts, specialties in nursing, international nursing, etc. In the left menu, click on Weekly Guest Lecture under Nurse Community for a listing of 100+ articles on a wide range of nursing issues. 

    • Nursing Credentials and Certification:

  • American Nurses Credentialing Center has info on certification and recertification, conferences, workshops, continuing education courses, and seminars. The ANCC certifies healthcare providers and offers Open Door 2000, a program that enables all qualified registered nurses, regardless of their education, to become certified in specialty areas, such as gerontology, perinatal, and psychiatric nursing.
  • National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the parent board for the Arizona State Board of Nursing, develops the licensing exams used by all 50 state nursing boards for entry-level nurses. The web site gives information on the tests, what topics they cover, what competencies they test, what the pass and fail rates are, how the exams are taken, and also has links to study materials. On the site, also, are news and regulations.
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    Online Nursing Magazines and Journals:

  • Nursing Center: Better Resources for Better Care (sponsored by the publisher, Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins) features job searches, career center, clinical resources, nursing forums, continuing education, and recommended reading.  While the site has links to over 30 professional nursing publications, there is a charge for most articles.  The yellow icon with a dollar sign ($) tells if the article costs.
  • Nursing Spectrum Career Management Nurse News e-zine is an online magazine for RNs on nursing topics, with regional nursing news and all types of information.
  • The Brandon/Hill Selected List of Nursing Books and Serials in Print, 2002, is an online list of important books and journals in nursing, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The list is highly respected and used by other publishers, library web sites, and hospital web sites. [The site claims that "researchers reference the Brandon/Hill Selected List when choosing essential, relevant and highly cited clinical journals for their research."]  There is also a separate list for the small medical library.

    • Nursing Professional Organizations:

  • American Academy of Nursing is a professional organization for nurses that sponsors conferences and fellowships, publishes Nursing Outlook, and supports nursing research.
  • The American Holistic Nurses Association web site explores "wholeness in nursing practice, healthcare, and the individual body, mind, and spirit." On the site are links to the group's annual conference, a directory of holistic nurses, certification information for the specialty of holistic nursing, continuing education courses, a list of programs approved for certification, and online publications (some feature free articles; for others, there is a charge).
  • ANA Nursing World:  Official Web Site of the American Nurses Association is a professional site featuring "nursing's future at your fingertips," with links to nursing journals, nursing issues, unions, credentialing, ethics, needlesticks, jobs, standards, and continuing education.  
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    Arizona and National Nursing Resources and Organizations:

  • Arizona State Board of Nursing home page. This organization is the licensing board for Arizona nurses, nursing assistants, and etc.  The site features information on the requirements for and how to apply for licensing, continuing education, how nurses are disciplined, and how complaints are investigated.  On this site, nurses can also verify their certification and licensing.  There is a nursing community message board and current news and events. 
  • Arizona Nurses Association web site includes a calendar of events, news, job opportunities, legislation information, education, and very good links to other Arizona nursing organizations and resources, such as the Arizona Organization of Nurse Executives and the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association.
  • The Health & Human Services Department of the State of Arizona is in charge of many state programs dealing with health.  The site has community health information, licensing, AHCCCS, OSHA, county health departments, health alerts, medical and lab boards, prevention, immunization, etc.
  • National Council of State Boards of Nursing develops and administers the licensing exams required for Arizona entry-level nurses.  See more information under "Nursing Credentials and Certification" above.
  • National League for Nursing (national organization for nursing education) (has research news, information on grants, professional development opportunities, etc.)
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    Student Nurse Resources and Organizations on the Web:

  • The National Student Nurses' Association is a professional organization of 45,000 nursing students, and its mission is to provide educational resources, leadership opportunities, and career guidance to student nurses.
  • The Student Nurses Association of Arizona. SNAAz is a student run organization that serves nursing students by fostering professional development and providing opportunities for student nurses to develop into professionals.  It sponsors an annual conference.
  • Nursing Spectrum Students' Corner has many articles covering:  school survival tips, landing a job, on-the-job success, making your attitude work for you--and a variety of clinical information, continuing education courses, and student e-zines.

    • How to Evaluate Medical Sites and Medical Information on the Internet:

  • Thinking Critically about Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources, by Esther Grassian, UCLA College Library.
  • HON Code of Conduct (HONCode) for Medical and Health Web Sites sets the standards for medical and health web sites and is published by Health on the Net Foundation. Click on HONCodeHunt to search its database of health sites and to verify if web sites adhere to its standards.

    • Last modified:  9-19-2006.  5:00 p.m.  BLJ.