Ascension - MD

Nursing Resources

Lewis P. Gundry Health Sciences Library

900 S Caton Ave, Baltimore MD 21229
Phone: 667-234-3134
Email: stagneslibrary@ascension.org

1st Floor (main building)

Library Open Hours: 7:30AM - 4:00PM (Monday - Friday)

After Hours Access limited (door unlocks at 6:30AM weekdays) 

Librarian: Lucinda Bennett

Nursing Databases, Guidelines & Platforms

Ascension Library Resources - Nursing Specific Services: Use this page to access Ascension-wide licensed resources of interest to nurses, as well as, market libraries offering additional resources and services.

For a helpful guide to using the AORN Guidelines, follow this Link for a tutorial.

 

 

All Databases indexed via Ovid can be found here. These include: Ovid Nursing Database, Joanna Briggs & Medline

 

Nursing Reference Center Plus

 

 

Other Helpful Resources

 

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

PubMed

PICO Search

Inclusive Language & Mental Health Environments

Healthcare is an ever-changing and dynamic environment. It is important that providers in all fields learn the language and skills to compassionately care for patients of vast backgrounds and mental health status. The following PDFs are crafted by the American Hospital Association to help healthcare workers practice such language. Take a look and feel free to print, share and spread the word in your department.

Compassionate SUD Language

"For individuals with substance use disorders, this means seeing them as a person battling a
severe illness and providing hope. Our words reflect our thinking and make a profound difference in the outcome of care. Let’s choose to inspire and support our patients."

Culturally Aware Language

"Stigma, along with structural racism and societal and economic factors, can prevent people from
reaching out for help or getting the care they seek. Using culturally/racially aware language can
help remove negative and stereotypical labels and improve patient-provider encounters."

Mental Health Conditions

"Language matters in compassionate care, including what you say behind closed doors with
co-workers, friends or family. Understanding the prevalence of mental health conditions is an
important step in how you perceive individuals and in destigmatizing mental illness."

People First Language

"Using people-first language means speaking in a way that primarily acknowledges
the person, rather than the illness or disability. In other words, individuals with mental illness and disabilities are first and foremost ... people!"

PTSD Supportive Language

"After experiencing a traumatic event, many people struggle to share their experiences and reactions
with others. When they do open up, it may result in several reactions for you, making it difficult to know
how exactly to respond. What you say matters in helping the survivor feel safe and understood."

Suicide Destigmatizing Language

"Language matters in compassionate care, especially in behavioral health care, and that doesn’t
mean just what you say in front of a patient. What you say behind closed doors with co-workers
can be the seed for stigma and perpetuate discrimination against a person based on a physical
or mental health disorder. The topic of suicide, and the sometimes-stigmatizing language around
it, must be handled with compassion. The language you use can be an important factor in whether or not a person decides to seek care."

The Maryland Nurse

"The Maryland Nurses Association is the only state-wide, non-profit, multipurpose professional membership organization for Registered Nurses in Maryland.

The primary purpose of MNA is to provide direction and a voice for the profession of nursing in Maryland...The Maryland Nurse Journal is a publication of the Maryland Nurses Association exclusively for the nurses in our state. It is a peer reviewed journal. Each article is blindly reviewed by two peer reviewers."

Full issues are linked below:

Archived Issues

Citation Matcher

Catalog: Search for Print Resources 

Basic Search Hints for Articles

PubMed is always a great place to begin a search for nursing literature.  PubMed is the National Library of Medicine database of over 26,000 citations of peer-reviewed literature.  Use the basic search bar to begin your search. Jump to the link below to get the web-based PubMed home page, or access it from this URL embedded here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed 

To add the nursing journal filter, click on the Topic-Specific Queries and scroll down near the bottom of list to choose Nursing literature,  before you type in your concept terms.

If you wish to search our subscription databases, go to the Quick Links or Discover Search for directly choose from the several options such as CLINICALKEY NURSING, Joanna Briggs in the OVID platform, Nursing Reference Center, or the advanced search option for the many nursing journals in OVID platform).

Our library has many subscriptions to nursing journals, including the OVID Nursing Collection, as well as journals not included in that collection such as Orthopedic Nursing, AORN, European Journal of Oncology Nursing, Simulation in Heathcare Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, Journal of Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing, AACN Critical CareJONA, Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, and many others. Having trouble finding something?  Use the Library Search Request Form or Email us at stagneslibrary@ascension.org 

PubMed Clinical Queries - "This tool uses predefined filters to help you quickly refine PubMed searches on clinical or disease-specific topics. To use this tool, enter your search terms in the search bar and select filters before searching." 

 


 

The National Council of the State Boards of Nursing has valuable information regarding the Nurse Practice Act for each state, toolkits, and other resources to help nurses understand and adhere to best practice guidelines and laws.  Click on the link below to go to the web site.  Then follow the online directions to get the particular state you wish to find, Maryland or others. 

The Maryland Nurse Practice Act is available free on line at the Maryland General Assembly web site under Statutes ---->  Health Occupations ----> Section 8.  The entire section 8 is called the Nurse Practice Act.  The URL is below:

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmStatutesText.aspx?article=gho&section=8-101&ext=html&session=2020RS&tab=subject5

Articles of Interest - From our Subscriptions

Factors Associated With Turnover Among Perioperative Nurses After the COVID‐19 Pandemic                                                                                  

Kesten, K. S. , Cox, C. W. , LeGrand, E. K. & (Pearl) Zhou, Q. (2025). Factors Associated With Turnover Among Perioperative Nurses After the COVID‐19 Pandemic. AORN Journal, 122 (1), 20-32. doi: 10.1002/aorn.14368.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) spread rapidly across the globe, and by the end of May 2022, there were more than 6.2 million deaths globally and approximately one million deaths in the United States. Registered nurses generally have frequent contact with patients, which placed them at risk for exposure to COVID‐19. ,  Perioperative nurses were among the frontline health care workers who were exposed to COVID‐19 in the workplace beginning in March 2020, and perioperative leaders faced unique challenges in sustaining an adequate and qualified workforce because of pandemic‐related disruptions.
Before the pandemic, perioperative nurses who provided care for large numbers of patients in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative settings were experiencing a shortage of nurses that was attributed to a variety of reasons, including job compensation and benefits, nurses changing positions, workload, lack of qualified or experienced nurses, retirements, job‐related stress, schedules, and budgetary constraints. Exploring turnover factors during the disruptive pandemic period was crucial when striving to reduce turnover, anticipate and mitigate shortages, and most importantly, facilitate quality patient outcomes.

 
Mariah Taylor - 5 September 2025 / Becker's Hospital Review
 

Nurse scientists, also referred to as nurse researchers, are nurses who have pursued a PhD and conduct research. Most commonly found in academia, nurse scientists often apply for grants, teach students and lead original research programs. Notably, this role is different from research nurses, who are typically registered nurses or nurse practitioners involved in conducting research, such as enrolling patients into clinical trials, but do not lead their own studies.

“I’ve been a nurse scientist for over 25 years and I’ve seen the role become much more familiar, and essential in leading hospitals compared to where it was 20 or 25 years ago,” Margaret McCabe, PhD, RN, senior director of nursing research and evidence-based practice at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told Becker’s. "Nurse scientists are a rare but growing role in hospitals that address not just research, but operational and patient care pain points.

Recently, nurse scientists have been migrating to the hospital setting while maintaining a direct connection to clinical practice. This shift can be traced back to its Magnet designation, which put a major emphasis on research conducted by nurses. Over the last decade, nurse scientists’ roles in hospitals have grown significantly, Bevin Cohen, PhD, RN, director of the Center for Nursing Research and Innovation at New York City-based Mount Sinai, told Becker’s."

The Maryland Nurse Practice Act

The National Council of the State Boards of Nursing has valuable information regarding the Nurse Practice Act for each state, toolkits, and other resources to help nurses understand and adhere to best practice guidelines and laws.  Click on the link below to go to the web site.  Then follow the online directions to get the particular state you wish to find, Maryland or others. 

The Maryland Nurse Practice Act is available free on line at the Maryland Government web site.

The URL is below:

https://mbon.maryland.gov/Pages/nurse-practice-act

Ascension Resources

Ascension Patient Health Library

"Ascension has partnered with WebMD Ignite on a new Patient Health Library, which has recently launched on Ascension.org. This library increases our community's access to trusted education content in video, digital, and print formats, in both English and Spanish. By keeping patients, their family and friends informed throughout their journey, we can improve health outcomes, build trust and reinforce out Vision of health, healing and hope for all."


Ascension Care Management Library

This tool is a Health Encyclopedia that lists medical terms in A - Z fashion. Select "Search Clinical Content" for provider educational entries, or select "Search Patient Health Library" for quick references for the patient side of health questions. 


Library resources and services for nursing

Official resource page on Good Day Ascension for nurses searching for library tools. Find national resources, guidelines, patient education materials, publication support, learn how to start a journal club and more!


Information Literacy for nurses (handout)

"Question frameworks help you identify the key concepts of a QI, EBP, or research question. They also facilitate a strong systematic literature search. Frameworks are typically referred to by their acronym, with each letter representing a concept to include in the corresponding literature
search."

Nursing Web Resources - Associations

Nursing Research

In 2020 AJN launched a new series of articles focused on nursing research: 

“The series is designed to give nurses the knowledge and skills they need to participate in research, step by step. Each column will present the concepts that underpin evidence-based practice—from research design to data interpretation. The articles are accompanied by a podcast offering more insight and context from the author.”

This series is an excellent complement to the EBP series that began in 2009 and that is often recommended reading for nursing research councils or nurse residency programs. (American Journal of Nursing)

 

"How Does Research Start?"  Capili, Bernadette. AJN, American Journal of Nursing: October 2020 - Volume 120 - Issue 10 - p 41-44

"Selection of the Study Participants"  Capili, Bernadette. AJN, American Journal of Nursing: January 2021 - Volume 121 - Issue 1 - p 64-67

"Sampling Design in Nursing Research"  Curtis, Alexa Colgrove and Keeler, Courtney. AJN, American Journal of Nursing: March 2021 - Volume 121 - Issue 3 - p 53-57

"Program Development and Evaluation: Taking Your Project From Quality Improvement to Research" Distelhorst, K. & Siedlecki, S. (2025). Program Development and Evaluation: Taking Your Project From Quality Improvement to Research. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 39 (5), 203-207. doi: 10.1097/NUR.0000000000000918.

Briggs

These helpful guides on how to access Briggs Drugs in Pregnancy have been shared by a fellow Ascension Librarian in Wisconsin.

How to get to Briggs Drugs in Pregnancy & Lactation through Lexicomp

Briggs Drugs in Pregnancy & Lactation – via LexiComp [Direct Link]

Nursing Web Resources - Sites & Articles

            "Our goal is to collect and share images of dermatological conditions in all skin types, with an emphasis on including those who have been                traditionally excluded in medical education." 

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