ABSTRACT
Introduction Just-in-time education has been described as rapid dissemination of accurate, up-to-date information accessible during or soon after a crisis and is recognised as an effective strategy to assist during crisis management. Background The COVID4NURSES program was developed and delivered ‘just-in-time' as a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), to upskill nurses in Victoria, Australia to support delivery of safe patient care (Wong et al., 2022). Academics collaborated with the state department of health and practicing nurses to develop the program, which enabled the spread of workload and best use of expertise during the pandemic. Method The MOOC was delivered to over 2000 nurses from all levels and specialties and across a large geographically disparate region. A mixed methods study was undertaken following program delivery to measure knowledge improvement and to explore the confidence of nurses working in a COVID-19 environment. Data were collected through a pre-test post-test Multiple Choice Quiz, and qualitative data were collected from the asynchronous online discussion forums from 801 participants who consented to the study. Findings Findings indicated improvements in nurses' knowledge and confidence after undertaking the program. Conclusion Implementing a just-in-time MOOC during a crisis is a valuable initiative for rapid dissemination of scientific evidence to support nursing practice and positive patient outcomes.