Library News - LibGuides at Nova Scotia Health

Using ClinicalKey® to find medical images

06/28/2021

Kristy Hancock

Images, Copyright, Research

UPDATED: June 7, 2024

It can be challenging to find medical images that are technical and specific to a certain discipline. You may be looking for a medical image to add to a patient education pamphlet, LMS module, or staff training presentation. While some resources are great for finding general images and icons, ClinicalKey® is a valuable tool for finding medical images that are derived from full-text information sources such as journal articles and ebooks. Read on to learn how to find images in ClinicalKey® and use them in accordance with copyright.

What is ClinicalKey®?

ClinicalKey® is a biomedical database that contains a wealth of content in a variety of formats. In addition to medical images, ClinicalKey® also contains journal articles, ebooks, clinical overviews, drug information, and procedural videos. Library Services subscribes to ClinicalKey®—you can access it from our Databases A-Z list.

Note: When accessing ClinicalKey® offsite or on a computer not connected to the Nova Scotia Health network, you may be prompted to enter your Nova Scotia Health username and password.

Searching for images in ClinicalKey®

On the ClinicalKey® homepage, type a keyword (e.g. suturing) into the search bar (1), select “Multimedia” from the drop-down menu (2), and click on the icon (3).

Note: In ClinicalKey®, “Multimedia” refers to both images and videos, so your search may return results in both formats. To limit your search results to images only, deselect the “Videos” filter from the menu on the left (4) by unchecking the box.

You can change the view between “Grid” and “List” using the View drop-down menu (5), and sort your results by “Relevance” or “Date Published” using the Sort by drop-down menu (6). You can also further refine your search results using the Specialties or Date filters (7) from the menu on the left-hand side.

Another way to search for images in ClinicalKey® is to browse by broader specialty. On the homepage, under Deepen your specialty and medical knowledge, select “Multimedia”. On the results page, you can then select a specialty (such as anatomy) from the menu on the left (8), or click on “More Specialties” (9) to expand the list, if needed.

Don’t forget about copyright!

When searching for a medical image, it’s important to think about how you intend to use the image. Images in ClinicalKey® can be used in presentations for non-commercial purposes, but the presentation slides cannot be posted anywhere. To use an image for a purpose other than a presentation (e.g. in a patient education pamphlet or an LMS module), you must find out the specific terms of use, which will reflect the terms for the larger body of work in which the image is found (e.g. a journal article). Find out what an image’s terms of use are by clicking on “View in source” (10), scrolling to the top of the page, and clicking on “Get rights and content” (11). The Copyright Clearance Center's RightsLink® page will open and list any applicable copyright restrictions, allowing you to request permission to use an image, if needed.

Add to Presentation feature

When searching ClinicalKey® for images to include in a presentation, the Add to Presentation feature may be helpful. It lets you add images to a presentation folder, then export the folder as a PowerPoint file. Simply click on the “Add to Presentation” icon (12) for any image. You can then create a new presentation folder or add the image to an existing folder.

To view and export your presentations, open the menu in the top-right corner of the screen and click on “Presentations”. On the Presentation Maker page, click on “Export”. Your PowerPoint presentation should now be in your downloads folder. Image details such as citations, captions, and copyright statements are automatically added to the PowerPoint slides and cannot be edited.

Note: To use the Add to Presentation feature, you must be logged in to a personal ClinicalKey® account. You can create an account by clicking on “Register” in the top-right corner of the page. If you already have a personal account in another Elsevier product (e.g. Mendeley), you can use the same username and password to log into ClinicalKey® without creating a new account.

Remember: Images from ClinicalKey® can be used in presentations for non-commercial purposes. You do not need to request permission to use images in this way, but you cannot post the presentation slides anywhere. For any other use, you must adhere to the image’s terms of use, and request permission to use the image, if necessary.

For more support with finding and using images, visit our Copyright subject guide or reach out to us at Copyright@nshealth.ca.

Kristy Hancock

Librarian Educator

Patient Education Pamphlets completed in May 2021

06/07/2021

Kallen Rutledge

Patient Education, Patient Pamphlets

The following pamphlets were revised or created in May 2021. Please visit the Content Creator Toolkit for more information about creating or updating patient pamphlets. Please contact pamphlets@nshealth.ca with any questions. You can search for pamphlet PDFs by title, keyword, or four digit pamphlet number in the library catalogue, or see the complete listing of active titles in our Print Code Index.

Staff Guidelines
ST85-1459 NEW Patient and Family Education Material Guidelines

Arabic Translations
AR85-1477 Gastroscopy (English: WI85-0040, French: FF85-1504)
AR85-2205 NEW Your Rights and Responsibilities (English: WX85-0466, French: FF85-1739) (Poster version: MC0040, French poster: MC0043) (letter size version: WX85-1842)
AR85-2209 NEW Welcome to the QEII (English: WX85-0603, French: FF85-1126)

Chinese (Simplified) Translations
CH85-2169 NEW Patient and Family Ethics Tool (rack card) (Letter size: CH85-2168, English: WX85-2084, French: FF85-2143, Arabic: AR85-2154)
CH85-2214 NEW How to do a Twin Bag^TM Exchange (English: WQ85-0633)

Emergency & Public Health
WA85-0297 Care of Your Urinary Catheter at Home

French Translations (en français)
FF85-2181 NEW Aliments riches en potassium (English: LC85-0610)
FF85-2183 NEW Vos droits - En vertu de la loi sur le traitement psychiatrique obligatoire (English: WX85-1146)
FF85-2185 NEW Après l’unité de soins intensifs (USI) – Service des soins intensifs, QEII (USI 3A et 5.2) (English: IC85-1762)
FF85-2192 NEW Chirurgie de la vésicule biliaire par laparoscopie (English: WI85-0298)