Preface
Laura K. Garner-Jones
Summary of the Textbook
Nursing Informatics, Communication, and Collaboration is an open educational resource (OER) textbook that introduces undergraduate nursing students to the foundations of nursing informatics and its vital role in modern healthcare. It explores essential competencies such as computer and information literacy and examines the impact of health information technology. The text highlights digital tools that enhance outcomes, including electronic health records, artificial intelligence, and precision medicine. Beyond technology, this resource emphasizes the importance of communication, conflict management, person-centered care, and interprofessional collaboration as core elements of effective nursing practice. By integrating these skills with informatics, students can be better prepared to navigate complex healthcare environments, strengthen teamwork, resolve challenges, and deliver safe, efficient, and compassionate care.
Textbook Creation
This textbook was made possible through an Open Educational Resources Grant from Weber State University with support from the Stewart Education Foundation, Stewart Library, Provost Office, and the Sally Langsdon Barefoot Foundation.
How Open Educational Resources (OER) work
- This work is a combination of original content and content that has been adapted from multiple OER resources. You can find a list of all OER resources utilized in this book at the end of this preface. Additionally, each chapter will detail the OER resources utilized within each of the individual chapters.
- This OER book is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
About the Author
Laura K. Garner-Jones, DNP, MSN-Ed, CNE, NPD-BC, has been a nurse since 1992. Laura spent 15 years working in various emergency departments, including Level 1 and Level 2 Trauma Centers. Laura also has clinical experience in pediatrics, rehab, geriatrics, the medical-surgical float pool, and the newborn ICU. Laura has held several leadership roles, including house/nursing supervisor, facility resource coordinator, emergency department clinical manager, and nursing professional development practitioner (clinical educator). Laura started teaching at Weber State University in July 2020. She has taught in the ADN and BSN programs, but her current role is in the RN to BSN program as the Nursing Honors Chair and the NRSG 4600: Informatics, Communication, and Collaboration Course Chair.
Laura is an active member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, and the Association for Nursing Professional Development. Laura has also held several leadership positions in nursing organizations, including the Intermountain Nursing Professional Development board and and the Wasatch Front Healthcare Consortium Committee. She is currently serving on the Utah Nurses Foundation board and the Utah Nurses Association Governance Relations Committee.
Laura’s research interests include:
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration & Education
- Lateral Violence in Nursing
- Decreasing Turnover & Nurses Leaving the Profession
- Teaching Strategies & Instructional Design and
- Trauma-Informed Care, PTSD, & Suicide-Risk in Emergency Personnel
Content Experts & Peer-Review
Thanks and gratitude to those who have offered guidance, support, and review of the content within this book:
-
Monica Bottelberghe, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor: Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing, Weber State University
-
Amanda Brandt, M.Ed., Instructional Designer: WSU Online, Weber State University
-
Trevor Hightower, MSN-I, CICE, NI-BC, Nurse Informaticist: Intermountain Health
-
Carrie Watkins Jeffrey, PhD, RN, Associate Professor: Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing, Weber State University
-
Jamie Wankier Randles, EdD, MSN, RN, Associate Professor: Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing, Weber State University
-
Andrew Stapley, Open Educational Resources Coordinator: Stewart Library, Weber State University
OER Resources Utilized in the Book:
-
Cortez, M. A. T. (2020). Let’s get literate: All about information literacy. Wix. https://mtcortez1.wixsite.com/informationliteracy Licensed with an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike 4.0 international (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
-
Ernstmeyer, K., & Christman, E. (Eds.). (2024). Nursing fundamentals 2E (2nd ed.). Open RN | WisTech Open. https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/nursingfundamentals/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY) license
-
Gurung, S. (2024). Managerial information systems in healthcare. PressBooks. https://pressbooks.cuny.edu/profgurung. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
-
McKenna, H. J., Chang, L., & Brinkerhoff, M. R. (2023). Numeracy. A quantitative reasoning approach. https://uen.pressbooks.pub/uvumqr/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
-
Murphy, J. (2022). Transitions to professional nursing practice. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-delhi-professionalnursing/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
-
Ochs, J., Roper, S. L., & Schwartz, S. M. (2024, May 15). Population health for nurses. https://openstax.org/details/books/population-health Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY) license.
-
Valaitis, K. (2023). Exploring the U.S. healthcare system. University of West Florida. Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.uwf.edu/ushealthcaresystem/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Attribution
Content that is not taken from the above OERs or public domain should include the following attribution:
- Garner-Jones, L. (2025). Informatics, communication, and collaboration: The impact on patient outcomes. Pressbooks. https://uen.pressbooks.pub/nursinginformaticsandcommunicationessentials/ Licensed with a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 International License
