You may not know everything about pharmacology. (In fact, it's a safe bet that you probably will never know all there is to know.) But, by knowing where to turn to get information, you'll be set up for a successful nursing career filled with safe practice. Let's take a quick pharmacological tour.

• Pharmacists: This other group of professionals belonging to our healthcare provider team includes outstanding and willing information sources. Pharmacists are superbly prepared to answer our questions about medication indications, contraindications, adverse effects, and potential interactions. If you are a hospital-based nurse, this resource is just a phone call or page away.
• Online sources: Put the keywords "drug information" in the Google search window and you'll get about 38,300,000 hits in 0.11 seconds. How can you choose a reliable and current source?  There are some general rules of thumb (Google that phrase and get 4,450,000 hits!). First, consider the source: governmental or academic sources are good places to begin. Using our "drug information" example, the first hit was MedlinePlus at www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html. This is a site operated by the United States Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health-fairly reliable!
• Don't forget databases: Any college library most certainly has subscriptions to journal databases such as Medline, PubMed, First Search, and Scopus. These are excellent sources of information that can lead you to individual clinical journals. Even if you have graduated, many colleges and universities who receive public funding provide limited access to people in the communities they serve.
• Clinical journals: One enduring mark of the true professional is the diligent reading of professional information. Traditionally, this has been in the form of print publications, but there are a growing number of online journals that publish evidence-based (proven by research) information.
• PDA subscriptions: Another electronic resource is the subscription database that can be downloaded on your PDA or pocket computer. The subscriber pays an annual fee for which he or she receives updates to a base program. Most published comprehensive nursing drug guides offer PDA resources, and there are others, such as Epocrates, geared more toward the provider who prescribes medications.
• Professional associations: As you graduate and become licensed (or perhaps you already have), don't forget to consider joining a professional organization. Organizations give you the opportunity to learn from peers and experienced mentors in your chosen specialty and to give expression to your informed opinion as a healthcare provider. And, as a profession, nursing has many from which to choose.

Editor's note: This excerpt is from Stressed Out About Pharmacology, the newest addition to the Stressed Out collection. Pick up your copy of the book today!