Clinical Nursing Skills is designed to equip nursing students with the practical knowledge and hands-on skills necessary to provide comprehensive patient care. The material emphasizes the application of clinical judgment in a variety of settings, ensuring that students are prepared to deliver high-quality care across different patient populations and clinical scenarios. The content utilizes concepts promoting the development of clinical judgment by building upon the systematic model developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).

Clinical Nursing Skills provides detailed instructions on basic procedures such as hygiene, mobility, vital signs assessment, medication administration, and wound care. It also guides students through more complex skills, including intravenous therapy, catheterization, tracheostomy care, and emergency interventions. By integrating the Clinical Judgment Measurement Model, the material helps students recognize, analyze, prioritize, create, act, and evaluate outcomes in various clinical situations, fostering critical thinking and clinical decision making. By studying Clinical Nursing Skills, students will gain the confidence and competence needed to perform essential nursing tasks, make informed clinical decisions, and provide compassionate, patient-centered care, which will prepare students for success in their clinical rotations and future professional practice.

Senior Contributing Authors
Christy Bowen, Chamberlain University

Contributing Authors
Taranee Albert, Northwestern Medicine
Mary Anne Bera
Jessica Crockett, Baptist Health Care
Lindsay L. Draper, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Sandy Grimm, Nurse Educate
Alissa Hershberger, University of Central Missouri
Stephanie Hoffman, Chamberlain University
Czarina Hounsel, University of Texas at Arlington
Lindsay Jusino, The University of West Florida
Lori Kelly, Lipscomb University
Heather Moore, Xavier University
Amisha Parekh de Campos, University of Connecticut
Margaret Riley, Nurse Educate
Susan M. Rouse (Retired)
Leigh A. Waldron, Western Governors University

Although mom controls the oxygen source, the fetus has a couple of clever tricks to get the most oxygen possible! Rishi is a pediatric infectious disease physician and works at Khan Academy.

Learn how the needs of the fetus are met by the placenta, which is a special organ that belongs to both the mother and the fetus! Rishi is a pediatric infectious disease physician and works at Khan Academy.

Using the stethoscope to check blood pressure is a technique thatŐs been used for >100 years! Blood pressure is one of the major vital signs frequently measured by health care workers, and it tells us a lot about our blood circulation. Learn what blood pressure is, how it relates to resistance in a tube, why it is necessary to get oxygen to your cells, and how it can change as you age. WeŐll finally put it all together by relating pressure, flow, and resistance in one awesome equation!

The human body enjoys stability. For example, if your blood pressure changes, the body puts a couple of brilliant systems into motion in order to respond and bring your blood pressure back to normal. There are some quick responses using nerves and some slower responses using hormones. The system using hormones is sometimes called the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS), which is the main system in the body for controlling blood pressure. When your blood pressure drops too low or gets too high, your kidneys, liver, and pituitary gland (part of your brain) talk to each other to solve the problem. They do this without you even noticing! Learn how the body knows when the blood pressure has changed, and how hormones like angiotensin 2, aldosterone, and ADH help return blood pressure to back to normal.

No organ quite symbolizes love like the heart. One reason may be that your heart helps you live, by moving ~5 liters (1.3 gallons) of blood through almost 100,000 kilometers (62,000 miles) of blood vessels every single minute! It has to do this all day, everyday, without ever taking a vacation! Now that is true love. Learn about how the heart works, how blood flows through the heart, where the blood goes after it leaves the heart, and what your heart is doing when it makes the sound ŇLub DubÓ.

Every time you take a breath, oxygen makes it way into your lungs. Follow along on that journey! Rishi is a pediatric infectious disease physician and works at Khan Academy.

Medical-Surgical Nursing is a comprehensive and engaging resource for nursing students, equipping them with the essential knowledge and skills required to provide high-quality care. Building on the foundational knowledge and skills acquired in previous nursing courses, this textbook expands students’ learning with concepts in medical-surgical nursing. The offering provides the background to ensure that nursing students are well-versed in both the science and art of nursing, capable of critical thinking, clinical judgment, and compassionate care.

Medical-Surgical Nursing encompasses a broad range of patient-care situations, from managing chronic conditions to providing postoperative care. The material includes concise explanations to facilitate understanding, as well as rich reviews of pathophysiology, ensuring students grasp essential concepts without becoming overwhelmed. Beyond theoretical knowledge, the text emphasizes the development of practical skills and competencies, and incorporates evidence-based best practices into each of its 38 chapters.

Senior Contributing Authors
Christy Bowen, Chamberlain University
Bridget Carey, Holy Family University
Jessica Palozie, University of Connecticut
Maren Reinholdt, University of Rochester School of Nursing

Nursing Care at the End of Life: What Every Clinician Should Know should be an essential component of basic educational preparation for the professional registered nurse student. Recent studies show that only one in four nurses feel confident in caring for dying patients and their families and less than 2% of overall content in nursing textbooks is related to end-of-life care, despite the tremendous growth in palliative and end-of-life care programs across the country. The purpose of this textbook is to provide an indepth look at death and dying in this country, including the vital role of the nurse in assisting patients and families along the journey towards the end of life. There is an emphasis throughout the book on the simple, yet understated value of effective interpersonal communication between the patient and clinician. The text provides a basic foundation of understanding death and dying, including a brief historical examination of some main conceptual models associated with how patients cope with impending loss. An overview of illness trajectories and models of care, such as hospice and palliative care are discussed. Lastly, the latest evidence-based approaches for pain and symptom management, ethical concerns, cultural considerations, care at the time of death, and grief/bereavement are examined. The goal of this text is to foster the necessary skills for nurses to provide compassionate care to individuals who are nearing the end of life and their families. Every chapter contains a “What You Should Know” section which highlights and reinforces foundational concepts.

Nutrition for Nurses is structured to support the flexible integration of nutrition content across both system-based and nursing competency-based curricula. It can be used whether nutrition is taught as a standalone course or part of another nursing course. The table of contents for Nutrition for Nurses presents content in 20 chapters, organized into 9 thematic units. The text emphasizes evidence-based practice and holistic assessment to facilitate the integration of nutritional awareness for pre-licensure nursing students in the provision of client-centered care. Nutrition for Nurses helps students develop sound clinical judgment as well as a deep understanding of the impact of nutrition on body systems across the lifespan. Written and reviewed by highly experienced faculty, Nutrition for Nurses includes a detailed narrative, extensive features and learning resources, and ample student support. The presentation utilizes concepts promoting the development of clinical judgment by building upon the systematic model developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).

Maternal-Newborn Nursing introduces students to the concepts and skills related to pregnancy, birth, postpartum, newborn care, reproductive health, and social determinants related to those topics. Written and thoroughly reviewed by experienced nurse educators, the material focuses on patient safety, mental health, and inclusive care and offers robust real-world scenarios and situational patient education experiences to apply concepts to practice.

Maternal-Newborn Nursing builds on the student’s existing knowledge and skills and expands their learning to new concepts and considerations. Students will be able to implement the Clinical Judgement Measurement Model to recognize, analyze, prioritize, create, act on, and evaluate outcomes throughout the many conditions presented across the life stages. The offering integrates core frameworks such as QSEN, and its robust sets of practice questions, unfolding case studies, and additional resources support the Next Generation NCLEX.

Pharmacology for Nurses is intended for nursing students in an introductory program. It provides a fundamental understanding of the therapeutic use of drugs, so the nurse can provide safe and effective care to the client. Along with a discussion of each body system, the text also reviews the pathophysiology of various disease processes and medications used in treatment. The table of contents presents 40 chapter topics, organized into 11 units. The first unit, consisting of 3 chapters, provides a broad overview of pharmacology, with the following 10 units focused on specific body systems.

Pharmacology for Nurses helps students prepare for the licensing exam and their careers by offering applicable, real-life content in short, manageable sections. The material focuses on common client conditions that nurses will encounter throughout their career and embraces a skills orientation (what does a nurse do). The text presents information in a holistic manner that ties the disease process to its pharmacological treatment. As a result, Pharmacology for Nurses will give students the confidence to safely administer medications to clients, as well as provide medication education to clients and their caregivers.

Population Health for Nurses prepares nurses to develop interventions, policies, and practices that promote health equity and improved health outcomes across the health care delivery continuum. The text emphasizes the social determinants of health and how nurses can plan and implement health promotion and disease prevention interventions. It takes a holistic perspective, connecting human health behavior to the dynamic, ongoing interactions of the person, social factors, and the physical environment in which people are born, live, learn, play, work, and age.

OpenStax Population Health for Nurses uses a logical, thematic organization that breaks down content into manageable chunks. It presents the material in 35 chapters, organized into 7 thematic units. The text defines and distinguishes among the interrelated nursing areas of population health, public health, and community health nursing, providing both historical context and up-to-date research to help students make connections across content that can inform practice. The result is a holistic approach that applies theoretical concepts to the practical assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation steps of client care and community-tailored interventions.

Senior Contributing Authors
Jessica Ochs, Endicott College
Sherry L. Roper, California State University, Stanislaus
Susan M. Schwartz, Widener University
Contributing Authors
Emily Berkowitz, Texas Woman’s University
Paul Thomas Clements, Texas A & M University
Donna S. Guerra, University of Alabama in Huntsville
Linda A. Havey, Vermont State University
Millie Hepburn, Sacred Heart University
Jamie Hunsicker, Ohio Northern University
Michael L. Jones, East Carolina University
L. Michelle McClave, Morehead State University
Heather Moore, Xavier University
Brenna Morse, MGH Institute of Health Professions
Amy M. Richards, Rogers State University
Angelina Silko, Galen College of Nursing
Susan Solecki, Drexel University

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing is designed to support a one-semester psychiatric-mental health nursing course offered at both two-year and four-year institutions. Serving students specializing in psychiatric nursing and those from other health disciplines, this learning resource integrates evidence-based practices with practical strategies for communication, readying students to build therapeutic relationships with patients and caregivers.

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing uses a logical, thematic organization that breaks content down into manageable sections. Each unit is designed to foster a deep understanding of the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of mental health. The content helps students make meaningful connections between various psychiatric conditions and the corresponding nursing approaches. By focusing on tailored psychiatric interventions and emphasizing patient-centered approaches, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate diverse mental health settings.

Senior Contributing Authors
Rebecca Puchkors, Baylor University
Jeanne Saunders, Daytona State College
David Sharp, Mississippi College

Contributing Authors
Lenore Cortez, Angelo State University
Celeste Dunnington, Shorter University
Victoria Haynes, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Kimberly Johnson, Baylor College of Medicine
Laura Logan, Austin State University, DeWitt School of Nursing
Stacy Mikel, Jacksonville State University
Lynn Rew, The University of Texas at Austin
Leigh Waldron, Western Governors University
Pamela Herbig Wall, Rosalind Franklin University