Standards & Conceptual Approach

The Open RN Nursing Fundamentals, 2e textbook is based on several external standards and uses a conceptual approach.

External Standards

American Nurses Association (ANA)

The ANA provides standards for professional nursing practice including nursing standards and a code of ethics for nurses.

• https://www.nursingworld.org/ana/about-ana/standards/

The National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses: NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN Test Plans

The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN test plans are updated every three years to reflect fair, comprehensive, current, and entry-level nursing competency.

• https://www.nclex.com/test-plans.page

The National League of Nursing (NLN): Competencies for Graduates of Nursing Programs

NLN competencies for practical nursing programs guide nursing curricula to position graduates in a dynamic health care arena with practice that is informed by a body of knowledge and ensures that all members of the public receive safe, quality care.

• https://www.nln.org/education/nursing-education-competencies/practical-nursing-program-outcomes

National Patient Safety Goals

National Patient Safety Goals are established annually by The Joint Commission and focus on significant problems in health care safety and specific actions to prevent them.

• https://www.jointcommission.org/standards/national-patient-safety-goals/

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN): The Essentials: Competencies for Professional Nursing Education

A framework for preparing individuals as members of the discipline of nursing, reflecting expectations across the trajectory of nursing education and applied experience.

• https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/AcademicNursing/pdf/Essentials-2021.pdf

Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Institute: Prelicensure Competencies 

Quality and safety competencies include knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be developed in nursing prelicensure programs. QSEN competencies include client-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics.

• https://qsen.org/competencies/

Wisconsin State Legislature, Administrative Code Chapter N6

The Wisconsin Administrative Code governs the Registered Nursing and Practical Nursing professions in Wisconsin.

• https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/n/6

Healthy People 2030

Healthy People 2030 envisions a society in which all people can achieve their full potential for health and well-being across the life span. Healthy People provides objectives based on national data and includes social determinants of health.

• https://health.gov/healthypeople

Conceptual Approach

The Open RN Nursing Fundamentals textbook incorporates the following concepts across all chapters:

• Holism. Florence Nightingale taught nurses to focus on the principles of holism, including wellness and the interrelationship of human beings and their environment. This textbook encourages the application of holism by assessing the impact of developmental, emotional, cultural, religious, and spiritual influences on a client’s health status.
• Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). Textbook content is based on current, evidence-based practices that are referenced by footnotes. To promote digital literacy, hyperlinks are provided to credible, free online resources that supplement content. The Open RN textbooks are updated after the release of new NCLEX Test Plans every three years.
• Cultural Competency. Nurses have an ethical and moral obligation to provide culturally competent care to the clients they serve based on the ANA Code of Ethics.^[1] Cultural considerations are included throughout this textbook.
• Care Across the Life Span. Developmental stages are addressed in content describing nursing assessments and interventions.
• Health Promotion. Focused interview questions and client education topics are included to promote client well-being and encourage self-care behaviors.
• Scope of Practice. Assessment techniques are included that have been identified as frequently performed by entry-level nurse generalists.^{[2],[3],[4],[5]}
• Patient Safety. Expected and unexpected findings on assessment are highlighted in tables to promote client safety by encouraging notification of health care providers when changes in condition occur.
• Clear and Inclusive Language. Content is written using clear language preferred by entry-level prelicensure nursing students to enhance understanding of complex concepts.^[6] “They” is used as a singular pronoun to refer to a person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant to the context of the usage, as endorsed by APA style. It is inclusive of all people and helps writers avoid making assumptions about gender.^[7] 
• Open Source Images and Fair Use. Images are included to promote visual learning. Students and faculty can reuse open source images by following the terms of their associated Creative Commons licensing. Some images are included based on Fair Use as described in the “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources” presented at the OpenEd20 conference. Refer to the footnotes of images for source and licensing information throughout the text.
• Open Pedagogy. Students are encouraged to contribute to the Open RN textbooks in meaningful ways. In this textbook, students assisted in reviewing content for clarity for an entry-level learner and also assisted in creating open source images.^[8]

Terminology

The following terminology is used throughout this book in alignment with the 2023 NCLEX-RN Test Plan^[9]:

• Client: Individual, family or group, which includes significant others and populations.
• Order: Intervention, remedy or treatment as directed by an authorized primary health care provider.
• Prescription: Intervention as it relates to medication specifically as directed by an authorized primary
  health care provider.
• Primary Health Care Provider: Members of the health care team who are licensed and authorized to
  formulate prescriptions and orders on behalf of the client, as well as receive notifications of client status, are referred as primary health care provider, medical physician (or other specialty, e.g., surgeon, nephrologist) or an advanced practice nurse.
• Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP): Any unlicensed personnel trained to function in a supportive role,
  regardless of title, to whom a nursing responsibility may be delegated.

Supplementary Material Provided

Several supplementary resources are provided with this textbook.

• Free supplementary videos to promote student understanding
• Free, online, interactive learning activities with formative feedback, including NCLEX Next Generation-style case studies
• Free downloadable versions for offline use