3 FREE Nursing Resources That Will Make Your Life Easier

I’m always on the look out for nursing resources that will save me time and stress. I’m even more excited when I find tools like these that are totally free!

If this sounds like you, read on for the top 3 (totally free!) nursing resources I think every nurse should know about.

#1 Nursing Resource: Medscape

Medscape covers a seemingly endless list of the latest trending topics and news in tons of different nursing specialties.

They also have a bunch of tools like case studies, quizzes, drug interaction checker, and so many more. It’s a great way to find reliable answers or just to stay up to date with any changes within nursing without having to sift through long reports.

My favorite part about Medscape is the totally free continuing education credits. You can easily get all the required credits for renewing your license from their program and…did I mention it’s free?!

You do have to sign up for a (free) account, but the process is painless and once you’re in you can access from your computer or from their mobile app.

The app is really user friendly and it’s easy to find what you need. I’ve done CE’s on my computer and from my phone on the go when I have 15 minutes here or there to fill and it all tracks to the same place.

You can filter by topic, number of credits/time to complete), format (text, slides, video), type of material (journal article, clinical brief, clinical review, etc).

The “credit tracker” keeps tabs on all your saved and completed continuing education credits and allows you to select the date range to view.

You can manage all your completed credits-it even has an option to print directly from this page.

Medscape is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing nursing education, so you can be confident that any credits completed through them will count.

#2 Nursing Resource: RxList

RxList is the ultimate pharmacology resource with tons of drug-related info.

My most frequented section of the site is simply the A-Z Drugs list. It’s super straightforward to find any medication you could possibly have questions about.

The site also has nursing resources like the latest in pharmacology-related news, symptom checker, pill identifier, dictionary of terms, and more. All free to use and even better: no required sign up!

#3 Nursing Resource: AllNurses

AllNurses has tons of nursing resources worth checking out. I’m not going to dive into all of them here just because I haven’t utilized most of them myself.

The part I have used (probably more than any other tool listed in this post) is the AllNurses forum section.

Think reddit…but a little less quirky and a little more reliable.

I have searched for some very particular questions throughout my nursing career…from deciding on a school, to narrowing down a specialty, to just random issues with a patient or hospital policy.

You’ll be surprised (and probably comforted) by how many other people have already asked and offered input on your most oddly specific questions!

You can lurk the forum completely free and without signing up, but to contribute you’ll have to create a free account.

Bonus Nursing Resource: Lippincott Nursing Center

Lippincott Nursing Center didn’t quite make the cut only because a lot of the tools will cost you.

But it’s worth mentioning because they do offer some great nursing resources for free as well!

Free access includes their blog, career resources, page specifically for students, general tips, patient education handouts, and even podcasts on clinical experiences and evidence-based practice information.

For a fee, they offer access to over 60 nursing journals on the site. But every few weeks, they pre-select one of these journals to be featured without the fee.

This means you can check out all the articles in the latest issue for free!

They do have an option for CE credits, with a catch. You can access the material for free, but you’ll have to pay a fee to actually earn the credit.