Nursing is a huge field with many niches. While deciding one’s place in the field can be daunting at times, there are many quality resources available to nurses in every one of those specialized roles. This resource guide will aid nursing students by providing a list of resources, associations, government agencies, journals and conferences that focus on serving the nursing communities through various means including keeping nurses up to date on regulations and best practices, facilitating professional development, and providing support and counsel to nurses of every kind.
All Nurses is an online nursing community with over 640,000 members. People join the community to share their experiences and provide others in the field with advice and insight into nursing issues.
Nurse Zone is an online community featuring content designed to aid in personal and professional development. Nurse Zone is committed to providing all nurses, whether student, new graduate, or highly experienced, with quality content that will impact careers on a professional level.
Nursing Center was created with the goal of meeting the clinical and professional needs of nurses across the industry. The site was created by nurses and thus with an intimate understanding of the needs of those in the nursing field.
Learning Nurse features informal professional development resources intended to keep practicing nurses up on the latest techniques and medical advancements.
Government Resources and Agencies
Centers for Disease Control is a government agency and valuable resource of which health professionals should be aware. The CDC provides healthcare professionals with research and information on public health matters. The CDC is also responsible responses to critical biological threats.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion is a valuable resource, especially for nurses concerned with preventative care. The ODPHP is responsible for helping communicate the latest innovations and effective techniques in the prevention of disease.
National Institutes of Health is the official health matters research organization of the government. The NIH is also responsible for disbursing government funds to medical research facilities and projects.
Agency for Healthcare Research provides health care professionals with cutting edge, innovative research intended to improve the practice of healthcare on a national scale.
National Guideline Clearinghouse is a resource maintained by the Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality. The clearinghouse’s goal is to provide healthcare professionals a dependable resource featuring detailed and objective information on clinical practice guidelines.
Nurse.com is a resource maintained by Gannet Healthcare Group, a nursing and healthcare communications company. Gannet is the largest publisher of nursing news and information in both print and electronic form.
Associations, Advocacy Organizations and Research Centers
American College of Nurse Practitioners is a national policy advocacy group the purpose of which is to promote and protect the interests of nurse practitioners.
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners is the voice of its 155,000 members. The AANP advocates for its members on major issues, ensuring safe, quality work environments and that the services of its members are valued and their interests protected.
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties is the only organization fully devoted to advancing the cause of nurse education nationally and internationally.
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners with over 7,000 members, is the premier association that advocates for nurse practitioners that care for children.
International Association of Forensic Nurses is devoted to the advancement of forensic nursing by providing support for forensic nursing professionals and those professionals that provide support to the discipline
Emergency Nursing Association strives to provide for the professional growth of its members through its journal, conference, and many other professional development services.
American Nurses Association is a membership association that provides its nurse members with information on important developments in policy and advocacy, ethics and safe patient care practices.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing is an association for nursing educators and students that provides its members with all relevant information on developments in nursing education.
American Association of Occupational Health Nurses is an organization comprised of licensed nurses devoted to the discipline of occupational and environmental health nursing.
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses is the primary advocacy group for critical care nurses. The association also provides fundamental professional development opportunities for its members.
American Psychiatric Nurses Association is the largest professional membership organization for the nurses that practice in the psychiatric and mental health field.
Home Health Nurses Association is a national professional nursing organization that supports home health and hospice nurses by providing them with professional development opportunities specially designed to advance them in the home health and hospice field.
American Assembly of Men in Nursing has one primary mission. That mission is to promote gender inclusion in the nursing profession by fostering an environment of belonging and collective learning
Journals and Newsletter
Advances in Nursing Science is academic in its approach and a valuable resource for nursing practitioners, students, and faculty.
The American Nurse is the official journal of the American Nurses Association. The journal features news, commentary, and analysis of advancements in the nursing field.
Applied Nursing Research features original, peer reviewed research. The journal’s focus is on research that will have significant impact when applied in the clinical setting
Journal of Nursing Administration provides nurse administrators with relevant news and information about advancements in patient care methodologies. This journal is one of the most important resources for nurse administrators.
Western Journal of Medicine is a peer reviewed the goal of which is to provide a platform for scholarly discourse and debate. The journal is published eight times per year.
Journal of Professional Nursing is primarily concerned with publishing information relevant to the various roles to be filled by professional nurses. The journal has a broad view of professional nursing and focuses not just on practice roles, but also on the research, education, and policy fronts.
Geriatric Nursing is a comprehensive resource for news, commentary, analysis, and research that impacts the field of geriatric nursing.
American Journal of Nursing is a peer reviewed evidence based journal. The American Journal of Nursing is one of the oldest such journals in the world and is widely regarded by both academics and practitioners.
Nursing Economic$ targets leaders in the nursing industry. The journal features articles dealing with emerging best practices, economics, and policy making.
Nursing Management targets nursing leaders. With over 80,000 subscribers Nursing Management is the most widely read monthly nursing management journal.
Nursing Research publishes high quality empirical research. The journal’s articles address major advancements in research in both basic and clinical nursing fields.
Journal of Nursing Scholarship is the journal of Sigma Theta Tau, The Honor Society of Nursing. Journal of Nursing Scholarship is one of the most prominent academically oriented journals in nursing.
allconferences.com is a catalogue of conferences in just about every field imaginable. The nursing section of the website lists over 550 conferences all over the world covering every possible niche in the industry.
Advancing Men in Nursing conference is focused on supporting male nurses. The conference helps men understand the unique challenges they face in the field.
Medical-Surgical Nursing Conference has passed for this year but has been held annually for 23 years. This is a professional development conference for surgical nurses focused on keeping surgical nursing professionals up to date on the latest techniques and best practices.
ANCC Magnet Conference recognizes standout performance from the top nurses in the organization in addition to providing professional development programs.
Pediatric Nursing’s Conference is where pediatric nurses from all corners of the country gather to celebrate innovations and the high performance of the top nurses in the field, as well as attend professional development programs.