Race, gender, and ethnicity differences of nursing students' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirosus disease caused physical, mental, and social stress to humans; however, the human impact was not balanced and proportionately distributed to all people; especially nurses. This study explored nursing students' lives affected by the pandemic. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19 and the pandemic on students' experiences across different races, genders, and ethnicities. METHOD: This cross-sectional study sought to investigate significant differences in reported experiences of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic based upon race, gender, and ethnicity classifications. A survey was developed to collect the data. RESULTS: A national sample of 616 student responses was analyzed. Significant differences were found in the pairwise comparisons. The differences found among the diverse student classifications revealed variations in survey responses to classes moved to on-line, interactions with peers, COVID-19 testing, fear/anxiety, and test performance. CONCLUSION: The research adds knowledge about nursing students' experiences during the pandemic; especially unrepresented students from diverse backgrounds. The findings from this study suggested nursing students reacted differently based on race, ethnicity, and gender.

A national survey of the impact of COVID-19 on personal, academic, and work environments of nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students are experiencing life changing events in their personal, academic, and work environments since the onset of the pandemic. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the effects of COVID-19 on personal, workforce, and academic experiences of nursing students (N = 620). METHOD: A 68-item survey with three areas of focus surrounding academic, workforce and personal experiences was distributed to multiple schools across the United States. The analysis compares student responses from the five regions of the US. FINDINGS: Significant differences were found in the pairwise comparisons. The analysis revealed the academic changes were generally viewed as negative. Fear/anxiety and political influences impacted the outcomes of the pandemic. DISCUSSION: Understanding the effects of the pandemic on the personal, work and academic experiences of nursing students will assist academia and healthcare in adapting existing policies to meet student needs in the various regions of the United States.