Nursing 101

Welcome to the first class of your nursing career! There are many things you will be covering that you will need for your studies, and finding reliable nursing information is one of them. The orientation in the library is designed to help you begin to learn where to find the resources you will need as you go on.

The worksheets for the class are part of your lab grade.

Nursing 102 & The Library

The library orientation for Nursing 102 focuses on Internet documents and how to determine if any materials you find are suitable for reserch papers and other projects in nursing classes. A worksheet with exercises on authority, accuracy, currency and objectivity will help you learn how to evaluate any Internet document. Additional material on using APA format is also a part of the session.

The worksheet points are included in your lab grade and are due at the end of the week after the session.

Smarthinking

Do you know about Smarthinking? This is a service that NDSCS supports to help you with tutoring or topic help 24/7. For nursing students, there is help with Introductory anatomy & Physiology, Math, Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Writing. You can ask questions, interact with a tutor, and submit writing for a critique.

You will need a username and password to get started that you can get from an Instructor or from the library. Once you have accessed the site, you set up your personal username and password so you can access the site at any time.

http://www.smarthinking.com

Don't sit at home frustrated - you can get answers when you need them!

Micromedex

The Micromedex Academic Program provides you with access to evidence based information, the same that is used in hospitals across the country. This year there are several new features. Check with your instructor about access, as this is restricted to students in healthcare programs and requires a password to log on.

http://www.ThomsonHC.com

There are tutorials and helps online. Just remember, this is NOT for use at work, only as part of your education and classwork. Please respect this restriction that Thomson requires of us for a free subscription.

The History of Nursing Web site

The official web site of the American Association for the History of Nursing is a rich site for resources, some even that focus on students and their need for resources on the leaders and prominent nurses. There is a student primer at

http://www.aahn.org/primer.html

but the whole site is useful for anyone interested in nursing. One section that really intrigued me is the Gravesites of Prominent Nurses. Did you know that Walt Whitman, the poet, was a male nurse during the Civil War? There's that and more at this page -

http://www.aahn.org/graves.html

Trial on new database

We are running a trial of the ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Database. I hope you will find time to look at it. You will need a password, which I have given to your teachers, or you can call me. Obviously, I can't put it on the blog or everyone in the world could find it. That would not help me know if our students liked it or not.

Here is the URL - http://trials.proquest.com/ptc?userid=2972211

Please email me for the password or any comments you may have. Karen.Chobot@ndscs.nodak.edu

Natural Standard - alternative medicine

Several people have asked me about information on alternative medicines. We have started a trial with a database called Natural Standard. Here you can find information on safety, efficacy, research, interactions and so on. Research is cited to back up their information, and you can see a quick "Clinical Bottom Line."

The URL is http://www.naturalstandard.com/

You will need a user name and password to access this, so please call me (Karen) for the information. I will need your student ID number or barcode to verify that you are a student.