Online Problem-Based Learning During the Pandemic: SWOT Analysis of the Nursing Student’s Opinion

ABSTRACT

Problem-based learning enables nursing students to acquire and develop the competencies necessary for professional nursing. The world pandemic COVID-19 impacted nursing education by including a transition to online and digital platforms. The SWOT analysis was used as an instrument to identify strengths and weaknesses during the period referred, for strategic management of the curriculum course Nursing Decision-Making Process (NDMP). The aim of the study was to identify the positive and negative aspects of the online problem-based learning experience with the NDMP course of the Undergraduate Nursing Program, at the Nursing School of Lisbon. It is a qualitative and exploratory study, with data collected through documental analysis of the two final evaluations of the course the answers to the open-ended question of the individual questionnaire, and the students’ tutorial groups evaluation. The qualitative data analysis was performed according to Bardin through the webQDA software®. The study included 567 students, rom the 2020 and 2021 academic years. The results were for the strength, the orientation and personalization teaching strategies developed during the tutorial orientation;for weaknesses, the insufficient time available for the development of the learning process;for the opportunities, the absence of travelling time home to school, enhanced learning;for the threats, the focus was on work overload which resulted from semesters adjustments. The qualitative research methodology with interpretation and comprehension for what is `said´ by the students, allowed us to identify the positive and negative aspects of online problem-based learning and delineate strategies for the future. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.