Connecting lived experiences of pre-nursing students during COVID-19 with learner well-being: A qualitative inquiry.

AIM: To explore pre-nursing students' experiences and identify factors influencing their well-being as learners during COVID-19. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive design was used. METHODS: Short answer study data (n = 289) were collected in Fall 2020 as part of a larger IRB-approved survey-based study focused on pre-nursing students. Participants were presented with three short answer questions designed to elicit a description of their experiences as a pre-nursing student. NVivo and reflexive thematic analysis were used to analyse participant responses. RESULTS: Six themes related to learner well-being emerged from the data. Learner well-being was supported by achieving academic goals, experiencing positive feelings about current course content, creating connections with peers and envisioning themselves as nurses in the future. Negative contributors to pre-nursing student well-being included managing fears of program rejection and juggling multiple roles and demands. Online learning necessitated by COVID-19 created opportunities for loneliness and isolation from peers, technological difficulties and additional psychological stress, which also contributed negatively to learner well-being. CONCLUSION: These findings illustrate pre-nursing students' experiences and provide support for the influence of the learning environment and factors within the individual on the well-being of learners. IMPACT: Students preparing to apply to nursing programs are an understudied population and little is known about their well-being as learners. Survey-based open-ended short answer questions can be utilized to gain rich insight into their experiences. The study themes and sub-themes can be utilized for discussion and reflection in courses with pre-nursing students and as a starting point for additional conversations between pre-nursing students and educators regarding improving the support of well-being in learners. Additional research and evidence-based interventions that promote learner well-being in pre-nursing students are needed as they prepare for nursing program admission and to support their academic progression. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Members of the public were not involved in the design or conduct of the study, analysis, or interpretation of the data, or in the preparation of the manuscript because the study focus is on gaining an understanding the experiences of pre-nursing students and their well-being.

Relationships Among Resilience, Stress, and Persistence in Prenursing Students During COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created personal, financial, and academic challenges for prenursing students, which may hinder academic persistence. Understanding and supporting their well-being is important, as they prepare to apply to nursing programs. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore relationships among stress, resilience, and academic persistence in prenursing students intending to apply to either an on-campus or accelerated online nursing program. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational research design was used. Online survey data (N = 364) were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Campus-based prenursing students reported higher levels of stress and lower levels of resilience than their accelerated online counterparts. A significant negative relationship was noted between stress and scores on resilience and persistence measures in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Program-specific interventions promoting resilience and stress management techniques are needed to support prenursing student persistence, especially as they prepare for admission to nursing programs.