Levy Library Blog

The Levy Library is happy to announce that Mount Sinai's subscription to resources from BMJ offers new benefits for our community. 

For publishing:

Mount Sinai corresponding authors can publish for no-cost in BMJ Open Quality for their articles accepted between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2028.

BMJ Open Quality accepts original research, local, national, and international quality improvement projects, value-based healthcare initiatives, and educational improvement work.

To submit an article to BMJ Open Quality:

• Visit BMJ Open Quality's author page to review submission guidelines.
• Submit your article via the BMJ Open Quality Submission Portal.
• Enter the Icahn School of Medicine's institution discount code to confirm your affiliation and waive publishing fees.

We are continuing our agreement for no-cost traditional publishing in BMJ Case Reports.  

For journal and database access:

We now have full text access to all BMJ Journals and our BMJ Best Practice tool now includes the Comorbidities Manager (learn more on the BMJ website) 

The Levy Library has added a new evidence-based, nursing database to the collection: Dynamic Health. Dynamic Health is a point-of-care (POC) tool designed to support evidence-based practice (EBP) and clinical decision-making.  Dynamic Health can help nurses and allied health professionals quickly obtain answers clinical questions, review nursing skills, and explore leadership and management topics. Created by nurses for nurses and EBSCO, a leading provider of research databases, Dynamic Health’s robust content enables users to search for information on:

• Diseases & Conditions
• Signs & Symptoms
• Interventions & Treatment
• Skills/procedural Instructions
• Drugs (from Davis’s Drug Guide)
• Labs & Diagnostic Tests
• Patient Handouts (many in multiple languages)
• Leadership and Management Topics
• Earn CE Credits

Dynamic Health offers two ways to search: by term or by category. To search a term, simply type the term into the search box (such as a disease, symptom, procedure, drug, etc.)  Dynamic Health will offer auto-complete options. (The ‘Go To’ option displays topics on the term. And below it, the ‘Search For’ option offers broader results.) (Figure 1).   On the search results page, users will have the option to further narrow the topic with filters for interventions, prevention, skills, tests, images, videos, patient handouts, leadership, and others.    

Figure 1.  Type a term into the search box to search a term.                         

Another way to search is by topic category.  Dynamic Health provides the option for users to search within a category such as: Diseases/Conditions; Signs/Symptoms; Tests/Labs; Interventions; Skills; Drugs; Patient Handouts; Leadership. To search within a category, click on one of the categories listed at the top of the Dynamic Health landing page. (Figure 2.)

Figure 2.  Search a topic using category option.

 It’s easy to find the information you need to support clinical practice, skills, and management topics. A tutorial video can be found here.  Additional searching information is in the User’s Guide. 

To begin earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs), create a Dynamic Health account at the top, right of the landing page. Dynamic Health makes it easy to earn CE credits every time you use the database! 

And of course, there’s a Mobile App.  App instructions can be found on the Levy Library’s Databases A-Z list, under Dynamic Health. 

Access Dynamic Health on the Levy Library under Databases https://libguides.mssm.edu/dynamichealth  

Questions?  Contact us RefDesk@mssm.edu

Chats for Change is an important part of Mount Sinai's dedication to addressing diversity, racism and bias. It is a series of dialogues "built on the notion that in order to respond to racism and be anti-racist we must engage in dialogue, learning, and action." For several upcoming Fall/Winter 2023-24 sessions, Chats for Change is discussing the book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGee. Several of our library staff have attended previous Chats for Change sessions, and we are committed to supporting learning in these series. When we saw that this book was going to be featured, we acquired an e-copy for the wider Mount Sinai community to read and learn from.

To access this e-book, click on this link, scroll down to "View Online", and click the "Ebook Central Perpetual, DDA, and Subscription Titles" link. You may be prompted to enter your Mount Sinai network ID and password to access it. Please note that due to licensing restrictions, only one user can read or download the e-book at a time.

This book, in print, e-book, and audiobook formats, is also available to request at NYC library branches. Clicking on these links will send you to that respective library's catalog: 

• New York Public Library
• Queens Public Library
• Brooklyn Public Library

Want more? The Levy Library also has a Special Topics Collection on Race & Society.

Do you know of a book that would be a good addition to this collection? Suggest a purchase here.

We've recently launched a guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Learning and Discovery, and within it, a new blog dedicated to AI in teaching and learning. Head on over to https://libguides.mssm.edu/ai/blog to take a look at our recent posts on new literature and happenings in the world of AI, and subscribe to the AI blog to be alerted when we post new entries there!

Have questions about the AI guide or the blog? Feel free to reach out to us at refdesk@mssm.edu.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

An update to your book suggestions for the grant-funded collection additions

We have an exciting update to share regarding your book suggestions for our grant-funded collection additions. We are thrilled to inform you that we are moving forward with purchasing the books you recommended. Your valuable input has been essential in shaping our collections!

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Mount Sinai community for submitting suggestions for new titles. Your engagement in this initiative highlights the shared commitment we have to spotlight resources from emerging and historically marginalized voices and promote diverse viewpoints on a variety of topics that play a major role in health. Additionally, we extend our thanks to the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 7 for the Collection Equity Grant* which has made it possible for us to acquire these books.

We will keep you updated on the progress of these new additions, and we anticipate providing another update soon when the books are available to be check out. In the meantime, we encourage you to explore our current library collections.

Thanks again and we look forward to sharing these exciting titles with you in the near future!

Coming soon to our digital or physical shelves:

• The Age of Scientific Wellness: Why the Future of Medicine Is Personalized, Predictive, Data-Rich, and in Your Hands
• Automating Inequality
• Breathtaking: Asthma Care in a Time of Climate Change
• Change your Brain, Change your Life
• Children's Health and the Peril of Climate Change
• Climate Change and the People's Health
• The Creative Arts in Palliative Care
• The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills
• Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again
• The Drama of DNA: Narrative Genomics
• Extra Life: A Short Story of Living Longer
• The Grant Writing Guide
• Medicine in Art (A Guide to Imagery)
• Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
• The Nature of Nature
• Seeing Science: How Photography Reveals the Universe
• Self Matters: Creating your Life From the Inside Out
• Take My Hand 
• Therapy Tech : The Digital Transformation of Mental Healthcare
• Treating Trauma in Trans People:  An Intersectional, Phase-Based Approach
• Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, From the Civil War to the 21st Century
• The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming
• Virtual You : How Building Your Virtual Twin will Revolutionize Medicine and Change Your Life
• What is Chat GPT Doing ... And Why Does It Work?
• Your Brain on Art:  How the Arts Transform Us

*NIH Grant Support and Disclaimer:

Developed resources reported in this communication are supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under cooperative agreement number UG4L M012347. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Image Source: Animal Welfare and IACUC Resources guide

We are excited to announce a new guide to help you locate useful library resources!

The IACUC and Animal Welfare Resources Guide supports Mount Sinai's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and researchers with information resources about conducting, facilitating and overseeing the use of animals in research. This guide introduces books available through the library on animal research administration and care relevant to IACUC members and applicants. 

If you are a researcher, trainee or staff member involved or learning about the use of animals in research, this guide also walks you through a step by step process of how to conduct an effective search of the literature for alternatives. 

This guide links to the video recording from our recent workshop on how to conduct an alternatives literature search - "Searching and Applying Literature to Improve Animal Welfare and Fulfill IACUC Requirements" which is also on our YouTube channel along with other workshops relevant to the research community. 

We hope this guide is useful to IACUC members, researchers and anyone who is interested in laboratory animal medicine. 

This new addition comes as we continue our efforts to hear and amplify your information needs by delivering resources that are accessible to all. 

To learn more about the guide, please visit the IACUC and Animal Welfare Resources guide. 

If you have questions or want to schedule a consultation with a librarian for a literature search, please contact us via Ask-A-Librarian.
 

Your book suggestions welcome for grant-funded collection additions

The Levy Library is thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 7 Collection Equity Grant*. This grant provides $2,000 that we will use to purchase materials from emerging and historically marginalized voices and diverse viewpoints on a variety of topics that play a major role in health. 

With your help, we will enhance our Special Topics in Health and Medicine collection which currently offers topics from Graphic Medicine and LGBTQ+ Health, to Managing Mental Health and Women in Medicine.   

We invite you to share recommendations for books that you think should be available for the Mount Sinai community, especially books or topics that reflect your own interests and experiences. We are also seeking suggestions for books to help build three new themes in our collection:

• How medicine and health are portrayed in the arts
• The impact of environmental concerns on individual and collective health
• Growth of artificial intelligence and its impact on health care and outcomes.

Submit your suggestions through our online form or visit the Levy Library on Annenberg 11 to fill out the form in-person by April 30th.  We will review all suggestions and share back with the Mount Sinai community what we acquire for the Library. 

While this grant-funded opportunity invites specific recommendations with a deadline, suggestions to expand the Levy Library collection can be made at any time through our online suggest a purchase form. All suggestions are carefully reviewed considering vendor options and our available funding. 

We appreciate your participation in building your Levy Library’s collection and look forward to your suggestions.  

Thank you for engaging with your Levy Library. 

*NIH Grant Support and Disclaimer:

Developed resources reported in this communication are supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under cooperative agreement number UG4L M012347. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

In an effort to support the library's goal of accessibility and inclusion, we are excited to announce that users now have the option to change the language display of Research Discovery, the library's catalog, to their preferred language of choice. 

Previously, users could only search the Research Discovery in English. We have now expanded this to include a total of 21 languages including: Arabic, Welsh, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Galician, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, and Chinese. We hope to add additional languages in the future. 

Preferred language display can be changed regardless of whether you are signed in or not. 

To change the language display when signed in, first navigate to Research Discovery and sign in. If you do not have a Research Discovery account you can register by completing the Research Discovery registration form. Once you are logged in: 

• Select the dropdown next to your name and scroll down to "display language"

• Choose the desired language 

• Wait approximately 3-5 seconds for the language to change. If it does not change, refresh the page. 

If you are not signed in, simply navigate to the "Menu" dropdown on the right hand side of the page, select the preferred language, wait 3-5 seconds, and browse. 

Users may notice new features as a result of this change. For example, languages that are written from right to left will be reflected as such when viewing an item in the catalog. 

Adding these functions comes as we recognize the growing diversity of our Mount Sinai community who are fluent in many languages. The library is committed to ensuring that all of our resources are accessible to every member of the Mount Sinai community. 

We also want to thank all of the staff who were involved in both suggesting this change and making it happen. 

If you have questions or feedback about the Research Discovery, please fill out the Library Feedback Form or connect with us via email at refdesk@mssm.edu.  

In honor of Pride Month, the Levy Library team has compiled a list of resources in available in our collcetion and beyond that support the health, safety, and well-being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Plus (LGBTQ+) Individuals. Many of the books and journals listed below are available to read online right now and you can always view our entire special topics collection of LGBTQ+ Resources on our catalog or when you visit the Levy Library.

Books

• The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health
• Handbook of Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with Sexual and Gender Minorities
• Healthcare Disparities and LGBT Population
• Pediatric Gender Identity Gender-affirming Care for Transgender & Gender Diverse Youth
• The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care
• Transgender health : a practitioner's guide to binary and non-binary trans patient care
• Transgender Mental Health

Journals

• International Journal of Transgender Health
• Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health
• Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling
• Journal of LGBT Youth
• The Journal of Sexual Medicine
• LGBT Health
• Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity
• Transgender Health

Online Resources

• CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health
• CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Health Considerations for LGBTQ Youth
• NIH - National Institutes of Health - Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office
• Healthypeople.gov - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health

Publications

• 2016-2020 Strategic Plan to Advance Research on the Health and Well-being of Sexual and Gender Minorities (Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)
• Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for LGBTQ+ Individuals: Recent Trends and Key Challenges (Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)
• Health Care Considerations for for Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ Indigenous Communities (Source: National LGBTQIA+ Education Center)
• Housing Health and LGBTQIA+ Older Adults | 2021 (Source: National LGBTQIA+ Education Center)
• Medical Care of Trans and Gender Diverse Adults (Source: National LGBTQIA+ Education Center)
• Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation (Source: NIH - SGRMO)

A note to users within our Mount Sinai communities: activation codes have recently changed for user access to the Complete Anatomy platform.

Below are activation directions for on or off-campus activation with a required email domain of @mssm.edu, @icahn.mssm.edu or @mountsinai.org:

• To get started, download the free version of Complete Anatomy from the App Store for your compatible device
• Launch the app and complete our in-app registration using your university email address.
• Navigate to Settings > My Account and enter the appropriate Activation Code (see above) into the redeem code area.

More information can be found here under E-Resources Usernames and Passwords:

E-Resources Special Directions Guide

Great news for all the visual learners out there! The Levy Library now has 24/7 access to all available videos from the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).

JoVE is a video library filled with 14,000+ videos that can be used to enhance your research, teaching, and training.  JoVE videos for education and training combine high-impact animations with real-life experimentation to help accelerate learning and allow you to refresh skill sets independently. Captions and transcripts are available.

Here are some helpful links to get you started:

• To access the videos, sign in or create an account using your Mount Sinai email address.
• JoVE playlists: clickable playlists of videos supporting Core Facilities and training programs.

You can also contact the JoVE Support Specialist team here if you need any help with finding and integrating videos into your course or lab.

Explore JoVE's video content library here!

Women's History Month, as an official observance, may have come to an end but the recognition of women's achievements is year-round! Recently in March, the Levy Library team curated the Women in Medicine Special Topics Collection. 

While women have traditionally held caregiver roles within their families, it was not until relatively recently that women began practicing in mainstream modern medicine. Groundbreaking women have pushed forward in the face of gender bias and discrimination to advance the field and to work towards equity in both representation and quality of care. This collection was created to put a spotlight on pioneering women in medicine both past and present, many of whom are responsible for breakthrough contributions and discoveries.

Explore the full collection in the Research Discovery catalog. 

In honor of National Nutrition Month, we thought it would be a great idea to round up some of our favorite library resources that support the research and education of nutrition.

Databases

Alt- Health Watch

Alt HealthWatch focuses on the perspectives of alternative, complementary, holistic and integrated approaches to health care and wellness. It contains more than 140 international, and often peer-reviewed journals, reports, proceedings and association and consumer newsletters.

Natural Medicines and Supplements Database

Natural Medicines database is the most authoritative resource available on dietary supplements, herbal medicines, and complementary and integrative therapies. This database also contains interactive tools for safety, effectiveness and interactions as well as over 1,400 natural medicine monographs.

FoodData Central (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

FoodData Central is an integrated data system that provides expanded nutrient profile data and links to related agricultural and experimental research.

World Health Organization - Nutrition and Food Safety Department Databases

The World Health Organization (WHO) Nutrition and Food Safety Department (NFS) has developed and maintained several nutrition-related databases. The Nutrition and Food Safety Department address the burden of disease from physical, chemical and microbial hazards in food and unhealthy diets, maternal and child malnutrition, overweight and obesity.

Core Nutrition Journals

• American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

• Annual Review of Nutrition

• Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

• Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care

• International Journal of Eating Disorders

• International Journal of Obesity

• Obesity Research

• Progress in Lipid Research

• The Journal of Nutrition

View the Levy Library Nutrition Journal Bookshelf on BrowZine 

Specialty Topics within BrowZine

• Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition
• International and Community Nutrition
• Molecular, Genetic, and Biochemical Nutrition
• General Nutrition

Selected Nutrition Books 

Click to search for more Nutrition Books in the Collection

Helpful Nutrition-related Websites

• Food and Drug Administration
• CDC - Nutrition Data and Statistics
• Nutrition.gov (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• Dietary Reference Intakes (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Nutrition - Department of Health - New York State
• The World Bank  - Health Nutrition and Population Statistics

February is American Heart Month, a time when the nation raises awareness of the risks of heart disease and we focus on our cardiovascular health. As healthcare professionals, we know that you understand first hand the dangers of hypertension, heart disease, stroke and other ailments can negatively affect one's health outcomes, so in honor of this month, we are spotlighting the various cardiology and vascular medicine related resources from our collection and beyond that are available to the Mount Sinai community.

Databases

• ClinicalKey This link opens in a new window: Clinical Key has a number of test and procedure videos including intravascular ultrasound, implantation of cardioverter-defibrillators, and contrast echocardiography.

• McGraw-Hill Medical:  From books like Hurst's the Heart to patient education handouts on managing cholesterol, the Access Cardiology specialty from McGraw Hill Medicine, is a great online database for patient education and clinical tools for heart health and cardiology.

Journals

The Levy Library subscribes to hundreds of journals. Below are some of the major cardiology and vascular medicine titles available to read online right now, but you can search for more titles that we carry through our Browzine platform or our Discovery catalog. 

• American Heart Journal
• American Journal of Cardiology
• American Journal of Hypertension
• Circulation
• Current Problems in Cardiology
• European Heart Journal
• Heart
• Heart Rhythm
• JACC: Journal of the America College of Cardiology
• JACC. Cardiovascular Interventions
• JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging
• JACC: Heart Failure
• JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology
• Nature Reviews Cardiology
• Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases
• Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine

Textbooks

The Levy Library collection of cardiology and vascular medicine textbooks are available online to view through our Discovery catalog. Here are some of the core and popular titles available to read online right now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

Having trouble finding that one cardiology resource in our collection? A librarian can help! Contact our Ask A Librarian team who can help you find what you need or maybe we can request to add to add the item to our collection!

Ask A Librarian

 

 

 

As we enter Black History Month, discussions centered around racial equality and underrepresented stories are at the forefront of all our minds. If you happen to be looking for a new read this month, check out our Race and Society Special Topic Collection. Here are some featured titles from that collection:

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family's journey from war-torn Vietnam, from debut author Thi Bui. This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.

Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy

One doctor's passionate and profound memoir of his experience grappling with race, bias, and the unique health problems of black Americans. Black Man in a White Coat examines the complex ways in which both black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and medicine. As Tweedy transforms from student to practicing physician, he discovers how often race influences his encounters with patients.

Refuge in Hell by Daniel B. Silver

In 1945, when the Red Army liberated Berlin, they found in the Nazi capital a functioning Jewish hospital. In Refuge in Hell, Daniel B. Silver explores the many quirks of fortune and history that made the hospital's survival possible. Not since Schindler's List has there been such a wrenching story of personal sacrifice and triumph. Silver's narrative centers on the intricate machinations of the hospital's director, Dr. Lustig, a German-born Jew who managed to keep the Gestapo at bay throughout the war, in part because of his power over his staff and patients and his finely honed relationship with the infamous Adolf Eichmann.

Seeing White by Amy Eshleman; Jean Halley; Ramya Mahadevan Vijaya

This interdisciplinary textbook challenges students to see race as everyone's issue. Drawing on sociology, psychology, history, and economics, Seeing White introduces students to the concepts of white privilege and social power. The website www.seeingwhite.org includes multidisciplinary demonstrations, activities, examples, and images for researchers and instructors who seek to explain racism and reveal white privilege.

War Against All Puerto Ricans by Nelson A. Denis

Through oral histories, personal interviews, eyewitness accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified FBI files,War Against All Puerto Ricans tells the story of a forgotten revolution and its context in Puerto Rico's history, from the US invasion in 1898 to the modern-day struggle for self-determination. Denis provides an unflinching account of the gunfights, prison riots, political intrigue, FBI and CIA covert activity, and mass hysteria that accompanied this tumultuous period in Puerto Rican history.

Check out the Levy Library blog post from this day back in 2006!

Carrie Levinson, MSLIS (She/her/hers)

Reference & Instruction Librarian, Mount Sinai West & Mount Sinai Morningside

Many researchers decide that they want to utilize a test, survey or questionnaire as part of their research project. Putting together a research instrument can be daunting, however: What questions should be asked? What scale should be used? How should reliability and validity be measured?

Since there are many such tools already out there, sometimes the answer might just be to reuse an existing instrument that another research team has developed. This presents another problem, however: how do we find these ready-made instruments?

Enter two databases we have at the Levy Library: PsycTESTS and Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI). Both of these resources provide access to descriptions of tests, surveys, inventories, scales, measures, and questionnaires that fall under psychology, health, and related fields.

PsycTESTS

PsycTESTS allows users to not only find instruments, but also gives them a detailed description of them, including:

• The article the instrument was described in
• What kind of instrument it is (inventory, questionnaire, etc.)
• Format (e.g. Likert scale)
• Permissions and fee information
• Reliability, validity, and factor analysis
• Demographic/population
• Language(s) available

PsycTESTS sometimes provides the full text of the instruments themselves, which can include PDFs and multimedia files.

HAPI

HAPI provides information including:

• The source of the instrument
• Response options
• Sample items
• Number of questions
• Reliability and validity

Measures found in HAPI can be used for a variety of purposes, including studies, grant proposals, patient assessment, and program evaluation.

Why reinvent the wheel? The next time you need a survey or questionnaire, check out one or both of these resources to see if there’s one you can use! Need help navigating PsycTESTS or HAPI? Our librarians are always happy to help – just contact us at refdesk@mssm.edu or through our Ask-a-Librarian service.

Gali Halevi, MLS, PhD

Associate Dean of Libraries and Information Sciences

I am a well-known documentaries enthusiast. I find them to be informative and insightful. The main streaming channels like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and others have plenty to offer but they each require a subscription. Lately, I began to look for documentaries that are legally free to watch and do not infringe on copyrights and found a few good options. 

A simple Google search for “free documentaries” has a curated list of documentaries organized by topics. Each movie option lists all the channels where it is available to watch, including those that are free of charge:

Top Documentaries Films has a vast collection of free-to-watch documentaries. Organized by topics, this site makes it easy to browse which films are new or most popular:

Documentary Heaven has a big collection of free documentaries that are free to watch. Also organized by category and rankings, this easy-to-navigate site will help you find your next documentary to watch:

Finally, Documentary Tube includes a wide variety of full-length documentaries covering twenty-two categories:

What's your favorite documentary available for free? Let us know on Twitter! 

Chelsea Rein, BS, MLIS

Reference and Instruction Librarian, Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai

There are many online resources where nursing professionals can find evidence-based practice information. Evidence-based practice (EBP), known as “judicious use of current best evidence in conjunction with clinical expertise and patient values” is an instrument of great utility in nursing care, helping to reduce both cost and variability in clinical practice. ^1,2 Evidence-based Nursing (EBN) integrates best evidence available, nursing expertise, and preferences of individuals, families, and communities in a holistic care model that broadly encompasses patient preferences as well as effectiveness of treatment. EBN is often a five-step systematic process including: asking the clinical question, evidence acquisition, evidence appraisal, evidence-application, and outcome evaluation. ³  It is also known as a 5-step model - Assess, Ask, Acquire, Appraise, and Apply. ⁴

Asking the Clinical Question:

The first step of the evidence-based nursing process involves taking the clinical issue under consideration and formulating it into a searchable and answerable question. ⁵ The model which is frequently used for this part of the process is termed “PICO,” containing the following components: 

• P – Patient or Population or Problem

• I – Intervention of Interest, Proposed Intervention

• C – Comparison or Control, (there might be no Intervention)

• Outcome (Anticipated) 

Also may be included:

• T – Type of Question (Diagnosis, Prognosis, Therapy etc.) 

• T – Type of Study Design (RCT, Cohort Study, Case Series etc.)

• Time 

Example: In POPULATION does INTERVENTION as compared to COMPARISON/CONTROL result in OUTCOME?⁵

In adult patients hospitalized in a long-term acute care facility (P), how does the use of a nurse-driven protocol for evaluating the appropriateness of short-term urethral catheter continuation or removal (I), compared with no protocol (C), affect the number of catheter-days (O1) and CAUTI rates (O2) over a six-month post-intervention period (T)? ⁶

Internet Resources for Creating a Well-Built Clinical Question:

• Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives - Evidence-Based Practice: PICO 

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library – PICO and the Question Statement 

• Yale University Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library – Framing Questions with PICO

Evidence Acquisition: 

The hierarchy of evidence is a core principle of Evidence-Based Medicine. EBM hierarchies rank study types based on the strength and precision of the research methods done. Most experts consider well done systematic reviews, with or without meta-analysis, to provide the best evidence for all question types. If a current, well designed systematic review is not available, primary studies can sometimes answer a PICO question. ⁷

The type of PICO question will often dictate the best study design to address the question. For example, a suggested study for a PICO question based on a diagnosis could be a prospective, blind comparison to the gold standard, whereas a PICO question on a therapy intervention could be to use an RCT or Practice Guideline. The EBM Pyramid shown lists a variety of evidence types and levels. The quality of evidence is highest among filtered information and lowest among unfiltered information with degrees of evidence level. ⁸ 

Internet Resources for Evidence Acquisition:

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai – Evidence Based Medicine Guide: What’s Best: The Evidence Hierarchy

• Sigma Repository – Browsing by Evidence 

• University of Michigan Library – Sources for Evidence Based Research – Hierarchy of Evidence

Databases – Finding Evidence: 

Using available databases, journals and point-of-care tools are good places to start while looking for evidence. Some databases have items available like evidence-based care sheets (CINAHL) or clinical content synthesized into graded evidence based recommendations (UptoDate). In PubMed, the Clinical Queries page allows you to enter one search query and launch two EBM filters: Clinical Study Categories and Systematic Reviews. Mount Sinai’s Levy Library provides access to a multitude of resources accessible online including databases, clinical mobile apps, e-journals, and e-books. 

Internet Resources for Finding Evidence: 

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library – Filtering PubMed for Best Evidence 

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library – Using MeSH to Find Evidence

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library – Databases A – Z 

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library – Journal Search 

Appraising Evidence: 

When appraising websites, some important criteria to consider include - authority, accuracy, bias, currency, and comprehension. ¹⁰

• Authority – is the author listed, domain (org, edu, com)?

• Accuracy – is the information reproducible? 

• Objectivity - are there any conflicts of interest? Are the goals and aims of the website clear? 

• Currency – when was the webpage updated? Are the links up to date?

• Coverage - can you view the information properly? ¹⁰ 

Critical appraisal worksheets can help guide evidence appraisal among different topics.

Internet Resources for Apprising Evidence:

• CASP Checklist – Critical Appraisal Skill Program 

• Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives – Evidence-Based Practice: Appraise 

• Duke University Medical Library and Archives – Teaching Table for Common Summary Articles 

• Evidence-Based Medicine Toolkit - Critical Appraisal Worksheets Logbook

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library – Appraise Evidence

Applying Evidence:

When you have asked your question, found the evidence, and critically appraised the evidence, it is time to implement that evidence. Implementation of evidence into practice may be challenging and usually involves working out how the results of your research apply to the patient, taking into consideration your own clinical expertise and the patient's situation and preferences. This is sometimes called the "external validity", or "generalizability" of the research results.¹¹

Questions to ask at this stage include:

• Is the intervention feasible in my setting?

• What else do I need to apply this evidence?

• Is my patient similar enough to the subjects of the study so that the results can apply?

• Will the potential benefits of treatment outweigh any potential harm?

• What are the views of my patient?¹¹

Internet Resources for Models of Evidence-Based Nursing Practice and Applying Evidence:

• Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice to Promote Quality Care 

• Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model 

• Larabee Emerging Model of Quality

• PARiHS Framework for Putting Research Into Practice 

• Stetler Model of Evidence-Based Practice

Outcome Evaluation:

The final step involves Assessing or “Auditing” the research process. This involves evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the process and practice of evidence-based practice, identifying strengths and weaknesses and ways that it might be improved the next time.¹² 

Self-reflective questions that might be asked include:

• Did I ask a well-formulated clinical question?

• Did I consider the best sources of evidence for the type of clinical question?

• Have I searched the databases efficiently? 

• Did I use the hierarchy of evidence as my guide for the type of evidence that I should be searching for?

• Am I integrating critical appraisal? ¹²

Internet Resources for Outcome Evaluation:

• Cochran Audit and Feedback: Effects on Professional Practice and Patient Outcomes

• Evidence-Based Medicine Toolkit – EMB Calculators 

• Evidence-Based Medicine Toolkit – Self-Evaluation

Other Online Resources for EBM/EBN:

• AHRQ Clinical Guidelines and Recommendations

• American Association of Critical Care Nurses Clinical Resources

• American Journal of Nursing: Evidence-Based Practice Step-by-Step

• Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives: EBP Tutorial 

• Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library: Evidence Based Medicine Guide 

• Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library: Nursing Resources – Evidence Based Practice

• Phillips School of Nursing Information Commons: Evidence Based Medicine in Nursing 

• PubMed: Evidence-Based Practice Training

References

1. Titler MG. Translating research into practice. Considerations for critical care investigators. Critical care nursing clinics of North America. 2001;13 (4):587–604. Available from: https://icahn-mssm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/openurl?institution=01MSSM_INST&vid=01MSSM_INST:DEFAULT&id=pmid:11778346&sid=Entrez:PubMed

2. McGinty J, Anderson G. Predictors of Physician Compliance With American Heart Association Guidelines for Acute Myocardial Infarction. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly. 2008; 31(2). Available from: https://journals.lww.com/ccnq/Fulltext/2008/04000/Predictors_of_Physician_Compliance_With_American.9.aspx

3. Honor L. Resource Guides: Evidence-Based Nursing: Available from: https://libraryguides.umassmed.edu/EBN/home

4. de Groot M, van der Wouden JM, van Hell EA, Nieweg MB. Evidence-based practice for individuals or groups: let’s make a difference. Perspect Med Educ. 2013 Sep;2(4):216–21.

5. Rein C. Levy Library Guides: Phillips School of Nursing Information Commons: PICO & Searching. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Available from: https://libguides.mssm.edu/PSON/PICO

6. Magers TL. Using evidence-based practice to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Am J Nurs. 2013 Jun;113(6):34–42; quiz 44, 43.

7. Pinotti R. Levy Library Guides: Evidence Based Medicine Guide: What’s Best: The Evidence Hierarchy. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Available from: https://libguides.mssm.edu/ebm/hierarchy

8. Cantrell S. LibGuides: Evidence-Based Practice: PICO. Available from: https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/ebm/pico

9. Saylor K. Research Guides: Nursing: Hierarchy of Evidence Resources. Available from: https://guides.lib.umich.edu/nursing/evidence 

10. Kapoun J. Teaching undergrads WEB evaluation: A guide for library instruction. College & Research Libraries News. 2020; 59 (7). Available from: https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/23707/31079

11. Phillips R, Glasziou P. Evidence based practice: the practicalities of keeping abreast of clinical evidence while in training. Postgraduate Medical Journal. 2008; 84(995):450–3. 

12. Ivers N, Jamtvedt G, Flottorp S, Young JM, Odgaard-Jensen J, French SD. Audit and feedback: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2012. Available from: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/14651858.CD000259.pub3

By Ed Jessup, Library Manager of Public Services

When people hear the term “business” and “healthcare” they tend to get a little confused. I mean, healthcare is about keeping people healthy, and business is about making money, and the two shouldn’t mix. This is, of course, an idealist view, as we know very well that healthcare and business do mix, and it mixes often. This doesn't have to have such negative connotations though. Healthcare is a huge industry and there are plenty of innovative companies that produce amazing products and services. Healthcare professionals deserve to know where they can access this valuable information. 

One of the premiere go-to databases for business-related information is the Business Source Complete by Ebsco. This is a one-stop-shop database for all things business and includes access to over 900 peer-reviewed business journals, more than 17,000 company profiles, and a dizzying array of industry reports. This database is international in scope, just as the healthcare industry. Keeping an eye on trends in healthcare, in areas such as pharmaceuticals and artificial intelligence are only a simple search away. In addition, it is easy to keep an eye on emerging trends and products via company profiles and find out what their competitors are doing as well. 

Another great place to investigate company and business intelligence is through Business Essentials Insights, by Gale. One of the reasons I love this resource is the quick access to company and industry information. Simply search a company by ticker symbol or an industry by NAIC code and users will be immediately whisked to accurate up-to-date information. A great feature of this database is the ability to generate quick comparison charts by company and industry.

When searching these databases for industry-related information, be aware that the healthcare industry is vast. When trying to zero in on specific facets of the industry, it can be helpful to have a NAICS code available. This can help make your searches more efficient. You can find NAICS codes freely available on their website. In addition, it is often useful to have a ticker symbol for a company of interest. These codes are also freely available at a variety of market-based websites. Remember, when searching market and business-related information, the more accurate and specific information you put in will yield in more accurate and efficient results.

Yes, the healthcare industry is an industry that people rely on for their health, and as a healthcare professional you have amazing skills to heal. Why not stay on top of trends and companies in this faceted field, and leverage this knowledge to always improve the standard of care. There are many useful tools to put to work, right at your fingertips, and the resources I have just discussed are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Find important links here:

• The Business Source Complete is available via the Levy Library
• Business Essential Insights is available via the Levy Library
• Visit the NAICS website
• Find the ticker symbol for a company by visiting NYSE

National Nutrition Month is here! Whether nutrition science is a part of your daily life or if you're just curious to learn more, here is a selection of resources that you can access via the Levy Library: 

E-Journals

Annual Review of Nutrition

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Nutrition Reviews

Proceedings of the Nutrition Society

E-Books

Food, Genes, and Culture

Fat Economics

Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease

Print Books

The Omnivore's Dilemma: a Natural History of Four Meals

Eating Animals

In Defense of Food: an Eater's Manifesto

Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite

Want to learn more about our catalog? Visit library.mssm.edu!