Bachelor of Science in Nursing faculty perceptions of distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic [Version 1, Peer Review - In Progress]

Introduction: the COVID-19 pandemic generated a disruption in the modality of face-to-face education, forcing an abrupt migration to virtuality with little or no prior preparation, which makes it necessary to analyze the perception and satisfaction of teachers with the development of activities in this format. Objective: to analyze the perception and satisfaction with education in virtual modality during the COVID-19 pandemic of the teachers of the Nursing Degree of the University Institute of the Argentine Federal Police of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Methods: a descriptive, cross-sectional, and quantitative study was designed. The sample consisted of 23 teachers who responded to an instrument consisting of 21 questions with closed response options. Results: the mean age was 52 years (SD: 10), 87 % were women and 79,9 % have children, 56,5 % are teachers of third-year subjects of the curriculum and 56,5 % have a degree level of training. 65,2 % mentioned that in virtuality their main difficulty was the resistance of students to turn on their cameras and 43,5 % perceive the qualifications obtained in virtuality as equivalent to face-to-face. Those who possessed a postgraduate degree (p=0,005) and those who wished to continue virtual activities after isolation (p=0,041) were found to have higher levels of satisfaction. Conclusions: an average level of satisfaction was found with a score of 6.8 out of 10 and the perception of the virtual modality for the development of classes during the pandemic was positive. © 2023, Publicacion de la Asociacion Salud, Ciencia y Tecnologia. All rights reserved.

Technology Acceptance and Authenticity in Interactive Simulation: Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: Remote and virtual simulations have gained prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic as institutions maintain social distancing measures. Because of the challenges of cost, flexibility, and feasibility in traditional mannequin simulation, many health care educators have used videos as a remote simulation modality; however, videos provide minimal interactivity. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of interactivity in students' simulation experiences. We analyzed students' perceptions of technology acceptance and authenticity in interactive and noninteractive simulations. METHODS: Undergraduate nursing students participated in interactive and noninteractive simulations. The interactive simulation was conducted using interactive video simulation software that we developed, and the noninteractive simulation consisted of passively playing a video of the simulation. After each simulation, the students completed a 10-item technology acceptance questionnaire and 6-item authenticity questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In addition, we performed an exploratory analysis to compare technology acceptance and authenticity in interactive local and remote simulations using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Data from 29 students were included in this study. Statistically significant differences were found between interactive and noninteractive simulations for overall technology acceptance (P<.001) and authenticity (P<.001). Analysis of the individual questionnaire items showed statistical significance for 3 out of the 10 technology acceptance items (P=.002, P=.002, and P=.004) and 5 out of the 6 authenticity items (P<.001, P<.001, P=.001, P=.003, and P=.005). The interactive simulation scored higher than the noninteractive simulation in all the statistically significant comparisons. Our exploratory analysis revealed that local simulation may promote greater perceptions of technology acceptance (P=.007) and authenticity (P=.027) than remote simulation. CONCLUSIONS: Students' perceptions of technology acceptance and authenticity were greater in interactive simulation than in noninteractive simulation. These results support the importance of interactivity in students' simulation experiences, especially in remote or virtual simulations in which students' involvement may be less active.

Nursing students' experiences of using flipcharts as a learning tool during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Building mastery of clinical skills is essential for nursing students to ensure readiness for clinical placements. During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, limited face-to-face teaching and student access to campus facilities, along with the rapid adoption of online methods, increased the need to develop innovative teaching tools to support students. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore nursing student perceptions and experiences of using Flipcharts for learning clinical nursing skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: This study used a qualitative descriptive design. METHODS: Second-year nursing students were invited to participate at the end of the semester to share their experiences of using Flipcharts in their clinical simulation laboratory. A total of 12 nursing students participated in individual semi-structured interviews conducted between December 2020 and February 2021. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's six-step method of thematic analysis. RESULTS: The findings of the study demonstrated that students considered Flipcharts to be beneficial in developing their clinical skills and were additionally valuable in supporting students with English as a second language. Three major themes were identified: the perceived value of Flipcharts during limited face-to-face teaching, the role of Flipcharts in supporting skills acquisition across learning domains, and the practicality and accessibility of this learning resource across different mediums. CONCLUSION: Students perceived the use of Flipcharts to be valuable in achieving mastery of clinical skills during COVID-19. The students' experience of using Flipcharts was positive overall and found the learning tool practical and accessible in supplementing learning.

Academic nursing leadership: Lessons learned during a pandemic: A qualitative research study.

BACKGROUND: In the wake of the pandemic and faculty shortage, strong academic nurse leaders (ANL) are needed to ensure quality education and professional standards are upheld while preparing future nurses. OBJECTIVES: This team explored experiences and perspectives of ANLs during the pandemic in order to better understand the difficulties they faced, their triumphs and failures, and lessons learned. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This descriptive-exploratory qualitative study captured leadership experiences of 11 academic leaders from a large, urban, Midwestern college of nursing. METHODS: Three focus group sessions were conducted virtually using a structured question guide and content analysis of transcripts. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from analysis: Technology, Time and Change, and Well-being. Content analysis also revealed leadership strategies and "pearls of wisdom" offered by participants. CONCLUSIONS: ANLs faced many challenges during the pandemic that required them to remain steady and present, while practicing regular and effective communication to foster strong relationships. As higher education and healthcare environments develop more complexity and remain constantly changing, leaders must be strategic, emotionally intelligent, and innovative in their roles.

A cross-case study: the personal and professional challenges experienced by nurse educators at three Midwestern colleges and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the educational system in the United States, especially nursing. Nurse educators are essential to educating the next generation of nurses, but they are in short supply while the need for nurses is growing. There is limited research on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on nurse educators' wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to explore the personal and professional challenges of being an academic nurse educator during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of this transition on their lives and academic nursing in the future. The research questions were (1) How do nurse educators describe the pedagogical challenges encountered when changing the format of nursing education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) How do nurse educators describe the effects of the pedagogical challenges (when changing the format of nursing education) encountered and institutional constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic on their personal wellbeing? (3) How do nurse educators believe their personal and professional challenges, through experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, may impact academic nursing education going forward? The theoretical lens used to guide the study was Hardy and Conway's Role Theory and Schoening's Nurse Educator Transition (NET) model.The study design was a qualitative multiple-case, descriptive study employing a cross-case analysis of five nurse educator's individual interviews and documents employed at three baccalaureate nursing programs. Each nurse educator's case was individually presented and analyzed, then cross-analyzed. From the cross-analysis eight themes and five sub-themes where developed. The eight themes identified were (1) the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in pedagogical changes by the nurse educator to meet the course and student learning objectives;(2) nurse educators experienced tension over ethical issues that resulted in disunity;(3) institutional communication plays an important role in nurse educator satisfaction;(4) nurse educators struggled to balance educator role and home/life responsibilities;(5) nurse educators emotional and physical wellbeing declined due to educator role demands;(6) nurse educators are proud of their own and their student's resiliency;(7) student success became the nurse educator's responsibility and;(8) future academic nursing will change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Factors influencing nursing students' care intentions toward emerging infectious diseases patients: A descriptive-predictive study

Purpose: As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other emerging infectious diseases continue to threaten health security, a strategy is required to increase nursing students' care intention for patients with such diseases. This study aimed to identify factors influencing Korean nursing students' care intentions in regard to patients with emerging infectious diseases. Methods: The care intention, COVID-19 knowledge level, ethical sensitivity, beliefs, attitudes toward the care intention, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were investigated using the theory of planned behavior. An online survey was completed from December 2020 to January 2021 by 227 nursing students who had complete a clinical practicum. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted on the data. Results: The care intention was higher in men than in women nursing students and in junior than in senior students. Behavioral and normative beliefs, attitude toward the behavior, and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted care intention. Ethical sensitivity increased the predictability of nursing students' care intentions for emerging infectious disease patients. Conclusion: The theory of planned behavior predicted nursing students' care intentions for emerging infectious diseases. Therefore, an experience-based response program on emerging infectious diseases is required for nursing students. © 2022 The Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education.

The synchronous group virtual simulation experience: Associate degree nursing students' perceptions.

The use of virtual simulations exponentially increased as nursing schools experienced an urgent need to integrate online educational technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative descriptive study was conducted to explore associate degree nursing students' perceptions about the comprehensive Synchronous Group Virtual Simulation educational strategy. This strategy was developed based on the National League for Nursing Jeffries Simulation Theory (JST) and the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM, including structured synchronous prebriefing and debriefing stages. Content analysis revealed 12 recurrent themes, from which 10 positive themes strongly correlated with concepts of the JST. Our findings support the effectiveness of a high-quality synchronous virtual simulation-guided by an empirically supported simulation theoretical framework and evidence-based simulation best practice standards-can be realistic, experiential, interactive, collaborative, learner-centered, and promote simulation participant outcomes.

Perspectives of nursing students on challenges of e-learning during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND:  E-learning is becoming an important approach to teaching and learning in higher education institutions, including nursing training. Despite that, there are students who were never introduced to e-learning prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Their challenges in relation to e-learning could differ from those of other students who had experienced the platform before, especially against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought an abrupt change in the approach to teaching, learning and assessment. OBJECTIVES:  This study explored and described university nursing students' challenges in relation to e-learning during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in a resource-constrained setting. METHOD:  Qualitative exploratory and contextual design was used. The sample consisted of 17 participants who were conveniently selected, and data were collected by means of two focus groups and five individual interviews. Data analysis followed a qualitative content analysis process. RESULTS:  The five categories emanated from analysis are e-learning mode not suitable for practical components, challenges related to assessment of learning, connectivity issues, e-learning is a lonely journey and computer illiteracy and limited skills for the use of e-learning. CONCLUSION:  Nursing students' challenges regarding e-learning during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic related to the learning of practical components, assessment, connectivity, a lack of interaction with peers and a lack of the skills required to operate e-learning tools.Contribution: The findings have implications for international, regional and local contexts in helping to develop support systems and preparing students to use e-learning when it is introduced abruptly.

Adapting Simulation Education During a Pandemic.

Nursing education faced unprecedented challenges in maintaining quality clinical and simulation instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategies to maintain clinical engagement and meet course objectives included using virtual simulation and safely reopening simulation laboratories as soon as it was possible. When using virtual experiences for replacement of clinical or simulation, it is critical that standards of best practice are implemented. Safely reopening laboratories required plans for social distancing, health screening, personal protective equipment, disinfecting, and educating users on the new protocols. Combining these strategies resulted in delivering quality instruction without interruption during the pandemic.

A scoping review of nursing education for firearm safety.

BACKGROUND: Firearm violence, whether intentional or accidental, affects families worldwide. Nurses often encounter firearm-related injury and death with little knowledge or preparation for dealing with firearm safety issues. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to locate published research on nurse education in firearm safety and examine the preparation of nurses to deal with issues of firearm safety as a deterrent toward decreasing violence. The review included nurse perceptions of barriers and facilitators related to firearm safety in clinical situations. DESIGN: A literature scoping review for article identification, examination, and reporting was structured on the extended form of Arksey and O'Malley's 5-step design framework. DATA SOURCES: Databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, Sociological Abstracts, PsychInfo, and ERIC were searched for articles in English language published between 2010 and 2021 that included nurses in the studies' samples. REVIEW METHODS: Searches were managed via Covidence®, a literature screening and data extraction tool. Two independent reviewers screened the articles retrieved from the databases by title, abstract, and full-text review. Data from selected articles were extracted onto a spreadsheet and critically appraised for eligibility. RESULTS: A search of healthcare databases resulted in identification of 645 articles, of which 15 met inclusion criteria. Seven of the 15 articles addressed nurse firearm safety preparation, and seven related to counseling firearm safety for suicide prevention. Main barriers included lack of standardized guidelines, inadequate knowledge, and discomfort discussing firearm safety with patients and families. CONCLUSIONS: The scoping review findings show a noticeable gap: nurse education addressing firearm safety is, for all purposes, non-existent. A need exists for evidence-based training within academic curricula and across acute and behavioral healthcare settings.

Trauma and survivance: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous nursing students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in tremendous educational and health impacts for Indigenous peoples and communities. Yet, little is known about the impacts of the pandemic on Indigenous nursing students in Canada. Guided by an Indigenous conceptual framework and a qualitative sharing circle methodology, the interconnected personal, academic, and community impacts of the pandemic were explored with Indigenous nursing students (n = 17). Overall, the pandemic exacerbated and compounded prior traumas Indigenous students and communities have experienced across generations on Turtle Island. Participants suffered worsening psychological distress and significant losses during the pandemic, especially losses in learning and cultural safety. However, the pandemic also revealed silver linings including: the benefits of online learning; and demonstrations of posttraumatic growth, survivance, and community strength. These findings are relevant to informing culturally safe and trauma-informed strategies, policies, administrators, and educators in schools of nursing.

Health as expanding consciousness: Change of psychological situation in nursing students.

AIM: This study aims to explore the mind of Chinese nursing students transitioning to online education in the pandemic using health as expanding consciousness (HEC) as methodology. DESIGN: A qualitative, descriptive study based on interviews. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted from September to November 2021 by students in the Guangzhou university of Chinese medicine. Thirteen participants were recruited using purposive sampling. A questionnaire containing two sections with demographic information, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC)-10 was collected to explore the health of participants. RESULTS: A total of 13 participants were enrolled in the study (69% female). Students ranged in age between 19 and 24 years and the mean age was 22 years. All students lived with their families. Five participants (38%) had a master's degree in nursing, three (23%) were in fourth year of college, four (30%) were in third year of college and one (7%) was in their second year of college respectively. More than half of the participants had high levels of mental toughness and self-efficacy. Four generic categories were identified form a unitary-transformative paradigm perspective. The respondents reported three health pattern phases: Curriculum Transformation, Curriculum adaptation and Curriculum expansion. CONCLUSION: This research backs up Newman's hypothesis, and supports the theoretical framework. HEC explains well the psychology of nursing students during the epidemic. More research is needed in the future to develop comprehensive, targeted emotional regulation therapies for nursing students.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perioperative transition to specialty practice program.

AIM: To understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted nurse educators' and novice nurses' experience with the perioperative transition to specialty practice program. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five perioperative nurse educators and five perioperative transition to specialty practice program participants from a major metropolitan health service in Melbourne. Data were collected between April and July 2021. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Five themes were identified. The value of the perioperative transition to specialty practice program in supporting novice nurses was recognized in the theme 'Nurturing our novices'. Widespread changes to clinical practice were demonstrated in the theme 'Every day is different', including changes to elective surgery, redeployment of staff and the transmission risk of COVID-19. 'The perils and joys of online learning' revealed both challenges and benefits of transitioning theoretical education from face-to-face to online delivery. 'Roller coaster of emotions' represented the heightened emotions participants experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 'Looking back to move forward' encompassed participants' reflections on the year, considering the challenges, adaptive strategies and the future of perioperative nursing education. CONCLUSION: The perioperative transition to specialty practice program was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants needed to adapt to rapid and frequent changes, which contributed to feelings of emotional distress, affected consolidation of clinical learning and reduced engagement with theoretical education. IMPACT: Perioperative nurses should acknowledge that opportunities for learning were decreased for transition to specialty practice program participants during the pandemic. Ongoing support and education should be provided, to nurture the future generation of perioperative nurses.

Nursing Student Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic From 2020-2021: A Thematic Analysis.

Background: As part of program evaluation, the New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium, a consortium of eleven state-funded nursing schools, asks that students complete end-of-term surveys. In Spring 2020, a question was added to the survey to elicit challenges experienced by students during the COVID-19 pandemic: "What was the biggest challenge that you had in completing the semester/term?" This question again was asked of students in Spring 2021. Objectives: To determine challenges faced by nursing students in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Design: Qualitative. Settings: Eleven state-funded nursing schools belonging to the New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium. Participants: Students enrolled in member nursing programs. Methods: Braun and Clarke's 2006 thematic analysis. Results: Eight themes were identified for each of the two years. Conclusions: Nursing faculty must anticipate and respond to student feedback while maintaining proficiency in face-to-face and online teaching-learning strategies. Waiting until emergencies arise that require different types of pedagogy is not sufficient to ensure instructor proficiency with online pedagogies.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

COVID-19 is a challenge for education systems around the world. This study aimed to evaluate the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing students, by assessing their emotions, the level of concern in contracting the virus and their perceived stress. We conducted an observational cross-sectional study. A total of 709 nursing students completed an anonymous questionnaire. The levels of anxiety and stress were assessed using the generalized anxiety disorder scale and the COVID-19 student stress questionnaire, respectively. In total, 56.8% of the sample often or always found it difficult to attend distance-learning activities. The main difficulty referred to was connection problems (75.7%). The mean generalized anxiety disorder score was 9.46 (SD = 5.4) and appeared almost homogeneous among students across the three years of study; most of the students showed mild (35%) to moderate (27%) levels of anxiety; 19% had severe anxiety. The overall COVID-19 stressor mean scores were 11.40 (SD = 6.50); the majority of the students (47.1%) showed scores indicative of moderate stress, 25% showed low stress levels, and 28% showed high-stress levels. Improvements and investments are needed to ensure high-quality distance learning, adequate connectivity, technical support for students, as well as strategies to promote mental health.

Scaffolding as active learning in nursing education.

Recent changes, such as COVID-19 restrictions and advances in technology, have led to unique effects on nursing education, requiring new pedagogical thinking and strategies. Studies have shown that a more active approach to learning leads to positive gains for students. In this conceptual paper, we argue that scaffolding specifically allows instructors to break down assignments into meaningful chunks with instructional support that fall within reach of a student's ability, making the assignment both more manageable and actively engaging. This paper outlines six principles (Van Lier, 1996) to the scaffolding approach and discusses two example assignments that utilize scaffolding in nursing education to increase active engagement and improve learning outcomes. Examples include a research critique paper and an unfolding case study.

Investigating Nursing Students' Satisfaction with the Quality of Courses and Virtual Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020-2021

Education in medical sciences, including nursing, has encountered numerous challenges following the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Additionally, students' satisfaction with the methods of instruction can be accompanied by improved learning outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the nursing students' satisfaction with the quality of courses (SQC) and satisfaction with virtual learning (SVL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted at a nursing school (105 nursing students) in Tehran,Iran, in the first semester of 2020-2021. The individual characteristics questionnaire, the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), and the e-Learning Satisfaction Questionnaire (e-LSQ) were used for data collection. More than 88% of the nursing students were satisfied with the quality of the courses. The level of SVL in 57.1% of them was moderate. Among the individual variables, only the academic semester was regarded as a predictor of SQC (p=0.025). There was no significant relationship between the dimensions and the total score of CEQ with students' academic achievement (p<0.05). Additionally, all the CEQ dimensions were significant predictors of the nursing students' SQC (p<0.001). Given the unknown time of eradicating COVID-19, it is necessary to adopt appropriate policies and perform proper planning to continue better nursing education and increase student satisfaction.