Finals season getting to you? Feeling anxious about exams? Are you considering locking yourself in the library until you memorize your textbooks? Before you go to drastic measures, consider trying out some of the following tips and tricks to make studying for finals go smoothly.
Try making some practice exams: Reviewing class notes is a great way to study but after a second or third pass, it can feel like you’re just skimming through the information, rather than taking it in. If you want your studying method to be more active, consider making a practice exam to see if your notes are actually sticking in your memory. If you take questions from old exams, study guides, and assignments, you can make a practice exam that not only covers important concepts but forces you to review your notes as you make it more in-depth. Want to take this tip to the next level? Rope in a friend to make their own practice test and swap with one another.
Flip through some flashcards: Flashcards are a tried and tested method for a reason. If you don’t want to make your own flashcards, Access Medicine provides plenty of flashcards for all sorts of medical topics.
Review pre-printed textbooks and guides: Himmelfarb has plenty of study material in our collection, including guides on various medical topics. Materials are available both digitally and physically, so make sure to pick one that suits your preferred studying style.
Find the right environment: Need a quiet place to study? Have trouble staying on task at home? Try the library! Study better as a group? Our first floor has plenty of space for folks to gather to discuss in teams. Need a quieter environment? If you’re one of our Graduate students, try Himmelfarb’s second floor is for silent study, and our third floor is for quiet study. If you want to go even quieter, feel free to take some of the complementary earplugs at the front desk.
Finals can be stressful but hopefully, with these study tips, you’ll be ready for exams with as little stress as possible!
In early January EBSCOhost databases will get a facelift. The new interface will have a less cluttered appearance, featuring a streamlined presentation of filters and search options. EBSCOhost databases include CINAHL Plus with Full Text, PsycInfo, ERIC, and Academic Search Complete. Here is what the new CINAHL Plus with Full-Text interface will look like in January:
Himmelfarb Library has a preview site for users to test drive the new interface. It is still a work in progress and we welcome your feedback to provide some fine-tuning before the new user interface goes live on January 7th. You can access it below:
To navigate to a specific database, next to Searching click All Databases and select the database you want from the menu.
The new interface features a PICOT (population, intervention, comparison, outcome, time) based search builder tool which will translate PICOT-formatted research questions into an initial search strategy. Searchers will also be able to bulk export up to 25,000 article records at a time in a variety of file formats, including RIS. This will greatly facilitate the use of these databases for systematic and scoping review projects involving large numbers of citations.
A new personal dashboard will allow users to save searches, view recent search activity, and create ongoing projects. Note that any searches saved in MyEBSCO will move to the new dashboard. If you have Search Alerts or Journal Alerts set up in MyEBSCO they will need to be re-created in the new interface on or after January 7th.
If you have feedback to share about the new interface, please use our form:
You can also access the feedback form in the links on the left column of the preview.
For help with any EBSCOHost database (as well as any other Himmelfarb Library resources), please contact us by email (himmelfarb@gwu.edu) or phone (202-994-2962).
October is National Physical Therapy Month! This National Physical Therapy (PT) Month, we want to celebrate and acknowledge the fantastic work of Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants (PTAs), and PT educators. Himmelfarb Library is proud to provide resources to support PT research and learning to help further education and understanding within the field. Here are some great physical therapy resources provided by Himmelfarb Library:
Journals
Our journal collection includes some great PT titles! Here are just a few of what we offer:
American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: This journal publishes cutting-edge basic and clinical research, clinical case reports, and in-depth topical reviews of interest to rehabilitation professionals.
Current Sports Medicine Reports: The official clinical journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), this journal focuses entirely on clinical sports medicine, including aspects of physical therapy such as training, prevention, and rehabilitation, and sport-specific illness and injury.
Journal of Physical Therapy Education: This journal publishes works of discovery, application, and integration and enriches academic and clinical PT education with evidence-based decision-making processes to prepare learners, support faculty and clinicians, and inform administrators.
Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (PTJ): This leading journal for research in PT and related fields publishes content for clinicians and scientists using a variety of interactive approaches to improve patient care.
Databases can be a great way to find journal articles, practice guidelines, and reviews! The following databases are great for physical therapy-related searches:
DiTA, Diagnostic Test Accuracy: PT database includes primary studies and systematic reviews evaluating diagnostic tests used by physical therapists.
CINAHL: Authoritative coverage of nursing and allied health literature.
PubMed: Health sciences articles including clinical, basic sciences, and public health information.
Scopus: Interdisciplinary citation and abstract database.
Software & Tech Tools
Our PT collection is much more than just a collection of journals, databases, and books. We also have some great software, apps, and other digital resources to support PT teaching and learning!
BodyViz: Interactive 3D anatomy visualization tool that includes over 1,000 data sets from human and animal models in healthy and pathological states at different developmental stages.
Himmelfarb Library provides clinical, evidence-based medicine resources including DynaMed and epocrates+ which provide information to support cancer care. DynaMed is a point-of-care tool designed to facilitate efficient and evidence-based patient care information including drug and disease information. DynaMed provides information including background, history and physical, diagnosis, disease management, prognosis, prevention, and screening information on medical conditions. DynaMed’s easy-to-read topic pages cover a wide range of conditions and diseases, including cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma in children as seen in the screenshot below.
epocrates+ is Himmelfarb’s other evidence-based point-of-care database that provides disease and drug information. epocrates+ provides a step-by-step approach, covering prevention, risk factors, history and exam, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Like DynaMed, epocrates+ covers coverage of a wide range of medical conditions, including cancers. Epcorates also offers a quick reference area that covers the basics of a condition, as seen in the cervical cancer quick reference screenshot below.
If you’re looking for the latest in cancer research, Himmelfarb provides access to many cancer journals! The following list is just a sample of the cancer-related titles you can access through Himmelfarb’s journal collection:
Cancer: An American Cancer Society journal that started publication in 1948, Cancer is one of the oldest peer-reviewed oncology journals. This journal focuses on highly relevant, timely information on the etiology, course, and treatment of human cancer.
JAMA Oncology: This definitive oncology journal publishes important clinical research, major cancer breakthroughs, actionable discoveries, and innovative cancer treatments.
Cancer Cell: This journal provides access to major advances in cancer research including clinical investigations that establish new paradigms in treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of cancers.
Gynecologic Oncology: This journal publishes clinical and investigative articles about tumors of the female reproductive tract and the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of female cancers.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute: This journal publishes significant cancer research findings focused on clinical, epidemiologic, behavioral, and health outcomes studies.
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network: JNCCN publishes the latest information on clinical practices, oncology health services research, and translational medicine, as well as updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.
If you’re interested in finding health statistics about cancer, we have information on that too! Check out our Health Statistics: Cancer Guide. This guide provides links to resources to find general cancer statistics, as well as breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. Resources to find cancer mortality maps and graphs are also included.
Isn’t it great when two things which are already great on their own combine? Earlier this month, The Rotation spotlighted LibKey Nomad, a super-handy browser plugin which helps you access full text more quickly and easily. For those involved with evidence synthesis projects who use Covidence, there is some great news…
Now you can use LibKey Nomad to help you locate the full text of articles right from your Covidence screen!
Once you are logged in to Covidence, navigate to the Full text screening page, and look at your list. You will now find the LibKey Nomad icon that offers you the option to “Download PDF” – or may offer you other options of obtaining the full-text article. Here’s how it can work with Covidence:
To access the full text, click the LibKey Nomad button to download a PDF. The PDF will open in a new browser tab…
…and you can download it from there.
Next, you will click the Upload full text button, and locate the PDF wherever you downloaded it:
Once you have uploaded the PDF, this will be reflected in the display on the Full text screening page:
When you have completed this process for each study in your full text screening set, you are ready to resume your screening!
The integration of LibKey Nomad and Covidence makes what was previously a more time-consuming process quick and easy. If you aren’t using LibKey Nomad yet, install it in your browser today!
Step 2: Click on the CME link at the top of our web pages (or the CME link on our mobile app’s home screen)
Step 3: Select one or more items from any available activities to claim credit for and click on the Prepare button that will appear. (Note that if you are a first-time user of CME you will then be asked to provide some information so we can issue your CME)
Step 4: Answer the two required Application in Practice questions for each activity you selected. (Note that the evaluation questions that follow may be answered but are optional)
PDF certificates for any CME credits you claim are available in the CLAIMED tab in CME.
You may have two DynaMed accounts: an old DynaMed account, and a new one created via Single Sign-On (SSO). You can merge your personal user accounts to claim your CE credits in a single account.
We're dedicated to providing you with the resources necessary for your success. If you ever encounter any issues or have questions please do not hesitate to reach out (himmelfarb@gwu.edu).
From all of us at Himmelfarb Library, we’d like to welcome all of the new residents, fellows, students, faculty, and staff who joined the GW SMHS, GWSPH, and GW Nursing community this month! We are thrilled that you’re here and we look forward to serving you during your time at GW! We know that the start of any new endeavor can be daunting, so we’d like to make it easier for you to get to know Himmelfarb Library.
To help you get the lay of the land, watch this short, video tour of the library with Himmelfarb’s Library Director, Laura Abate:
Himmelfarb Hours
Our physical space, accessible through Ross Hall, is open the following hours:
Monday - Thursday: 7:30 am - Midnight
Friday: 7:30 am - 10:00 pm
Saturday: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sunday: 8:00 am - Midnight
Our current hours of operation are available on our website and include exceptions to normal hours (i.e. holiday closures). If you can’t make it to the library in person, you can get help from our librarians and staff via chat or phone (202-994-2850), or email himmelfarb@gwu.edu. Our databases, journals, and e-books are available 24/7, so even when our building is closed, you can access our electronic resources from anywhere.
Himmelfarb Resources and Collections
Himmelfarb’s collection is much larger than just the books in our stacks. We have 125 databases to search, including PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL. The search bar towards the top of our library homepage, known as Health Information @ Himmelfarb, can be used to search for physical and electronic books, journals, articles, dissertations, and more all in just a single search box!
You can also browse and access our collection of journals from our e-journals page, or by using BrowZine. You can use BrowZine directly from your internet browser, or download the app to your IOS or Android device. BrowZine allows you to create a personalized bookshelf of journal titles, follow your favorite journals, and create alerts for new issues and tables of contents.
Here’s another pro tip: installing the LibKey Nomad browser extension on your favorite browser will provide easy access to full text when searching PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO databases, Google Scholar, Amazon, publisher sites, and more. With LibKey Nomad, you’ll be alerted when the full-text articles and e-books are available from Himmelfarb, and be able to get the PDF with a single click in most cases.
Himmelfarb provides specialized apps and information services to support those of you who provide patient care. DynaMed and Lexidrug are our go-to resources for easy access to clinical care resources. If you want resources available on your smartphone or other mobile device, check out our App Shelf to download apps to selected resources. Learn more about resources available to residents on our Residents and Fellows Guide!
Research Support
Himmelfarb is more than just a physical space with lots of study space and great databases, journals, books, and e-books! Our librarians and staff can support you in your research by helping with literature searches, conducting systematic reviews, and organizing sources with RefWorks or Covidence. We can also help guide you through the constantly evolving scholarly publishing landscape through our author services.
Get help with your research from our knowledgeable reference librarians and staff. Stop by our circulation desk to get your questions answered in person, or use our Ask a Librarian service to chat with a reference librarian virtually. Our Ask a Librarian service is staffed by real Himmelfarb librarians and staff so you can be sure you’re getting the help you need! We also have a wealth of research guides that can connect you with resources on a variety of topics.
It’s officially clerkship season! Third-year medical students started clerkships during the past few weeks, so this is a great time to remind you that Himmelfarb Library has some great sources to help you get through clerkships!
Are you looking to find specific types of resources that you can count on during each clerkship? Check out the following list of resources!
Drug Information - Choosing the right medication, dosage, drug interactions, contraindications, and drug coverage:
LexiDrug (aka LexiComp): Clinical drug information with integrated access to multiple drug databases plus access to Trissel's IV Compatibility, drug interaction checker, drug I.D., patient education, calculators, and additional clinical tools. Includes access to adult, pediatric, and neonatal drug information, pharmacogenomics, lab tests and diagnostic procedures, toxicology, and drug allergy and idiosyncratic reactions.
NatMed Pro (aka Natural Medicines): Supports evidence-based alternative therapy decision-making including 1,400+ natural ingredient and alternative therapy monographs, and 185,000+ commercial products. Searchable by scientific, common, or brand name; includes interactive tools for safety, effectiveness, and interactions.
ClinicalKey: Search the Drug Monographs section for drug and dosing information to guide treatment.
DynaMed Drugs A-Z: Click on Drugs A-Z or the Drug Interactions in the top menu.
Epocrates+: Click on the Briefcase + Icon on the left side of the screen to find tools including Drugs, Interaction Check, Pill ID, etc.
Differential Diagnosis - Creating your Ddx using reputable sources:
DynaMed: When looking at a condition in DynaMed, there is a Differential Diagnosis area in the Diagnosis area (on the left side menu).
Epocrates+: Like DynaMed, there's a Differential Diagnosis area in the Diagnosis area on the left side menu.
Evidence-Based Guidelines - Finding current practice guidelines to drive your assessment and plan:
DynaMed: Check out the Guidelines & Resources area towards the bottom of the left-side menu.
Epocrates+: Check out the Guidelines area (under References) towards the bottom of the left-side menu.
PubMed: If you use Himmelfarb's link to PubMed, you can use our filters on the left side of the search results page to limit your results by Practice Guidelines.
ClinicalKey: Click on the "Guidelines" area to search for clinical guidelines from leading organizations.
On Monday, May 20, 2024, Himmelfarb Library, in partnership with GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, changed the underlying system that provides access to our online collections (including ebooks, databases, and journals). We’ve worked hard to make this transition seamless with only minor changes. However, if you experience issues accessing any of the resources mentioned above, please let us know so we can fix the issue. To let us know about a problem with a resource, or if you have questions about access, reach out to himmelfarb@gwu.edu or Ask A Librarian. If you’d like to learn more about this change, read our recent blog post.
Each year the indexing team at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) updates descriptors and makes new headings available for searching in PubMed, MEDLINE, and other NLM databases. The 2024 changes were applied in December 2023. You can see new descriptors and changed descriptors on the NLM site.
There were changes to headings for Influenzavirus A (now Alphainfluenzavirus) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (three new entry terms for Chimpanzee Coryza Agent, Orthopneumovirus, and RSV Respiratory Syncytial Virus that will map to the heading when searching). Voting became a new MeSH heading. And there was a large expansion of terms available for concepts related to Psychological Stress - 54 to be precise! For example, you can now explode Coping Skills to cover nine concepts including Behavioral Coping and Cognitive Coping.
Other new terms include some coming out of the pandemic (immune system exhaustion, mental health teletherapy, pandemic preparedness, unvaccinated persons), some that are DEI-related (deaf culture, disability discrimination, social genomics, and undertreatment), and others that invite a visit to the scope note to see what they are all about (flighted spongy moth complex?)
Changes and new headings are not retrospective. For example, if searching for Influenzavirus A you will need to search the new Alphainfluenzavirus heading and the previous Influenzavirus A heading to get both new and older publications. To search for Voting prior to 2024 you may want to consider using the broader heading Politics which the concept was included under previously.
For precision searching with MeSH headings, NLM encourages you to consult the MeSH Browser for scope notes and other information about a term. It can guide you to the right headings, subheadings (see the Qualifiers tab), and entry terms. Entry terms function like cross references so searching RSV will include the publications indexed for Respiratory Syncytial Virus since it’s an entry term for that heading. If you don’t want entry or mapped terms to be included, use double quotes to limit your search to just that precise heading.
NNLM will be offering a free webinar on MeSH Changes and PubMed Searching on January 25th from 1 to 2:30pm. You’ll hear more about the changes and have an opportunity to practice searching in PubMed. The class is available for beginner through advanced searchers.
Himmelfarb Library is proud to support GW Nursing students, faculty, researchers, and staff by providing professional-level, scholarly full-text nursing resources. Today’s post will highlight some of our top nursing databases, journals, books, and guides.
Databases:
CINAHL Complete is one of our most highly used nursing resources! CINAHL Complete provides access to nursing journals and publications produced by the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses Association. In addition to full-text access to 600 titles, CINAHL Complete provides easy-to-understand Evidence-Based Care Sheets and Quick Lessons for a variety of conditions. Topics covered include nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health, and 17 allied health disciplines.
ClinicalKey for Nursing is another top nursing database available through Himmelfarb. With access to full-text evidence-based nursing monographs, clinical trial modules, books, journals, practice guidelines, and core measures with nursing recommendations, ClinicalKey for Nursing is a great resource for all things nursing-related!
TelemedInsights, developed by the GW School of Nursing and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, supports interactive self-paced learning to support high-quality, culturally competent patient care using telehealth technology. This great resource is designed for students and healthcare professionals. To access this resource, click the login button. No login or password is required. However, if accessing this resource from off-campus, you must use the GW VPN.
Journals:
Himmelfarb provides access to more than 200 nursing journals! Our most popular, highest-use titles are:
American Journal of Nursing (AJN): As the oldest and largest circulating nursing journal in the world, AJN promotes excellence in professional nursing with articles focused on cutting-edge, evidence-based information while providing a holistic outlook on health and nursing.
Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA): With content geared to nurse executives, directors of nursing, and nurse managers, JONA is an authoritative source of information on developments and advances in patient care leadership. This journal prides itself in delivering practical, solution-oriented articles that provide the information and tools to help you excel in a changing healthcare environment.
International Journal of Nursing Studies (IJNS): IJNS published original research on a wide range of nursing topics including healthcare delivery, organization, management, policy, and research methods.
Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN): JAN publishes articles related to evidence-based nursing, midwifery, and healthcare. Topics include cancer nursing, community nursing, geriatric nursing, home care, mental health nursing, nursing research, and more!
E-Books:
We also have some great e-books available! Notable titles include:
Learn more about Himmelfarb’s nursing resources by visiting our Nursing Guide. You’ll find information about nursing textbooks, and NCLEX resources, as well as information for BSN, MSN, Nurse Practitioners, DPN, and Ph.D. nursing students. We also have a Nurse Practitioners Guide that includes information on physical examination, diagnosis, drug information, links to professional organizations, and evidence-based medicine. Himmelfarb’s Antiracism in Healthcare Guide is another fantastic resource providing resources to help you learn about antiracism and racial bias in healthcare.
