Books

An introductory nutrition text used in colleges and high schools: the basics of nutrition and metabolism, how to judge whether nutrition information is any good, body weight and health, nutrition through the life stages, dietary supplements, each macronutrient in depth, and what the vitamins and minerals actually do. By Alice Callahan, Heather Leonard and Tamberly Powell, Open Oregon Educational Resources, CC BY-NC licence.

An entry-level guide for midwifery and nursing students on the neonatal unit, built around four questions you keep asking a premature or unwell term baby: is it warm, is it sweet, is it pink, is it calm. It starts with the transition to life outside the womb, then takes the presentations that actually arrive in a neonatal special care nursery and explains the pathophysiology behind them and what the nurse or midwife does. By Jacqui McGregor, Deakin University 2025, CC BY-NC licence.

The step beyond fundamentals: 38 chapters of adult medical-surgical nursing, from managing chronic conditions to postoperative care. The pathophysiology reviews are deliberately tight so students grasp the concept without the book turning into an internal medicine text, and each chapter carries the practical skills and evidence-based practice that go with it. By Christy Bowen, Bridget Carey, Jessica Palozie and Maren Reinholdt, OpenStax 2024, CC BY-NC-SA licence.

Pregnancy, birth, postpartum recovery, newborn care and reproductive health, with the social determinants that shape each of them. Written and reviewed by experienced nurse educators, with patient safety, mental health and inclusive care running through the whole book, and real-world scenarios plus situational patient-education exercises so students apply a concept before they are assessed on it. By Amy Giles, Regina Prusinski and Laura Wallace, OpenStax 2024, CC BY-NC-SA licence.

A short foundational text on Canada's 2019 Food Guide and how food labelling works, for health professional students who never met the revised guide in their own training. It sets out what changed, what the strategies for healthy eating mean in practice, and uses a relational inquiry approach to shape the conversation with a client about food instead of handing over a list of rules. By Jennifer L. Lapum, Oona St-Amant and Michelle Hughes, Ryerson University 2019, CC BY-NC-SA licence.

A short resource that teaches first-year nursing students how to take body measurements without the measurement becoming a moment of harm. The technique is deliberately informed by culture, race and ethnicity, gender, sex and sexual orientation, body size and type, and ability and disability. It is part of the first health assessment resource built on clinical judgment, with interactive activities and formative checks that train students to recognise cues, prioritise care and act, which is also what national licensing exams ask for. By Shelly Philip LaForest, Michelle Hughes and Lisa Seto Nielsen, Toronto Metropolitan University 2024, CC BY-NC licence.

An introduction to nutrition for undergraduates, written as the open textbook for the FSHN 185 Science of Human Nutrition course at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. It covers the basic concepts of human nutrition, what we know about the essential nutrients, how to carry out a basic nutritional assessment, and how nutrition needs change across the lifespan. By Marie Kainoa Fialkowski Revilla, Alan Titchenal and Jennifer Draper, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 2020 edition, CC BY licence.

The fundamentals course in 43 chapters: what the nurse's role actually carries, how the health care environment works, and how to think critically and practise on evidence rather than habit. It builds through simulated patient interactions so students practise communication before they are graded on it, carries insights from practising nurses, and is organised around Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies. By Christy Bowen, Lindsay Draper and Heather Moore, OpenStax 2024, CC BY-NC-SA licence.

A culinary medicine text for nutrition students and anyone running food-based disease prevention programmes. The 2025 edition covers kitchen skills, food safety, menu planning, shopping and budgeting, popular diets, supplements, food demonstrations, seed-to-table projects, community partnerships and culturally centred approaches, with recipes and case studies alongside chapters on macronutrients, micronutrients and bioactive compounds. University of Arizona, CC BY-NC licence.

A primer on what community and public health nurses actually do, read through a social justice lens. It covers health disparities, access to care, cultural competence and the social determinants behind public health results, and shows how to work with community members, push for health policy and promote equity from the individual right up to the system. By Andrea Reed, Beth Tremblay and colleagues, Virginia's Academic Library Consortium 2024, CC BY licence.

OpenStax's clinical skills book for nursing students: step-by-step procedures for hygiene, mobility, vital signs, medication administration, nutrition, elimination, wound care and end-of-life care, organised around the NCSBN clinical judgment model so you practise deciding and not only doing. Each skill lists what you need, the steps and the rationale behind them. By Christy Bowen, OpenStax 2024, CC BY-NC-SA licence.

A lab manual for food preparation, written for the kitchen as well as the lab. Every section gives learning objectives, lab problems to solve, the recipes, questions to answer, and observation charts where you record what actually happened while you cooked. By the Iowa State University Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, CC BY-NC-SA licence.