Q. What are the best databases for a Nursing student to use?

The main databases for a Nursing student are: 

• CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) is the key electronic index for Nursing journals. Where your focus is on Nursing role, this is the database to use. (Best viewed using Chrome).
• Medline is the key indexing service for the journal literature of Medicine. You may have seen or used PubMed (Public Medline) which is exactly the same database but open access. Medline should be the preferred choice as it offers a higher level of sophistication in the search and there are additional links to full-text articles only available through Birmingham City University subscriptions. Use Medline when you need Medically focussed information, particularly related to interventions. (Best viewed using Chrome).
• Cochrane includes three key databases:Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews - Systematic reviews of evidence related to clinical interventions and authored by the Cochrane Collaboration. (Full text)Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effect - Abstracts for systematic reviews and meta-analysis which have been published in journals and other resources. (Reference and abstract only)Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials - Abstracts of clinical trials published in journals. (Reference and abstract only)
• PsycArticles and PsycInfo is the leading journal indexing service for the literature of psychology. This is a key resource for identifying papers on the psychological aspects of health care. (Best viewed using Chrome).
• NHS Evidence is a suite of resources that includes the NICE Guidelines, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, Public Health Information and, via NHS Athens, the NHS journal indexing and other databases.

Depending on your field of nursing (Adult / Child / Mental Health / Learning Disabilities) there may be other useful databases for you to search as well - further information is on the Nursing Subject Guide.

If you would like help using any of these resources you can attend one of our literature searching workshops; book a tutorial with a member of the Library Liaison Team at the Mary Seacole Library; or visit the Mary Seacole Library helpdesk during staffed hours.