Chris Hooper-Lane, one of Ebling’s Senior Academic Librarians, recently referred to the database, Access Medicine, as “a beast.” A big, benevolent, helpful, beast; or so it seems, for there is much here for the busy clinician as well as the student, faculty or staff member who may need some quick, authoritative clinical information.
Chris went on to describe the collection of electronic textbooks, like Harrison’s Online and Hazzard’s Geriatric Medicine & Gerontology, or CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment as being one of the best reasons to use Access Medicine (AM). All tests are electronically available from cover to cover, with easy navigation and straightforward searching within individual or multiple texts. In addition, each section within a text can be printed, emailed, bookmarked, or even downloaded to handhelds.
As part of Ebling’s Clinical Sciences Team, Chris, acts as one of the liaisons to the UWSMPH Clinical Departments, where residents have reported that Access Medicine’s books, diagnostic test information (the DX Tests tab) and the Quick Answers and Updates are worth routinely using AM. With its unadorned layout, it is easy to see why Chris thinks that it is one of the “go to” databases for quickly getting up to speed on topics- especially for residents, those studying for the boards and those in direct patient care.
Other highlights include Case Files (from the renowned LANGE Case Files) with real life diagnostic and treatment scenarios, Patient Education files that can be printed and given to patients, Video and Audio files of diagnostic and surgical procedures, and Advanced Search and Custom Curriculum- functions which give you the ability to search all the resources in the Access Medicine suite and create your own mini-library of preferred AM resources. Keep those 2012 New Year’s Resolutions- try a new database, like Access Medicine, and contact Ebling’s stellar Clinical Sciences Team for help with workshops or one-on-one sessions with resources.
Access Medicine is available on Ebling’s home page, under the Top E-Books tab.