Background: When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, nursing programs made rapid decisions regarding clinical placement experiences for students. In many nursing programs, this meant ending clinical placements early, delaying clinical courses, and moving clinical courses to simulation.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore LPN-BN students' experiences in clinical courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: A qualitative descriptive approach was employed in this study. Fifteen semi-structured conversational interviews with nursing students and recent graduates were conducted. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse the data.
Results: Four main concepts were identified: (1) logistics of learning; (2) shifts in clinical learning; (3) mental health matters; (4) readiness to practice.
Conclusion: It is important to understand the experience of nursing students as this is an inordinately stressful and impressionable time for them. Insight into the student experience, will inform educators in the areas of curriculum and competency-based evaluation as well as supports for student mental health and well-being.
Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical education; Curriculum; Nursing students; Qualitative research; Undergraduate nursing education.
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