Module 3: Electronic Index

I chose to research diabetic amputations, which I see a lot in my practice. I looked for prevention and treatments on PubMed. After completing the tutorial, I found that there are a lot of options that can help with research. For example, after doing my search using keywords, I was able to create (and save) a clipboard that included only the articles that I thought would be of interest. Also, there was an option of viewing the articles' abstracts online, and I was even able to create a clipboard of articles that included full text online. This would be a definite time saver. There is also the option of having the National Library of Medicine (the information source) e-mail me any new articles that are published. This would be a great way to keep abreast of new developments so that I could continue to use evidence-based practice. I felt that the search was very efficient; it did not take long to find articles once I had chosen and narrowed my topic. The only barrier that I can think of in using this index in daily practice is that I would need to have access to a computer that has access to PubMed. The computers on campus (which are the ones that I use) all have it, so this currently would not be a barrier to me.