Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the sphere of education forever as administrators and educators were challenged with the need to balance between limited resources and restricted learning. It was crucial to determine how to continue education for students even though there was a lack of personnel preparation to meet the persistent challenges. Besides, the pandemic increased the severity of socioeconomic limitations, which became more prominent. In the post-COVID-19 context, the sphere of education is experiencing the ‘new normal’.
Problem
Focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on nursing education, several issues emerged. Students had to be removed from clinical practice settings because the risks to learners were both personal and professional. Besides, there was a lack of sufficient protective measures to guarantee students’ safety and educators could not effectively transfer clinical experiences to nursing students. Therefore, nursing education had to rely on remote patient monitoring as a learning practice (Kaveh et al., 2022).
Review of Literature -General Challenges
In general, the COVID-19 pandemic cause an educational crisis with schools shutting down and shifting to either remote or hybrid learning methods (Parveen et al., 2022). It was necessary to shift to either remote or hybrid learning methods because adjusting to sudden changes was the only way to preserve education (DeCoito & Estaiteyeh, 2022). Educators and administrators needed to adjust to new instruction methods and combine instructional design, careful planning, and development as well as make investments in support systems for educators (Pier et al., 2021).
Review of Literature general opportunities
Despite the challenges and disruptions, online teaching allowed for more flexibility and decreased dependence on time and space in education (DeCoito & Estaiteyeh, 2022). Educators could implement creative methods of instruction, with online and digital resources enriching classroom interactions. Besides, the highlighting of persistent socioeconomic disadvantages called for administrators to be proactive in meeting student needs (Mineo, 2021).
Review of Literature: nursing education during the pandemic -Challenges
The literature on the disruption of COVID-19 in nursing education suggests that educators had to make radical adjustments in instruction methods. There were no longer educational spaces available at practice facilities because they were challenged by the ongoing flow of patients diagnosed with the illness. Besides, no clinical competency exams could be implemented while internship planning was disrupted by increased workloads (Kaveh et al., 2022). Nurse educators stated that they did not know how many students could attend practice lessons (Kaveh et al., 2022).
Review of Literature: nursing education during the pandemic
Challenges
As a result of the pandemic, educators had to prioritize students’ health and avoid contact with patients to minimize student risks. Educators had anxiousness over attending internship courses while students felt that personal protective equipment was insufficient, drawing from research findings (Agu et al., 2021). Because of the rapid spreading of COVID-19, changes in the personal and professional lifestyles of students and educators. Importantly, significant socioeconomic and demographic challenges increased during the pandemic.
Educational facilities that allow students to learn how to take care of patients no longer perform their roles because of the fears of contracting and transmitting COVID-19. Consequently, there was limited skill acquisition in nursing education programs as students were unable to successfully perform procedures and could not fulfill nursing processes independently (Kaveh et al., 2022). Besides, less importance is given to obtaining a nursing history, which is a significant disadvantage. Overall, it was quite challenging to learn the basic principles of patient care without practicing.
The literature review suggested that the move to online methods led to unequal access to learning in light of the already existing academic-practice gap in learning, which led to gaps between what is taught and the knowledge that is necessary for practice. In addition, the pandemic has disrupted enhancing nursing students’ practice competencies, with graduates not being able to prepare for safe and effective care (Weberg et al., 2021). As a result, educators had to develop innovative learning and curriculum models.
As a result of the disruption, several technological solutions for nursing education were established. Virtual simulations for learning became highly in demand for nursing educators who also had to produce video recordings to simulate clinical experiences. To make conclusions about the materials being learned, small group work was established as a way to promote clinical judgment. Most of the online activities were designed with a focus on specific knowledge and competencies while time spent in clinical settings was no longer a priority (Oermann, 2021).
Despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic, nursing students continued their learning and developing clinical judgment while fewer clinical practice hours were replaced with teacher-student discussions. As a result, students had the opportunity to evaluate various hypothetical patient cases. Oermann (2021) reported that some online learning strategies were more effective than interactions in busy clinical settings, especially since group discussions allowed for more detailed clinical analyses. Moreover, more time was given to reflect on clinical decision-making.
One of the major opportunities was the combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning strategies. To develop effective learning solutions, simulation experts worked closely with nurse educators. For instance, they created virtual assignments equated to 12-hour clinical shifts (Lewandowski et al., 2021). After completing simulations, which allowed for modeling patient EHRs, students were to complete live online sessions and post-simulation debriefings mimicked those in real clinical settings.
Discussion
The literature review allows for the conclusion that COVID-19 brought challenges to both students and educators. Because the disruptive changes came suddenly, educators and administrators had to make rapid adjustments. Specifically, there was a high need to shift to online learning environments as clinical learning settings could no longer function as they used to. Both students and educators reported fearing contracting or transferring COVID-19 when practicing in the clinical setting. Therefore, there were limited opportunities to teach students at hospitals, which was the cornerstone of nursing education.
Despite the disruptions in the educational process, nursing educators could think creatively. For example, in collaboration with IT personnel, simulations were developed to suit specific learning needs so that learning could become more knowledge-focused. Digital learning meant that students did not have to risk their health practicing at facilities, with more time being spent on discussing hypothetical patient cases in more detail. In addition, nursing students got more opportunities for reflection and self-assessment as they experienced less pressure.
Conclusion
To conclude, COVID-19 will have a lasting effect on nursing education, calling for an increased number of resources and preparation of educators and administrators. The ‘new normal’ context of nursing education entails increasing the creativity of educators, with digital solutions and online learning offering significant benefits. Besides, as shown by the literature review, virtual simulations developed to address educators’ needs can replace some parts of nurses’ training. Overall, to capitalize on the opportunities, there is a need for more favorable environments that facilitate equality.
References
Agu, C. F., Stewart, J., McFarlane-Stewart, N., & Rae, T. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic effects on nursing education: looking through the lens of a developing country. International Nursing Review, 68(2), 153–158. Web.
Kaveh, O., Charati, F. G., Kamali, M., & Araghian, F. (2022). Clinical nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives of students and clinical educators. BMC Nursing, 286. Web.
Lewandowski, S., Landry, K., & Prieto, V. (2021). Rising to the COVID-19 nursing education challenges and transitioning to online clinical practice: Reflecting a year later. Nurse Educator, 46(6), 141-142. Web.
Mineo, L. (2021). Post-pandemic challenges for schools. Web.
Oermann, M, H. (2021). COVID-19 disruptions to clinical education: Nurse educators rise to the challenges. Nurse Educator, 46(1), 1.
Parveen, K., Tran, P. Q. B., Alghamdi, A. A., Namaziandost, E., Aslam, S., & Xiaowei, T. (2022). Identifying the leadership challenges of K-12 public schools during COVID-19 disruption: A systematic literature review. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 875646. Web.
Pier, L., Hough, H. J., Christian, M., & Bookman, N., Wilkenfeld, B., & Miller, R. (2021). COVID-19 and the educational equity crisis: Evidence on learning loss from the CORE data collaborative. Web.
Weberg, D., Chan, G., & Dickow, M. (2021). Disrupting nursing education in light of COVID-19. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Web.