NUR 218: Transition to Professional Nursing Practice
Peer Reviewed Journals for Nursing Students
Peer reviewed journals are a nursing student's best source of original research in the field. To read the most current issue of a professional nursing journal is to keep up to date on the latest scholarly conversation in the field, and be more aware of the issues and trends that are most relevant to your peers. To search a database that collects the most current issues as well as previous issues, using key words to focus on specific topics, is to understand how the conversation has evolved into its latest form, and what future evidence-based research may be pursued on nursing topics of great importance.
When quoting directly or paraphrasing from peer reviewed sources from nursing journals, be sure to give credit to the authors using the proper method of citation. (See APA Style Guide)
Below: Peer Review explanation video and Peer Review Explanation (two-sided pdf)
"Nursing Journals" Image Credit: Photo taken by Librarian
Primary Titles of Interest
(Instructions for accessing all nursing titles below)
AORN Journal - "Provides professional perioperative registered nurses with evidence-based practice information needed to help meet the physiological, behavioral, safety, and health system needs of a diverse patient population."
Cancer Nursing - "addresses the whole spectrum of problems arising in the care and support of cancer patients - prevention and early detection, geriatric and pediatric cancer nursing, medical and surgical oncology, ambulatory care, nutritional support, psychosocial aspects of cancer, patient responses to all treatment modalities, and specific nursing interventions."
CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing - "covers the application of computer technology to contemporary nursing practice" and "how to use technology to save time and money, increase productivity, and improve communication."
Geriatric Nursing - "Geriatric Nursing is a comprehensive source for clinical information and management advice relating to the care of older adults. The journal's peer-reviewed articles report the latest developments in the management of acute and chronic disorders and provide practical advice on care of older adults across the long term continuum."
Holistic Nursing Practice - "Features information covering all aspects of holistic nursing, including health-oriented, biobehavioral research and the latest developments in the field."
Insight; the Journal of the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses - Articles cover ophthalmic nursing issues from patient care to new research, pharmacology to legislation; includes a "healthy nurses" human interest column, pieces from ASORN leadership and articles available for continuing education credit.
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing - "JOGNN is the scientific journal of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. The mission of JOGNN is to advance the health and health care of women, childbearing families, and newborns across all settings through the bimonthly publication of peer-reviewed nursing and interdisciplinary scholarship."
Journal of Pediatric Nursing - "The Journal of Pediatric Nursing: Nursing Care of Children and Families (JPN) is interested in publishing evidence-based practice, quality improvement, theory, and research papers on a variety of topics from US and international authors. JPN is the official journal of the Society of Pediatric Nurses and the Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society... Journal content covers the life span from birth to adolescence."
Journal of School Nursing - "Features articles on clinical subjects and current issues in school nursing, health, and education. Intended for nurses, educators, and others allied to the improvement of the health and educational success of children."
Nursing - "keeps nurses up-to-date on peer-reviewed evidence-based practice about key clinical topics, including cardiac and respiratory care, new drugs, new treatments, and nursing techniques."
Nursing for Women's Health - "Nursing for Women's Health (NWH) is the practice journal of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. The mission of NWH is to translate evidence into nursing practice to improve health outcomes for individuals, families, and populations."
SAGE Journals:
Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association - "provides quality, up-to-date information to promote psychiatric nursing, improve mental health care for culturally diverse individuals, families, groups, and communities, as well as shape health care policy for the delivery of mental health services."
Journal of Transcultural Nursing - "offers practical information about how to deal with diverse cultures on issues that may affect nursing and health care."
Databases for Nursing
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Academic Search Complete is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. Uses include: Searching index and abstracts records for various journals and publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc.
- CINAHL with Full Text This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Articles from nursing and allied health journals, professional association publications, and health care books. Uses include: Full text scholarly articles on nursing.
- Health Source - Consumer Edition This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Articles for patients on nutrition, exercise, medical self care, childcare, drug and alcohol abuse, and more. Uses include: Searching the medical dictionary and drug guide for research topics.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Our largest online reference collection. Uses include: Resources for study such as atlases, biographies, dictionaries, and encyclopedias.
- eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Search and read full-length e-books for reference, social sciences, medicine, art, information technology, and more. Uses include: Browse the cooking categories for more information about the history of cooking, recipes, and more.
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: More than 20,000 streaming educational films on every academic topic. Uses include: Watch a documentary on human nature or dance history while on the go.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Featuring encyclopedias in business, history, medicine, sports, African-American studies, religion, math, philosophy and college guides. Uses include: Review e-books on business plans, management, and cultural studies.
- Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Journal articles on nursing, allied health and medicine. Also includes information regarding prescription drugs, herbal remedies, and nutritional supplements. Uses include: Review abstract, indexes, and the Lexi-PAL Drug Guide for research starters.
- PLOS: Public Library of Science This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Peer-reviewed, open access journal articles on all fields of science and medicine. Uses include: Review articles for your research on exercise wellness.
- Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Topics include emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational & experimental methods. Uses include: Review full-text articles on expressive writing in human services.
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Citations of articles covering biomedical and life sciences. Links to Full-Text when available. Uses include: The Topic-Specific Queries tool will assist in finding records, subjects, and topics for research.
- PubMed Central This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: PubMed Central (PMC) is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM). Uses include: Review full text articles via PubReader on any mobile device.
- Sage Knowledge This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Encyclopedias, handbooks and e-books on business, environment, nursing, psychology and cultures. Uses include: Search handbooks for research topics on health, education, and business.
- Salem Press: Health This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Health, Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, Addictions & Substance Abuse, Infectious Diseases & Conditions, and Nutrition. Uses include: Citation guides.
- Science Magazine This link opens in a new windowWhat's included: Peer-reviewed research, news, and commentary about the sciences. Uses included: Review journals such as Science, ScienceAdvances, ScienceSignaling, and more.
Search Tips
Some tasks can be made easier with advanced search settings.
Assignments often call for the exclusive use of Nursing Journals published in the United States.
To set these limiters in the CINAHL database, scroll down to examine the filters.
For Journal Subset, use the dropdown list and select "Nursing." For the Geographic Subset, choose "USA."
Return to the search box above and run your search. You should see this among your filters:
