Transition to Practice: The Use of Virtual Clinical Replacement During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on New Graduate Nurse Readiness.

AIM: This study investigated graduate nurse readiness for practice after receiving virtual clinical replacement experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: The pandemic led to the closure of clinical sites for many undergraduate nursing students. Nurse educators replaced the hospital setting with virtual clinical replacement experiences, potentially affecting readiness for practice in graduate nurses. METHOD: The Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey was used to collect data in the areas of demographics, comfort level with skills, work environment stress, job satisfaction, role transition, and the impact of the virtual clinical experience on transition to practice. Descriptive statistics and independent t -tests were used for analysis. RESULTS: The virtual clinical replacement experience was statistically significant with greater confidence in providing for patient safety, stronger professional communication/leadership skills, and recognized support in the workplace. CONCLUSION: The use of virtual clinical replacement experiences had a positive impact on new graduate nurses' transition to practice.

Perception versus reality: a comparative study of the clinical judgment skills of nurses during a simulated activity.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to determine how closely nurses' perceptions of their clinical judgment abilities matched their demonstrated clinical judgment skills during a simulation. METHODS: Seventy-four registered nurses participated in a simulation using a video format. After the simulation, the nurses self-assessed their performance using the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric. This rubric was then used to rate the nurses' actual performance in the simulation activity. RESULTS: The study results showed a significant discrepancy between nurses' perceptions of their own clinical judgment abilities and their demonstrated clinical judgment skills. Age and length of nursing experience enhanced the difference between the findings of self-assessment and actual performance. CONCLUSION: Younger nurses and those with 1 year or less of nursing experience were significantly more likely to have self-assessed their abilities at a much higher level compared with their actual skills.

Use of a virtual community to contextualize learning activities.

This article reports the experiences of two schools of nursing using a virtual community (VC) and how integrated teaching strategies were developed, which lessened the gap between didactic and clinical applications. Exemplars for nursing education practice are highlighted. The term context as used in nursing education, means placing the particular concept, topic, or skill in a setting where it is given enhanced meaning to the learner. This strategy allows nursing students to better retain knowledge and apply new concepts. The VC detailed in this article provides students with such context to enhance learning. It also enhances student engagement by adding an additional level of complexity and richness. One advantage of the VC is the ability to present nursing education beyond the acute inpatient care setting. The VC allows students to observe how illness progresses and exacerbations occur. This pedagogical shift moves from content-driven didactic instruction to a learner-centered approach.