title: Using PubMed effectively to access the orthopaedic literature.
abstract: PubMed is the free public Internet interface to the US National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database of citations to medical scientific articles. Many orthopaedic surgeons use PubMed on a regular basis, but most orthopaedic surgeons have received little or no training in how to use PubMed effectively and express frustration with the experience. Typical problems encountered are data overload with very large numbers of returns to look through, failure to find a specific article, and a concern that a search has missed important papers. It is helpful to understand the system used to enter journal articles into the database and the classification of the common types of searches and to review suggestions for the best ways to use the PubMed interface and find sources for search teaching and assistance.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Instructor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: J F Myles
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Clough
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hitchcock
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D016239:MEDLINE; D009985:Orthopedics; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D039781:PubMed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data