Library Resources & Services for Allied Health

We provide access to several evidence-based resources which makes it easier to access the information you need right at the point of care.

NHS Knowledge & Library Hub

Evidence and knowledge searches made easier

The NHS Knowledge and Library Hub connects NHS staff and learners to high quality knowledge and evidence resources in one place, including:

• journals, books and databases
• clinical decision support resources including NICE Guidelines and BMJ Best Practice
• policy and management information and research literature
• resources purchased nationally and locally
• one-click links to full-text, request a copy or contact an NHS library

If you’re new to literature searching, or need a refresher, why not try this e-learning course: How to search the literature effectively. Or you can book a training session with one of our friendly librarians.

For more information on how the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub can support you throughout your allied health career, visit NHS England’s website.

DynaMed

Get easy, fast and reliable answers to clinical questions

DynaMed is a clinical reference tool created by physicians for physicians and other health care professionals for use at the point-of-care.

It provides clearly defined recommendations based on the best evidence and clinical expertise, helping you to be confident in your practice and saves you time.

DynaMed ensures peace of mind in the clinical decision-making process with content based on a rigorous, seven-step evidence-based methodology, robust systematic literature surveillance with daily updates, and clinical expertise that both complements and clarifies the evidence.

Get answers to clinical questions everywhere you go with the DynaMed App – the best available evidence is always at your fingertips. Find out more about the DynaMed App.

BMJ Best Practice

Creating better decisions with better evidence

BMJ Best Practice takes you quickly and accurately to the latest evidence-based information, whenever and wherever you need it. An NHS OpenAthens account is required for access outside the Trust network.

Step by step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention is updated daily using robust evidence based methodology and expert opinion.

It includes 1000+ evidence-based condition and symptom topics across 32 clinical specialties which provide the user with guidance throughout the full patient journey.

For fast, offline access to the clinical information you need download the App.

Healthcare databases

AMED

Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) is a specialized bibliographic database designed for physicians, therapists, medical researchers, and clinicians looking to learn more about alternative and allied therapies and related subjects.

CINAHL

CINAHL indexes the top nursing and allied health literature available including nursing journals. Nurses, allied health professionals, researchers, nurse educators and students depend on the CINAHL Database to research their subject areas.

PEDro

The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (or ‘PEDro’ for short) provides physiotherapists around the world with easy access to high-quality clinical research so they can practise and teach effectively. PEDro is a well-established, robust and trusted site that provides access to over 58,000 randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines relevant to physiotherapy.

PubMed

PubMed comprises more than 36 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. It is a free resource supporting the search and retrieval of healthcare literature. It does not include full text journal articles; however, if you download LibKey Nomad you can get quick links to full-text articles without needing to log in to publishers websites.

Literature Searching & Article Request Service

Your NHS library team can find you high quality evidence to inform decision making – saving you time to care for your patients.

If you need the latest research for patient care, service improvements, guidelines and more, but you don’t have the time or the knowledge to search, we can help. We can search healthcare databases such as CINAHL and AMED for information on specific topics, all you need to do is request an evidence search. We can also offer training sessions on how to conduct a literature search yourself if you prefer.

If you’re struggling to locate a specific article, or you don’t have time to search for it, we can find articles for you. Complete our article request form online and in most cases we can obtain it from another NHS library free of charge.

Reduce time spent preparing for appraisals and revalidation, and demonstrate continuous improvement and development.

BMJ Learning

Track, record, plan and report on your continuing professional development

BMJ Learning offers high-quality CME/CPD and postgraduate training for doctors and other healthcare professionals.

• Keep Up to date – Hundreds of accredited clinical and non-clinical peer reviewed modules, written by experts using the latest available evidence.
• Access anytime, anywhere – Pause and restart modules to be completed at an opportune time during hectic schedules.
• Formats for you – Interactive modules to suit your learning needs including videos, animation, audio, multiple choice, and ask an expert.

The BMJ Portfolio available on BMJ Learning is a free, secure and easy to use, and assists doctors and other healthcare professionals track and record their continuing medical education (CME). It has been designed to take the hard work out of recording your learning.

Certificates can be downloaded as proof of your CME/CPD.

Access with an NHS OpenAthen account.

BMJ Best Practice

Earn credits while searching for answers to your clinical questions

On BMJ Best Practice it’s possible for you to automatically track your CME/CPD activity within BMJ Best Practice, making it easier for you to keep track of your learning and save you time preparing for appraisal.

All the time you spend reading topics and finding clinical answers on BMJ Best Practice is automatically logged and converted into CME/CPD credits. You will get 0.25 credits for every 15 mins spent on the website and app.

Certificates can be downloaded as proof of your CME/CPD.

You need to register for a personal account first. You can then:

• Save time preparing for appraisal with automatic activity tracking
• Demonstrate continuous improvement and development
• Keep a record of BMJ Best Practice activity on a personal dashboard
• Present learning activity in a printable certificate to count towards CPD learning requirements and portfolio.

Find out more about earning CPD credits.

DynaMed

Tracking CME/CE/CPD in DynaMed has never been easier

Doctors and other healthcare professionals using DynaMed to inform and support their clinical decisions are eligible to earn continuing medical education (CME) credits and continuing education (CE) contact hours, respectively, for this internet point of care (PoC) activity.

DynaMed has been accredited by The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and is considered to be of high quality and relevant for general practitioners’ CPD and Revalidation needs. 1CPD point per hour can be claimed for using DynaMed.

Find out more about DynaMed.