Understanding PubMed Key Features

After structuring a specific clinical question, the next step in the evidence-based process is finding the evidence through conducting an online search of the scientific literature. As familiar as many dental professions have become in searching the Internet, most have not had a specific course on searching biomedical databases, such as PubMed. These require a basic understanding of the PubMed features, including the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) database and Clinical Queries. All features can be used with either a traditional PubMed Comprehensive search, which begins on the homepage, or a Clinical Queries search (listed under FIND on the homepage) and are illustrated throughout this course. The one exception is in order to use the Advanced search and History features with Clinical Queries, you must click on the “See all” feature on the Clinical Queries page.