ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many unexpected changes occurred in healthcare. With the abrupt change to online education in 2020, nursing students experienced challenges with virtual learning which impacted their perception of preparedness to practice. There were few qualitative studies completed in the U.S. that investigated the nursing students' experiences. The aim of this study was to explore pre-licensure nursing students' experiences with the transition to virtual learning and their perception of nursing amidst a pandemic. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated nursing students' experiences and perceptions of the nursing profession amidst a pandemic and explored whether students would continue pursuing a career in nursing. DESIGN: A descriptive exploratory qualitative study utilizing focus group interviews and questions using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework. SETTING: A university in Northern Illinois educating baccalaureate degree pre-licensure nursing students. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four pre-licensure nursing students first through fifth semesters. Ten focus groups were established and consisted of two to three students. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study design using the Theory of Planned Behavior to construct 9 semi-structured questions. These questions were utilized in the focus groups (n = 24) and Framework Analysis was utilized to analyze data. RESULTS: Five themes and three sub-themes emerged from the study. Themes included: inspiration to become nurses with sub-themes-students' own inspiration and inspired by family; relationship strain with friend/family due to poor adherence to isolation guidelines; transition to online learning with sub-theme mental health strain; unprepared to begin nursing practice; and ambiguity regarding how to impact government health policy. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the students' perceptions of the nursing profession did not waiver, and their desire to pursue a nursing career was resolute. This study demonstrated the challenges students experienced with a transition to virtual learning. Students expressed having insufficient in-person experiences and felt unprepared to begin practice.