The impact of COVID19 on advanced practice nursing education and practice: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aim: To explore Master of Nursing students' perspectives toward the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the advanced practice nurse preparatory education and practice. Background: Like many nursing education programmes, the advanced practice nurse preparatory training was greatly affected and had to radically change to adapt to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a strain on the healthcare system and advanced practice nurses have been expected to modify their normal practice to provide care in unprecedented ways. Methods:The study used a descriptive qualitative design. Semi-structured videoconference interviews were conducted in an autonomous university (June-July 2020). The recruitment of participants (n = 14) concluded upon data saturation. A thematic analysis was conducted. The COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines were used. Findings: Three main themes were identified: (1) overcome adversity through innovation, (2) acceptance of remote learning and (3) versatility of advanced practice nurses in an ongoing pandemic. Each theme was further explained by two subthemes to further elucidate the impact of COVID-19 on the advanced practice nurse preparatory training and practice. Discussion: The evolution of the advanced practice nurse preparatory education catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic brought on innovation. The ability of advanced practice nurses to adapt to evolving healthcare needs was also highlighted. Conclusion:Although face-to-face teaching and services are gradually returning, some innovations that arose during the pandemic may be worth keeping. Implications for nursing: Nursing educators in higher education institutions can benefit from adopting technology to mitigate the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic Implications for nursing policy: Nurse leaders should review the role of advanced practice nurses to determine how best to capitalise on their practice to meet rising healthcare needs.

A Meta-synthesis on Technology-Based Learning Among Healthcare Students in Southeast Asia

“…The pre-rejected mean quality score was 26.73 (95% CI = 24.74–28.72). In the end, only 23 articles, the majority of which were published during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic [ 52 – 66 ] and the remaining [ 67 – 74 ] during the COVID-19 period, were included, with the final mean quality score of 29.78 (95% CI = 28.34–31.22). For the mixed-method study, only the qualitative section was evaluated and extracted.…”

“…However, the COVID-19 studies explored the learners’ experiences on how technology becomes a part of daily life, focusing on life experiences rather than on technology. It can be summarized where the pre-COVID studies observed consumer and design studies on the use of technology [ 54 – 66 ], except for some [ 52 , 53 ], whereas COVID-19 studies observed life experience as learners utilizing technology in learning [ 67 , 69 , 71 , 72 , 74 ], except for some [ 68 , 70 , 73 ]. Studies focusing on the technology and product emphasized their advantages and were optimistically reported, whereas studies on life experience paid more attention to reporting on the challenges and limitations in learning.…”

“…So when this thing happened, I realised that probably a lot of teaching could be done, a lot more than I expected, can be done virtually. And it could be just as attractive, and maybe even more convenient for us… I have learned to embrace virtual learning as a learning platform after this [sic].” (First-order construct, Woo et al [ 74 ]) “Sometimes inequities occur based on the family’s socioeconomic status. Many children do not have a chance to access basic internet which created a discrepancy” (first-order construct, Kunaviktikul et al [ 69 ]) The value and limitation of technology in learning Benefits of technology “To get global health information, especially in Australia; have foreign friends; to know the different health challenges in Indonesia and Australia and then discuss together” (first-order construct, Ambrose et al [ 52 ]) “[The virtual patient] provided safe practice environments that allowed more privacy and room for trial and error” (second-order construct, Shorey et al [ 63 ]) “After experiencing real-life interprofessional rounds at workplaces to supplement the prior virtual reality simulation experiences, several students appreciated their values in fostering holistic patient-centered care” (second-order construct, Liaw et al [ 59 ]) “[T]he students could demonstrate learned knowledge interestingly by presenting in class and online via LMS” (second-order construct, Youngwanichsetha [ 65 ]) “Then I was surprised with the fact that, I mean, if you put all the academics aside, it really functions as like a real game and real strategies.” (First-order construct, Tan et al [ 73 ]) “So, you have to keep exercising your critical thinking and improving your knowledge, so with all these gaming apps right, it helps us to um, it throws us questions so that we can keep improving on our knowledge.” (First-order construct, Ignacio and Chen [ 56 ]) “It allows me to do it by myself, ‘cause if in a in a reallife setting, I think I’ll be in the group and sometimes work is distributed among all of us that I will miss up some steps.…”

Student Interviews Exploring the Influence of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Graduate Nursing Education

“…Fourteen students were interviewed for this descriptive, qualitative study. Key themes found included the concept of “overcoming adversity through innovation” and “acceptance of remote learning” ( Woo et al, 2021 ). Even with differences in educational systems and interview questions, the Singapore results aligned with aspects of this research, in that flexibility and innovation were noted by both studies to be key concepts in students adapting to the changes in graduate nursing education due to the pandemic.…”

“…As of February 15, 2022, there have been over 413 million diagnosed cases worldwide and over 5.8 million deaths, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center ( John Hopkins University and Medicine, 2022 ). Despite an increase in persons being vaccinated, the surge in infections attributed to new variants is evidence that the coronavirus continues to be a worldwide health crisis ( World Health Organization, 2022 ).…”