Research Guides: Nursing: Web Resources

Professional Nursing Websites:

American Association of Colleges of Nursing
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for baccalaureate and graduate nursing education. AACN’s educational, research, federal advocacy, data collection, publications, and special programs work to establish quality standards for nursing education.
The site includes information about scholarships, interview tips, and continuing education (including free webinars).
American Association of Critical Care Nursing
AACN is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world, representing the interests of more than 500,000 nurses who are charged with the responsibility of caring for acutely and critically ill patients. The association is dedicated to providing the members with the knowledge and resources necessary to provide optimal care to critically ill patients.
The site includes access to Clinical Resources, some of which are free. Members can access webinars and online courses for continuing education credits at low or no cost. The Career Center is geared toward professional development and includes occupational snapshots of specializations within CCN.
American Nursing Association
The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
Members can access a variety of professional and personal resources, some of which are also available to student members.
Cochrane
Cochrane is a global network that gathers and summarizes the best evidence from research to help you make informed choices about treatment.
Merck Manual for the Professional
Provides medical information of the day to a wide cross-section of users, including medical professionals and students.
mobilePDR
This is the OFFICIAL drug information app from PDR, allowing healthcare professionals FREE access to the current drug prescribing information available. PDR is no longer published in the hard copy book format. It is FREE to Nursing Students and healthcare professionals.
National League for Nursing
The National League for Nursing promotes excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the nation's health.
Although NLN is geared toward educators and grad students, the site includes résumé and interview tips, and teaching resources such as critical thinking guides and patient treatment scenarios.
National Student Nurses Association
NSNA’s mission is to mentor students preparing for initial licensure as registered nurses, and to convey the standards, ethics, and skills that students will need as responsible and accountable leaders and members of the profession.
The site is geared toward student membership, with discounts on licensure test prep materials, scrubs and equipment, and insurance. Includes scholarship opportunities.
Virginia Board of Nursing
The mission of the Virginia Board of Nursing is to ensure safe and competent patient care by licensing health professionals, enforcing standards of practice, and providing information to health care practitioners and the public.
Includes updates on licensure exams.
Virginia Nurses Association
The mission of the Virginia Nurses Association is to promote advocacy and education for registered nurses to advance professional practice and influence the delivery of quality care.
The site includes on-demand webinars, some of which are free. The Career Center includes job listings, résumé and interview tips, and more.

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Medline Plus: Evaluating Health Information

Medline Plus: Evaluating Health Information
Guide to evaluating health information on websites & more.

Evaluating Websites

Sorting Through Websites Based on Domain

The web contains a wealth of information published by government departments, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, commercial enterprises and private individuals all over the world. Since there are no standards for information quality on the web, not everything you find will be accurate or appropriate to use as research. Generally speaking, you can locate reliable information on authoritative websites, such as:

Government agency and department websites - URL addresses are identified by the .gov domain suffix:

Example: National Institutes of Health https://www.nih.gov

College and university websites - URL addresses are identified by the .edu domain suffix:

Example: Harvard University https://www.harvard.edu
Excludes student or faculty pages hosted by the educational institution.

Professional society and non-profit organization websites - URL addresses are identified by the .org domain suffix:

Example of a professional society: American Psychological Association https://www.apa.org
Example of a non-profit organization: American Red Cross https://www.redcross.org

Beware, not all .org sites are unbiased. There are organizations with websites in this category that exist to promote a specific point of view, for example, Planned Parenthood, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or the National Rifle Association.

Commercial or for-profit company websites - URL addresses are identified by the .com domain suffix:

Example: Starbucks https://www.starbucks.com

If it is not obvious the information comes from an authoritative group, look for links such as About Us, Who We Are or Our Mission to evaluate the source.