Literature Search Resources

Topical literature searches:

• The award-winning, peer-reviewed AORN Journal offers articles on perioperative practice, dating back to the first issue in 1963. Anyone can search the AORN Journal, but only members have free, full-text access to all search results.

• AORN members can access the American Nurses Association’s online resources through our affiliate membership with the ANA. This member benefit includes access to CINAHL, a database of citations (not full-text articles) of articles published in more than 1,000 nursing and allied health journals.

• AORN members may also search MEDLINE/PubMed, the National Library of Medicine's database of citations from more than 5,000 medical and bioscience journals. Many articles have free access and information about charges for full-text articles is available on an article-by-article basis.

Evidence-based research:

• Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality is committed to improving health care outcomes by encouraging the use of evidence to make informed health care decisions.

• The National Institute of Nursing Research builds a scientific foundation for clinical practice through research, education, and funding opportunities.

Statistics:

• AORN’s Salary Survey and Salary Calculator – an AORN member benefit.

• The National Center for Health Statistics is the Nation’s principal health statistics agency compiling statistical information to document the health status of the population.

• The Registered Nurse Population Survey, commissioned by the Health Resources and Services Administration, is the principal data source used for disseminating information about the nursing workforce.

If you have a clinical question, access AORN’s Clinical FAQs for quick answers and contact information for the Nursing Consult Line. This is an AORN member benefit.

The AORN Headquarters staff no longer provide literature search services. For help conducting your own searches, please see our Literature Search FAQs.