Typical questions

• • Does the NHS have any guidelines on treatment for diabetes?

• • I need access to systematic reviews on the use of aspirin for heart disease.

Starting points

• • It is essential that medical researchers obtain access to up-to-date, high quality information. This frequently needs to be evidence-based.

• • This chapter highlights useful academic resources. It has specialist sub- sections on Clinical evidence and Nursing.

• • Items related to health policy can also be found in the Social Policy chapter. As many students undertake Systematic Reviews, they may also find that chapter useful.

Recommended resources

Key organisations – UK

Use these to locate news, professional development resources and careers advice for students. They are also useful starting points for tracing comment (sometimes critical!) on government health policy. Some full text and training content limited to members only.

British Medical Association

www.bma.org.uk

Represents British doctors. Website includes the ability to search the BMA Library catalogue.

General Medical Council (GMC)

www.gmc-uk.org

Regulatory body. Consult the online register of approved doctors, plus advice on standards and ethics. Includes free access to online case studies.

Royal College of Physicians

www.rcplondon.ac.uk

Includes the online library catalogue.

Royal College of Surgeons of England

www.rcseng.ac.uk

Website highlights news, courses and online resources relating to surgical practice. It includes access to the catalogue of its specialist library.

Royal Society of Medicine

www.rsm.ac.uk

Independent membership organisation and a leading supplier of continuing professional development training for the medical profession. Use its website to get access to news, events listings and webcasts of recent lectures. It also includes details about its renowned postgraduate biomedical library.

Key organisations – international

American Medical Association

www.ama-assn.org

Find careers information for students, plus some free access to news releases, research and speeches from conferences.

Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE)

www.amee.org

International medical education association. Website provides free access to AMEE MedEdPublish, its open access, practitioner e-journal. It also has useful directories of national medical education associations.

European Union of General Practitioners (UEMO)

www.uemo.eu

Represents GPs in European nations. Website has links to national bodies and free access to newsletters and events listings.

World Medical Association

www.wma.net

Represents physicians worldwide. Website is useful for tracing contacts for national medical associations. It also contains documents relating to medical ethics.