Library Services for Allied Health Professionals at UHCW

The UHCW Knowledge and Library Services are here to support allied health professional staff at UHCW with a wide range of resources and services tailored to your information needs.

Need evidence to support patient care? Moving into a research or management role? Wherever you are in your career, your library team is on hand to help you access and use high-quality evidence in practice.

This guide highlights key library resources and services for allied health professionals, including online resources, point-of-care tools and training opportunities.

Not registered with the Library yet? Apply online here: healthlibrariesmidlands.nhs.uk/join and select UHCW Library and Knowledge Services (WAL) in the home library drop-down list.

Most of the resources and services in this guide will require an OpenAthens login in order for you to access them. You can register for an OpenAthens login here: openathens.nice.org.uk

If you have any queries about accessing these resources, or your OpenAthens login, please contact Helga Perry (Electronic Systems & Resources Librarian) via [email protected]
 

Depending on your role, you may need to complete a certain amount of CPD activity in order to renew your Health & Care Professions Council registration. We can support a variety of different activities to help you meet your development needs.

• Self-directed learning: we can help you access the latest evidence, supply journal articles and set-up alerts to keep you up-to-date.
• Formal learning: You can carry out your own research project with our support, or attend our information and digital literacy sessions - we're happy to provide certificates of attendance for your portfolio.

We've linked two helpful resources below to help you find appropriate CPD activities, but you can also explore the rest of this guide to find out more about the e-resources, databases and training sessions on offer.

e-Learning

The training pages on the library website summarise a series of online learning linked to information, research, and health literacy skills.
Find out more: uhcwlibrary.org/e-Learning
 

NHS Elect
NHS Elect provides free e-learning and coaching on a wide range of topics, including management, leadership, and communication. Some of the courses, webinars and videos are available without registration, but for full access to everything we recommend creating a personal account.

At UHCW Library we have a whole range of e-resources available to support all clinical staff in the trust. We've highlighted some key resources for allied health professionals below, but there are plenty of other resources to explore too. See our Online Resources menu on the Library homepage to view the full range.

ClinicalKey for Nursing

A simple-to-use search tool that provides access to full-text e-books and journals published by Elsevier Science, containing a range of nursing and allied health content. Core textbook topics include Therapy and Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Occupational Therapy. Also includes a built-in ‘presentation maker’ for fully referenced media content.

MAH Complete

Another simple search tool offering access to 65,000 full-text articles, covering topics relating to nursing and allied health professions. Includes the International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, Journal of Paramedic Practice and Journal of Prescribing Practice.

Royal Marsden Manual

Although primarily written for a nursing audience, the Royal Marsden Manual Online edition provides up-to-date, evidence-based clinical skills content useful for AHPs, including clinical guidance, infection control and patient handling standards.

BMJ Best Practice 

NHS England provides access to this clinical decision-making tool designed to be used at the point-of-care. Although marketed at resident doctors, Best Practice is available to all NHS staff, and their excellent evidence-based topic summaries can be especially useful for prescribers, advanced practitioners and rehabilitation specialists.

All of the above resources will require an OpenAthens account. Register online here: https://openathens.nice.org.uk/

If you need to carry out complex, reproduceable searches to inform research, the library provides access to a range of different healthcare databases. We've listed a few key medical databases here, but you can explore the whole range of tools available to you via our Online Resources page. This list includes databases such as HMIC, PubMed, Cochrane Library and more.

CINAHL

CINAHL Complete is the world’s largest database of literature on nursing and allied health topics and is the definitive choice for any healthcare students, professionals and researchers conducting literature searches in these subjects.

EMCARE

The Ovid EMCARE database provides access to over 3,700 publications covering evidence-based healthcare, all nursing specialties, nursing education, allied health and management topics.

PsycINFO

PsycINFO is a leading database from the American Psychological Association, providing access to high-quality research in psychology, mental health, and related fields. It includes peer-reviewed articles, books, and dissertations

Medline

Medline is the leading database for biomedical and health sciences literature. It includes over 30 million articles from academic journals covering medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentisty, biomedical sciences and more.

All of the above resources will require an OpenAthens account. Register on line here: https://openathens.nice.org.uk/

Our free Knowledge Skills Training is available to all UHCW staff and students on placement. From getting to grips with using the Library catalogue to literature searching, critical appraisal and beyond, we’re here to help you make the best of the evidence to support you in practice.

What do the sessions involve?

Our core training sessions focus on skills relating to 'Finding the Evidence' and 'Understanding the Evidence'. You can find brief course descriptions on the training section of the library website.

The sessions involve a mixture of presentations, hands-on practical activities and group work where appropriate. Support materials will be available for you to use after the session. Certificates of attendance can be provided if requested.

How are the sessions delivered?

One-to-one appointments are available either in person or via Microsoft Teams depending on staff availability. Group sessions will be held via Teams in the first instance but can be booked in person with sufficient notice.

Want to book a session or discuss your training needs?

Email: Beth Jackson (Knowledge Skills Librarian) via [email protected]

Download our training brochure: uhcwlibrary.org/training

CEBIS is our Clinical Evidence Based Information Service

Our team of information specialists work closely with clinical staff to embed the use of research evidence in day-to-day practice. So whether you have a question about the best treatment option for a particular patient, a difference of opinion with a colleague about a clinical intervention, or need to ensure you are up to date on the latest research in your area – the CEBIS team have you covered.

CEBIS can support you and your team by:

• Carrying out literature searches to support your clinical decision making, service changes and practice improvements
• Providing the evidence you need to write patient information leaflets, guidelines, or standard operating procedures
• Suggesting material for and supporting critical appraisal in journal clubs 
• Attending department meetings (including MDTs and QIPS) to undertake “rapid searches”, providing evidence when you need it
• Offering tailored current awareness bulletins to help keep you up-to-date.
• Helping allied health professionals develop search strategies for systematic reviews, research papers or conference papers.

Find out more about the service here: uhcwlibrary.org/cebis

Want to submit a literature search request?

Email: [email protected]

Health Information for Patients

Providing patients with high-quality, easy to understand health information means they are more able to give informed consent and play a more active role in their treatment. Our team are here to support you with the approval process for new and updated leaflets. As well as proofreading support, we can also advise on the readability, content and style of your leaflet. Find out more here: uhcwlibrary.org/health-information

Email us to see how we can help: [email protected]

Library Website

You are already here! The library website is your one-stop shop for accessing all of the resources available to you from UHCW and the NHS. You don't need to be on the Trust network to use it, just visit uhcwlibrary.org to springboard to all of our resources and access them from the ward, from home or on your commute. 

OpenAthens

We've mentioned it a few times already, but you'll need an OpenAthens account to access all of our online resources. Register online here: openathens.nice.org.uk

If you have any problems with a current OpenAthens login, or want to transfer your account from a previous trust, please contact Helga Perry (Electronic Systems & Resources Librarian) via [email protected]

Have a question to ask us? Get in touch:

Library helpdesk: 02476968829 or Ext: 28829

General Library enquiries: [email protected]

Patient Information Leaflets: [email protected]

Request an evidence search: [email protected]