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Peer Review

OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills

Reviewed:

Jan 6, 2026 by Health Sciences
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Quality: 5.0 stars
Effectiveness: 5.0 stars
Ease of Use: 4.2 stars
Overview:

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. 

Type of Material:

  • Open (Access) Textbook
Recommended Uses:

  • In class or lab course, homework, individual resource  
Technical Requirements:

  • Internet Access
  • Web Browser
Identify Major Learning Goals:

After active engagement with the book, learners will:

  • Support the flexible integration of nursing skills content across both system-based and nursing competency-based curricula.
  • Describe techniques for obtaining a health history and performing a basic physical assessment using a body systems approach.
  • Provide evidence-based clinical skills with related mathematical calculations and conversions.
Target Student Population:

  • College Lower Division, College Upper Division specifically for nursing majors
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

  • Knowledge of anatomy and physiology
  • Pre-requisites for nursing

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The book provides step-by-step instructions and evidence-based guidelines to help students master the competencies required for effective nursing practice.
  • The presentation of information is structured and easy to follow, thereby promoting learning.
  • Content is detailed and complete. It is written at the appropriate level for the identified learners. 
  • The textbook is holistic, well-written, and clearly supports the development of comprehensive clinical nursing skills.
  • The information is evidence-based and supported by several well-recognized frameworks.  References are identified at the end of each chapter.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

  • Teaching-learning goals are outlined for the text and outlined at the beginning of each chapter.
  • Potential for student learning is enhanced through case studies, discussion/reflection questions, and quizzes.
  • Conceptual support facilitates understanding through images and links to websites.
  • Chapter outlines are on the left side of each chapter.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The navigational layout is consistent throughout the textbook.
  • All links are in working order.
  • Text is selectable.
  • Sequential headings are used.
  • Links to other resources are in ordinary text format.

 

Concerns:

  • Many ads show while trying to view the book.
  • A privacy statement was not found. It is unclear how tracking and information collected from viewers are used. There are frequent prompts to log in, which would provide even more data that could violate privacy concerns.
  • A recommendation is to add a privacy statement and explicitly explain how the data collected from viewers is used.
Other Issues and Comments:

  • A privacy statement was not found. It is unclear how tracking and information collected from viewers are used. There are frequent prompts to log in, which would provide even more data that could violate privacy concerns.
  • A recommendation is to add a privacy statement and explicitly explain how the data collected from viewers is used.
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