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Nursing: Web Resources

Selected Web Sites for Nursing Students

Recommended Nursing Websites

  • American Nurses Association
    "The American Nurses Association (ANA) is the only full-service professional organization representing the interests of the nation's 3.1 million registered nurses through its constituent and state nurses associations and its organizational affiliates. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. "
 
  • Culture Clues
    " Culture Clues™ are tip sheets for clinicians, designed to increase awareness about concepts and preferences of patients from the diverse cultures served by University of Washington Medical Center."
     
  • National Institutes of Health
    "The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services External Web Site Policy , is the nation’s medical research agency—making important discoveries that improve health and save lives."
     
  • Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit
    "Medical care is complicated and many people struggle with understanding their medication, instructions, and follow-up plans. This 6 minute video shows just how little, patients can understand. The way you organize your practice and communicate with patients can help to minimize confusion and lead to better health outcomes. This toolkit can help you assess your practice, raise awareness and work on specific areas to ensure that your patients can succeed in the health care environment. "
     
  • National Center for Health Statistics
    "The mission of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people. As the Nation's principal health statistics agency, NCHS leads the way with accurate, relevant, and timely data."

About using Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a great tool for a summary of a topic. Wikipedia content is constantly revised, and entries vary in quality. Some of the content is excellent, some is questionable.

Many educators frown on the use of Wikipedia. Why?

  • Wikipedia content is not necessarily written by subject experts, and may be inadequate or incorrect.
  • Articles in Wikipedia may be changed or deleted between viewings.
  • For research papers, you need authoritative resources, so it is absolutely necessary to consult other sources.
  • Anyone can search Google or find a Wikipedia article. To demonstrate academic skill, it is important to go beyond these basic tools.

How can you use Wikipedia in a way that benefits your research process?

  • Scan the article to get general information and terms you can use as keywords for further searching.
  • Scan the article for references. Sometimes these can lead you to excellent books or articles that you can find at the EVC Library or through our collection of databases.
  • Don't reference Wikipedia articles in your paper, unless you are pointing out something specific to Wikipedia.
  • As you read Wikipedia articles, you may read notations that call for more evidence, or call attention to bias. These are very constructive principles that apply to your own work. What if Wikipedia editors read your work? Would they mark areas for revision?