Subject Guides in the Health and Life Sciences

First Aid for New Medical Students

Greetings to all our new School of Medicine students! At the library, we look forward to meeting you during your Orientation Week. However, we thought you might like a quick overview of the services and resources that may prove useful to you as you begin your studies. Here are some tips and suggestions that we hope will help you find your way.

What Resources Does the Library Offer?

For a quick review of useful resources, try looking at our help guides. We have several that would be of interest to you.

• Resources in Medicine
• Resources in Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Resources in Minority Health
• Resources in Human Biochemistry and Nutrition

How Do I Find a Textbook on My Topic?

Check out the Biomedical Library's Key Textbooks in Medicine. You can also view online book collections:

• AccessMedicine
• MD Consult
• STAT!Ref-Medicine
• Thieme eBooks

How Do I Quickly Link to Article Databases, Life Science, and Patient Care Resources?

Start at the Biomedical Library home page!

Click in the Key Resources menu on most Biomedical Library web pages. Select the resource you wish to use. You can connect to a variety of resources this way, including PubMed@UCLA, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, GIDEON, InfoPOEMs, MedlinePlus, and MICROMEDEX. Don't see the database you're looking for? Try searching for it on Resources in Health & Life Sciences.

How Do I Find Clinical Guidelines?

Try these resources:

• National Guideline Clearinghouse
  This is a public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. It is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the American Medical Association.
• Essential Evidence Plus (formerly known as InfoPOEMs)
  Provides links to clinical guidelines from the National Guideline Clearinghouse, EBM Guidelines, and Cochrane Abstracts.
• MD Consult
  Search Practice Guidelines by organization, specialty, or topic. Click on the tab to search the guidelines.

Do I Have to Come Into the Library to Use These Resources?

Current UCLA faculty, staff and students can access most of our resources from off-campus. To do so you need a UCLA Logon ID and must set up your computer to use the BOL Proxy server. For information on how to do this, go to Off-Campus Library Access

What Resources Are Available for My PDA?

Take a look at our page Health and Life Sciences Resources for PDAs for descriptions of resources available to you for downloading to your hand-held devices.

Where Can I Use Computers in the Library?

Computers are available on the main floor of the library. Medical school students may also use computers in our Teaching and Learning Center (TLC)  and in our third floor study room. Laptops may also be checked out from our circulation desk for use in the library.

Is There Anyplace to Study After the Library Is Closed?

The library offers 24-hour access to our third-floor study rooms.

We hope that the above information can help you get started using the library and its services and resources. Feel free to get in touch with us with your questions or concerns. Stop by the reference desk or send an email to biomed-ref@library.ucla.edu. We look forward to working with you as you continue through your years at UCLA.