ABSTRACT
Making the decision to pursue doctoral studies can be daunting and in some instances life changing. As a dedicated cadre of doctorally prepared minority nurse leaders, we provide mentoring and support to aspiring and current underrepresented minority (URM) doctoral nursing students. Providing support and guidance around doctoral readiness is essential to helping URMS navigate the doctoral nursing education journey.
Subject(s)
Education, Nursing, Graduate , Mentoring , Students, Nursing , Humans , Mentors , Minority Groups/educationABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for public health nursing as an integral part of a strong public health workforce. However, it has also created challenges in preparing future nurses as much of nursing instruction, including clinical experiences, needed to urgently transition learning to a virtual environment. This paper describes the process faculty experienced during spring 2020 to quickly transition public health nursing clinicals from in-person to virtual learning in response to COVID-19. Further, faculty lessons learned are shared and include the importance of creating a supportive team dynamic, embracing innovation, continuing to engage with community partners, and adapting to meet emerging student needs during the evolving pandemic. The process and lessons learned may act as a guide for other nursing programs as we continue to navigate nursing education during this and future pandemics.
