Module 2, Question 3 Response

Of the three strategies of information retrieval I used--PubMed, National Guideline Clearinghouse web site, and Google--PubMed was by far the most resourceful for me. As mentioned in question 1, PubMed is medically- and clinically-based, so it was able to offer me up-to-date, accurate, and relevant evidence based practice articles about intra-abdominal hypertension. Generally, since the articles available in Pubmed are reviewed, they should contain accurate information and findings. This doesn't take the place of individual review and criticism by the practitioner, however, it is a little safer and dependable than other methods available. 

For my specific topic, intra-abdominal hypertension, the National Guideline Clearinghouse web site was not very useful. There doesn't appear to be any general overall guidelines regarding intra-abdominal hypertension, abdominal hypertension, or intra-abdominal pressure. However, while reviewing information there on other topics, it appears to be a great method of information retrieval for other important topics and procedures. During my google search, I got back plenty of results, some relevant, others not so relevant. Many of the results I got back were links to journal articles, however, upon following the links, many sites only offer abstracts to the journals instead of the full-text articles, unless you are a member or want to pay for the article. Sometimes within Google searches, there are links to government sites such as the CDC. These sites are helpful for certain related topics, and they are reliable as well. A Google search for my topic offered me a few of the same results as that of the PubMed search, but the access is limited and the whole process is more time-consuming and less efficient. 

Other methods for information retrieval include text books, physical paper medical/nursing journals, hand held programs such as medication references on palm pilots, and facility-specific information retrieval sites, such as Clinical Pharmacology at my hospital. I think these types of information retrieval methods can be great resources as long as they are kept up-to-date with accurate information. The hand-held resources, such as for medication information, are specifically useful in the clinical setting where perhaps access to the internet is limited. Textbooks are good resources for long-standing data or facts, but can be outdated quickly with the rapid rate of change in the medical and clinical field.