Real-Time Online Demonstration for Skills Education for First-Year Nursing Students

BACKGROUND

Few studies have investigated first-year nursing students' perspectives after they received real-time online demonstration (RTOD) for fundamental nursing skills education.

METHOD

A mixed-methods study was conducted with prospective second-year nursing students after they completed a one-semester RTOD class in their first year. With permission from the original authors, an online questionnaire, the Self-Structured Questionnaire (SSQ), was administered to 277 students in undergraduate and higher-diploma programs, followed by two focus group interviews with 13 students. Survey and focus group data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively.

RESULTS

Regarding students' barriers in administrative, individual, and technological areas, three themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) learning quality; (2) connection; and (3) impediments.

CONCLUSION

RTOD contributed to fundamental nursing skills education. However, there was room for improvement. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(1):43-47.].

Acclimating Nursing Students After the Pandemic: "It's ASNAP!"

BACKGROUND

This article describes the development of a comprehensive pilot program, "It's ASNAP!" (Acclimating Nursing Students After the Pandemic). The program incorporated the academic, social, and emotional well-being of undergraduate nursing students returning to campus after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

METHOD

A purposeful sample of 488 students was recruited to participate via an anonymous survey on the academic, social, and emotional aspects of acclimating back to campus life.

RESULTS

A total of 121 undergraduate nursing students responded to the survey. The majority of students reported study groups (79%) and de-stressing events (86%) were the most helpful as they acclimated back to campus. Compared with the emotional and social areas of support, the academic area of support was of highest interest to the students.

CONCLUSION

The "It's ASNAP!" program has been acculturated into the school of nursing to support students via study halls, tutoring, and social activities, as well as resilient threads and listening sessions during finals week. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(9):516-518.].

Student Use and Perceptions of Embedded Formative Assessments in a Basic Science Veterinary Program

This work describes the implementation of online timed closed-book formative assessments across several modules of a first-year undergraduate veterinary program. This process does not require significant time investment since it can be implemented into existing programs of study. Students were surveyed on how they used these formative assessments for learning and overall, were overwhelmingly positive about the opportunity to practice and receive feedback on their performance. Quantitative statistics on preferences as well as qualitative thematic analysis of open free-text questions reveal clear preferences in how they choose to engage with the assessments for learning, as well as how they prefer assessments to be administered. Students were positive about the online nature of the exams and prefer formative assessments to be distributed across the teaching semesters without any time restrictions, allowing them to be completed as and when they choose. Immediate feedback in the form of model answers is the students' preference, although some value signposting to relevant resources for further research. Furthermore, students report that they want more questions and tests to complement their learning, and overwhelming rely on guided and structured activities for learning and revision which will need to be balanced with opportunities to develop critical thinking and independent learning skills when studying in a professional course, given students are not likely to default into such behavior. This work models a process many curriculum designers have, and continue to undergo in higher education as online, hybrid, and blended approaches to teaching have received renewed interest.

Nurse Educators' Perceptions and Self-efficacy in Response to COVID-19: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurse educators had to adapt quickly to required changes in nursing education following isolation mandates. Educators worked diligently to provide a quality remote/online educational experience with limited resources.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this review was to explore nurse educators' perceptions and self-efficacy toward the transformation from the traditional face-to-face teaching to remote/online teaching and simulation/laboratory modifications in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A scoping review, informed by PRISMA-SCR guidelines, was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL Complete, OVID MEDLINE, and Google Scholar.

RESULTS

There were 34 articles included in the final review, with 7 themes identified: teaching pedagogy, technology challenges, online teaching role, learning environment, leadership, clinical education, and well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

The review is relevant to nursing faculty across the globe. Planning for future pandemics should include self-care, use of evidence-based practices, protocols, and increased communication.

A comparison of student and faculty attitudes on the use of Zoom, a video conferencing platform: A mixed-methods study

AIM

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated opportunities and challenges for nursing education, with many nursing programs transitioning in-person courses to online delivery with varying degrees of success. This study aimed to compare the attitudes of baccalaureate nursing students and nursing faculty members towards the use of Zoom for nursing education in Alberta, Canada.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods design was used to measure student and faculty attitudes.

METHODS

Data were collected using a Likert-scale survey with the opportunity to share additional perceptions in the form of qualitative data. Quantitative data underwent descriptive analysis as well as inferential analysis comparing results from both groups. A thematic analysis was conducted for qualitative data.

RESULTS

Most student and faculty participants favour in-person learning approaches to online platforms. Students' attitudes toward online practice experiences were overwhelmingly negative, citing concerns with lack of relational practice and skill development. Achievements and barriers were also identified with online learning.

CONCLUSIONS

With an uncertain future in nursing education, opportunities exist to examine current nursing education program delivery and thoughtfully augment in-person learning approaches with online methods.