Medicine

Literature Databases:

• Medline: A key resource covering research, clinical practice, administration, policy and healthcare services.
• Embase: Covering pharmacology, medicine and biomedical literature this database is an essential resource.
• PsycINFO: Contains material from the fields of psychiatry, psychology and psychological related disciplines.
• Web of Science: With resources from a variety of subjects areas including over 2,500 core medical journals.
• Scopus: Encompassing health, physical sciences, social sciences and humanities subject areas.
• Clinical Key: A clinical search engine which aims to help healthcare professionals make decisions in patient scenarios.  
• Cochrane Library: Contains high-quality evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. 

Decision Support Summaries (Point of Care):

• BMJ Best Practice: Designed to support clinical decision making from diagnosis to treatment.
• UptoDate Anywhere: An evidence-based resource designed to help clinicians make decisions at the point of care. For off campus access please use the University VPN - Access to the University network via the VPN. 
• Cochrane Clinical Answers: Containing clinically focused summaries designed to inform decision making.

Anatomy Resources:

• Acland Anatomy Online: High quality videos of the human body.
• Anatomy TV: A multimedia 3D anatomy learning resource.
• Complete Anatomy

  In order to gain access, you need to register while on campus, or if you are off-campus with Virtual Private Network (VPN) enabled. To set up the VPN on your device, see: https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/computing/desktop-personal/vpn 

  To get started;

  1. Download the Complete Anatomy 2022 app via the Apple, Microsoft or Google app stores.
  2. Register in-app while on-campus or using VPN while off-campus. After registration, the app may be used off-campus without VPN.
  3. Open the app and complete the “sign up for free” process using your university email address
  4. Open Settings, My Account and enter your University Activation Code (Click here for University Activation Code)

Video Journals and Seminars:

• BMJ Learning: accredited and peer reviewed learning sessions in text, video, and audio formats for students, doctors and other healthcare professionals.
• JOVE: A collection of video journals covering a wide range of subjects including Neuroscience, Medicine, Genetics and Cancer Research. Search via the E-Journal A-Z pages. 
• Henry Stewart Talks: Biomedical and life Sciences Collection of over 550 seminar style talks by leading world experts.

Other Medicine Databases...

This recording of a Dissertation Festival session provides an introduction to searching for literature on Medline using the Ovid interface. Medline is a database of over 25 million records of medical literature including research, clinical practice, policy issues and health care services.

Visit this guide to Library resources and services, working with research literature, and study skills for medical students moving into their intercalated year.

Literature review & study skills resources for intercalating medical students

Can't find a book?    If the university doesn't have a book you need for your studies then use the Request a Book Service.

Can't access an article?    Use the Interlibrary Loan Service to get resources (digital or hard copies) delivered to you.

"Critical Appraisal is the process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context. It is an essential skill for evidence-based medicine because it allows people to find and use research evidence reliably and efficiently." - CASP. 2022. Critical Appraisal Tools And Resources. [online] Available at: <https://casp-uk.net/critical-appraisal-tools-and-resources/> [Accessed 27 September 2022].

These resources can help guide you when appraising quality of publications and studies:

• CASP Checklists https://casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/
• Greenhalgh, T. (2019) How to read a paper : the basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare. 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley Blackwell. https://discovered.ed.ac.uk/permalink/44UOE_INST/7g3mt6/alma9924167535202466
• Critically Appraising for Antiracism: Identifying racial bias in published research https://www.criticallyappraisingantiracism.org/

The University provides short term library laptop loans for all students, and medium and long term laptop service + Mi-Fi units for students in hardship.

• Borrowing and returning laptops

The Royal Infirmary Library has 5 laptops available for loan, and the Western General Hospital Library has 3 laptops available for loan. 

Use DiscoverEd to find the resources you need. Use DiscoverEd to explore:

• online resources
• physical resources
• special repositories

Your EASE password gives you access to your library account.

Need help searching DiscoverEd? Have a look at the help pages and  FAQs.

Need to find the recommended Resource lists for your course? Then look it up at the Resource Lists Homepage.

Exam Papers Online provides access for staff and students of the University of Edinburgh to the collected degree examination papers of the University from 2004 onwards, They may be used by students as a study aid only.