Just about the time you thought you were finished with school, you will find that learning in the health care field never ends. Every day you're likely to encounter something that you didn't know or that has changed drastically because of some new revelation. You will spend a significant portion of your “free” time researching and learning many more things than you learned in school. You will never know everything you need to know. The more you learn, the better prepared you will be to help your patients and to expand the knowledge base of your colleagues. Always try to share new information with your coworkers and encourage them to do the same with you.

Any of the major search engines and news sites have what is referred to as a “search” bar. In this blank area, you can type in the information you are looking for. The more specific you can be, the better your search will work. For example, use keywords. These are one or two words that best describe what you're looking for. You can also search using a phrase or question, but your results won't always be as refined. Keep trying and as you get results, sometimes you'll find even better keywords to use. The Internet is a vast reference tool, but be sure to carefully check the accuracy of any information not derived from well-respected sources. You can do this by continuing and refining your search.

If you want to know something about multiple sclerosis type in the words multiple sclerosis, and you'll find many thousands of sites listed in order of how that search engine ranks them. If you want treatment modalities, type in multiple sclerosis treatments or treatment for multiple sclerosis. You'll get slightly different sites based on rankings again. You'll also get slightly different sites if you search more than one search engine such as Google versus MSN.

If you want a very specific topic or person, use quotation marks around the information you enter, such as “Florence Nightingale.” Otherwise, you'll find sites about Ms. Nightingale listed first and then you'll see sites with information about other Florences and other Nightingales. If you use Google to search, you'll see “see similar pages” underneath each listing. You can click this to see more sites like the one listed. These can often lead to even more information or a more refined choice.

If one set of keywords doesn't work, try others. Think about what or whom the subject is, does, is famous for, etc. Keywords are used by Web designers to get search engines to find their sites and rank them. They also utilize these keywords when they register or submit their site to a search engine themselves.

Another site you might try is known as Ask Jeeves, at www.askjeeves.com. Here you can pose a question, and Mr. Jeeves will either provide you with the direct answer, or list sites to search for the information you need. For example, if you type in: who was the 21st President of the U.S.? You will receive an answer of Chester A. Arthur along with a list of sites about President Arthur. If your question is more complex, you'll be given a list of sites to review. Try to make your questions as precise as possible for best results. You can also use keyword or phrase searches.