Skip to main content

Clinical Key - Getting Started


Clinical Key has now been purchased for our UHNM users only. Clinical Key offers you:

  • Clinical Specialist Search Engine
  • SmartSearch to find answers quickly
  • Access to ebooks
  • Full-text ejournals
  • Evidence-based topics
  • Images & Videos

Watch this short youtube video for a quick overview



Athens
You will need an NHS Athens username / password to log in to Clinical Key. If you don’t already have an Athens username register online by completing this online form. For more help using Athens see our web page.

Login
If you link to Clinical Key from the link on the Health Library Healthcare Resources page then you will go straight to the Athens login page. Otherwise from the Clinical Key login page, make sure that you click the OpenAthens login link and enter your Athens username / password when prompted.
Screen-shot of the Clinical Key login screen, remember to use the OpenAthens link.
 Activate
To use many of the really useful features such as downloading ebooks, saving searches and using the presentation maker you will need to Activate your account. This links your Athens account to an Elsevier account. You won’t need to log in twice. This account will keep track of your saved items (such as saved searches, reading lists etc) within Clinical Key.
After you have logged in, if your name is displayed in the top left, then you have already activated your account – note that you may have already done this if you have used Elsevier ScienceDirect ejournals. Otherwise click on the Activate link.
Screen-shot of the Activate link - this will activate your Clinical Key account

Start Searching
Now you are ready to start searching.

Over the next few months I will be blogging about more of the features of Clinical Key. You can sign-up to receive updates from the Information Skills for Health blog in your email inbox.

You can find more help:
Our short video will give you a quick overview of how to get started.


Be aware your network may not allow videos to play.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Login to Library Search – step-by-step instructions for NHS staff

  Library Search is a discovery tool, allowing you to find items within the library collections. You can search Library Search without logging in to view books and ebooks available in our collections. By logging in to your library account on Library Search you can access a range of additional functionality, such as: Viewing details of your library account Submitting a request to hold a book for you Adding items to your e-bookshelf Saving searches Note that for NHS users logging in to Library Search does not give you access to full-text items. As an NHS member of staff you access online resources using your NHS OpenAthens username. Anatomy of a Library Card First let’s take a quick look at the most important components of your library card. Your library card and library card number give you access to print resources as well as library services. They confirm that you are a member of the library. Your name : this will be printed on your card, so you’ll know it’s yours!...

New BMJ titles added to the NHS Core Content collection

 A number of BMJ titles have been added to the NHS Core Content collection this year. This collection is available to all NHS staff. You can access the full-text articles via your NHS OpenAthens username. The new titles are: BMJ Leader - an international, peer-reviewed, online-only journal focusing on leadership in health and care BMJ Innovations - a peer reviewed journal focused on novel technologies, emerging digital health and pioneering medical devices BMJ Military Health - home of research, reviews and commentary on the key issues in military health European journal of hospital pharmacy - official journal of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), committed to advancing the science, practice and profession of hospital pharmacy Access our journals collections from the Journals page on our website. For help accessing any information you need please contact the Health Library .

BMJ Best Practice and state-of-the-art care for patients with Heart Failure

  Join this informative online webinar designed to strengthen your approach to heart failure management using BMJ Best Practice. Date:  Wednesday 19 November 2025 Time:  2pm to 3pm Platform:  Microsoft Teams About the Webinar:  In this session, our expert speakers will guide you through leveraging BMJ Best Practice to deliver outstanding, evidence-based care for patients with heart failure and gain practical insights to improve management and patient outcomes. Speakers: Dr Kieran Walsh, Clinical Director, BMJ Dr Shrilla Benerjee, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and BMJ Best Practice Author Learning Outcomes: Challenges in implementing evidence-based medicine in the management of heart failure Managing comorbidities in patients with heart failure The role of patient information Common pitfalls in management and how to overcome them Who Should Attend? This webinar is ideal for healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and medical stu...