ClinicalKey does NOT offer a complimentary service, instead institutions subscribe to ClinicalKey Student. ClinicalKey Student is an interactive education platform that supports students and faculty by enhancing the learning experience with tools tailored to develop and assess the medical knowledge of aspiring professionals.
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When you first come to the ClinicalKey interface you’ll see the following:
If you know you’ll be using ClinicalKey frequently, you should sign up for an account (upper right corner). The account will provide you access to some solid features in ClinicalKey, including: saving/storing images, videos, and multimedia; obtaining CME credits and registering them with the appropriate CME body; creating presentations and sharing them; storing searches and receiving content updates.
The main search interface allows you to search all content in ClinicalKey by simply typing in your search term or terms. Alternatively, you can limit your search to certain Types of content by selecting your content source from the drop down (All Types). As you can see from the image, you can also access Saved Searches and your Search History. Content Types include: Books, Journals, Clinical Overviews, Clinical Trials, Drug Monographs, Guidelines, Patient Education, Multimedia, Procedure Videos, Clinical Calculators, and Clinical Focus.
If you’d rather not rely on the Search features, you can instead Browse the various topic areas.
The Books topic area provides several access points for you: Specialties, Search, and an Alphabetical Listing by title. You can also limit your interaction based on Subscribed Content, which is to say limit your view options to just those topics which you’ve selected. Currently there are 73 Specialty areas from which you can select Book titles, and each Specialty lists the number of various titles associated with it.
The standard interface for Books shows the cover image of the book at the right side of the screen along with the author and copyright date. To the left is the Book Title, Edition, followed by the Table of Contents. Each Chapter of a book is likewise laid out in a uniform presentation, with access to granular subdivisions within each chapter provided by links at the left, with the main content provided in the middle. At the bottom of each entry, the chapter provides links forward to the next chapter and backward to the previous chapter. As well, above the image of the cover of the Book, you can select CME to access any continuing medical education components associated with the particular title or chapters, you can Save the book chapter, Download the chapter as a PDF, or email it. Additionally, there are avenues to purchase the book or request rights to use the material.
For CME to work properly, you must configure your profile to work by clicking the “Manage Boards” button to add your medical board information, then you can “Claim Credit” and “View Claimed” credits. There is also a section of Maintenance of Certification (MOC).
The Journal topic area is very similar to that of the Books topical area, but with 49 Specialty areas. The main access points are the same: a list of Specialties, a Search box, and an Alphabetical listing by title.
The standard interface for Journals shows the cover image for the Journal at the left side of the screen followed by Issue information and the current date for the image. Beneath the image is a listing of all Journal Volumes provided by ClinicalKey, though note this may not be all the volumes in the journal’s history. When you click on a volume, the issues in the volume are revealed. Additionally, above the volume listing is “Articles in Press,” which provides access to future articles which are currently in manuscript form.
Beside the image of the journal cover is a search box, providing a search feature for the journal, as well as some additional features, including an RSS feed for the journal, an option to subscribe to the journal, and an option to save the journal. Again, these features require you to be registered with ClinicalKey, so be sure to create an account.
The Clinical Overviews topic area is very similar to that of both the Books and Journals topical area, but with 36 Specialty areas. The main access points are the same: a list of Specialties on the left side, a Search box, and an Alphabetical listing by title.
The standard interface for Clinical Overviews provides a left side menu that breaks the Clinical Overview into sections: Synopsis, Terminology, Diagnosis, Treatment, Complications and Prognosis, and References. The main article on the page reinforces these sections by providing more comprehensive information, so for instance, the Synopsis provides Key Points and Pitfalls. If there is cause for great concern about the clinical problem, there will be provided an Urgent Action section at the right side of the page with interventions that may be necessary.
As with the Book topic area, you can select CME to access any continuing medical education components associated with the particular Clinical Overview, you can Save the overview, email the overview or print it.
ClinicalKey uses Elsevier’s Gold Standard Drug Database to provide drug information. The Drug Monograph section of ClinicalKey provides access to information on hundreds of drugs, organized by Drug Class, Adverse Reactions, Indications, and Contraindications. As with the topical areas that came before it, Drug information can also be searched and browsed alphabetically.
A standard entry for a particular drug includes a left side navigation area that provides access to the main entry information on Indications & Dosage, Administration, Monitoring Parameters, Contraindications, Interactions, Adverse Reactions, Classifications, and References. The main entry can be saved, emailed, or printed.
Very like the topical categories above, Guidelines are organized around 67 Specialties, and each specialty provides one or more entries. Guidelines can be searched and browsed alphabetically.
The standard entry for a Guideline consists of the information published by the governing body or college from which the recommendation comes: for instance, the 2010 Rheumatoid arthritis classification criteria comes from the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism collaborative initiative. You can Save Guidelines, email them, or print them.
Patient Education is arranged very like the above topical areas into 34 Specialties. The Patient Education topics can also be searched or browsed alphabetically.
The standard interface for Patient Education provides a left side menu that breaks the educational topics into sections that highlight the features of the main article. For example, the Patient Education topic on SIDS Prevention is broken into What actions can be taken?, Where to find information, and a Summary. Out to the right, each Patient Education topic is available in a number of languages. You can Save Guidelines, email them, or print them.
This category is broken down by both Specialty and Multimedia Type. There are 87 Specialty areas covered by the Multimedia category and two types: Video and Images. Each Specialty category lists the number of items contained within it, many drawn from articles or book chapters.
When you select an image or video, you view it initially in a pop-up window. The frame enclosing the image/vide offers the user the option to Save, Add to Presentation, Email, or Print it. Additionally, at the bottom of the frame, the user may View in source or View full size.
One of the more interesting features of the Multimedia category is the Presentation feature. If you are working on a presentation, or would like your student to work on a presentation, he/she can click the Add to Presentation button and then create a New Presentation, or Add the multimedia asset to an existing Presentation.
The presentation created is saved as a PowerPoint presentation, with ClinicalKey branding included. It’s a rather clunky thing all-in-all, but points for trying.
There are 9 Specialty areas for Procedure Videos, each with 1 to 95 supporting videos within the Specialty.
A procedural video contains the title of the Procedure, the video, and underneath a listing of when the content was last reviewed and who was responsible for the content.
The content is given CPT Codes, and then the Procedure is arranged by Full Details: including Pre-Procedure, Introduction, Indications, Contraindications, Equipment, Anatomy, and each has Clinical Pearls throughout. The Procedure is demonstrated as is any Post-Procedural Care that is required. Finally, there are sections on Complications, Analysis of Results, and References. As with other sections, the category can be saved, emailed, or printed. There is no immediately apparent way to download the video.