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Nursing Associate (HE): Keeping up-to-date

Current awareness means keeping up-to-date with developments in your area of interest.  It is important for nursing students to be aware of changes in health, nursing guidelines and practices, and the law as it relates to nursing.  You can select sources for current awareness that can provide you with the latest news and developments depending on your field.  Below are some sources for you to try.

Nursing in the news.  The library provides access to local and national newspapers such as The Guardian or The Times online via our newspaper database. You can also browse Nursing Times in the library which includes the latest in nursing news and stories, opinion pieces and CPD.

Use Social Media sites such as Twitter to get the latest information from health groups, government, and the latest news, reports and research.  See who other people are following to build up your own network.  Here are some suggested Twitter accounts to follow:

  • @TheRCN.
  • @NurseStandard.
  • @WeNurses.
  • @WeStudentNurses.
  • @NursingTimes.

Database Alerts. You will be familiar with using databases to find the latest journal articles on your topic.  Did you know that you can also set up alerts that will run these searches automatically, emailing you the results on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? Even better, where the database provides the full text, you will be able to access the article from a link in the email. 

Use Discover to search all the main Health and Socail Care databases - here's how to set up an alert in 4 easy steps:  

  1. Once you had created a search you are happy with, click on the Create Alert button next to the search fields and fill in the form. 
  2. Enter your email address, check the Frequency (how often you want to receive emails - eg. daily, weekly or monthly), and decide if you want brief results in the email, or more detail.
  3. Click on the Save Alert bottom at the bottom of the form. 
  4. Log in again to delete your search alert once you have finished your assignment, or edit it if you want to change the email or frequency.

​This Search Alert will search across all the library databases which are included in Discover,including Emerald and Medline.  You can also set alerts within individual databases if you prefer.

Table of Contents (TOC) Alerts. Many academic journals allow you to register your details so that you are automatically sent the table of contents (TOC) by email when new issues are published.  If we subscribe to the journal, you can usually link directly to the full text of the article.  Search using a web browser for the page of your favourite journal and look for links to TOC alerts.

  • Click on the publications link at the top of the page, find your publication and click on the title.  You will see a button called Share – click on that and choose Email Alert.  You will need to register or sign in.   
  • Zetoc is the British Library's table of content service for further and higher education institutions.  You can search for the latest table of contents from over 28,000 journals.  For more information click here.