Introducing PsycARTICLES

Welcome back! I hope everyone has had a fab summer. Over the summer we have acquired a brand new, full-text database that I think is going to be really useful, especially if you are focussing on mental health issues.

The database is called PsycARTICLES - it is produced by the American Psychological Association (APA) and contains 78 full-text journals, including all of the APA titles such as Developmental Psychology, Health Psychology, and Psychological Bulletin.

Have a look and tell me what you think. You can access it here.

Nursing Times freebies this weekend!

As part of it's one-year anniversary celebrations, Nursing Times Learning is making all of it's online content free this weekend, 24-27 June. You can access all of the Learning Units and if you complete and pass one unit you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £25 Marks & Spencer Voucher! Good Luck!

Navigating the NHS reforms

If you're confused by all the news about the recent amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill, take a look at this guide by the Nursing Times, who have outlined what the impact of the reforms will be for nurses.

Learning Disabilities Week

This week is Learning Disabilities week so I thought I would flag up a few resources you might find useful. Mencap has a lot of resources on their website, as does the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability which has some great free podcasts.

You can also access government reports on the Department of Health website, such as Valuing People Now, which focuses on improving quality of life for people with learning disabilities.

Doing a literature review

Lots of you seem to be working on literature reviews at the moment so I thought I'd share some hints and tips. Firstly, if you are not sure what a literature review is, or how to go about doing one, have a look at some of the books in the library. This one by Helen Aveyard is very good and we have a previous edition as an ebook here. If you are doing a literature review you need to search comprehensively - don't forget to search the databases here. You can use search engines like Google (or preferably, Google Scholar) but databases offer much more sophisticated ways of searching so you are more likely to find what you need with the minimum hassle. CINAHL, for example, has a handy tick box to limit your results to primary research articles.

Finally, don't forget that most literature reviews require you to write up where you have searched, what you searched for (keywords) and also any limits you have applied (e.g. dates or language limits), so keep a record as you go. If you haven't got one already, it is worth signing up for an Ebsco account as you can save your search history to refer back to later.

Get career advice from the RCN

The Royal College of Nursing has produced a series of videos giving guidance on careers and employment issues. They are full of useful advice which give you information about your employment rights and how to get the best out of your career as a nurse. Watch them here.

Don't drop out, drop in!

Are you struggling to access good quality information? Do you rely too much on the internet for assignment references? Are you stressed out by how to reference? Are you confused when your lecturer tells you to do a 'literature search'? If you have answered 'yes' to any of those questions, then drop in with the librarian! Here are some forthcoming dates and locations in May and June...

Friday 27th May - Butterfield library
Friday 27th May - Bevan Library, Bedford Hospital
Friday 3rd June - COMET Library, L&D Hospital
Wednesday 8th June - Oxford House library

If you would like any more information we'd love to hear from you! Also see our web page here http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/guides/subjectguides/health/dropin

Look forward to seeing you soon,

Best wishes
Janine