Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Competencies of Academic Staff of Nursing Faculties Regarding their Use of Online Applications in Teaching / Learning Tasks

Abstract

As a response to COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of universities across the world have either postponed or canceled all its activities and use distance learning to mitigate loss of learning. The aim of the study was to determine the effect ofCOVID-19 pandemic on the competencies of academic staff of nursing faculties regarding the use of online applications in teaching and learning tasks. Study design: Web-based descriptive study design. Settings: Six faculties of nursing affiliated to six Egyptian governmental Universities were chosen randomly. Subjects: A convenience sample of 457 nursing academic staff working at the previous mentioned settings. Study tool: A structured web-based questionnaire schedule that consisted of three parts. part I: Nursing academic staff‟ personal data. Part II: Past experience of academic staff regarding their use of online applications for teaching and learning. Part III: Competencies of the academic nursing staff regarding their use of online applications for teaching and learning. Results: before COVID-19 pandemic, only less than two fifths of the studied subjects used the online applications for teaching/learning process. After the pandemic, more than half of them attended committees, workshops or councils via online applications. More than half of the studied staff had low level of competencies in using online applications, and all staff reported their need for more training. Conclusion &recommendations: the highest percentage of academic nursing staff had low competency in dealing with online applications for teaching or learning. So, it was recommended that, universities must ensure supporting instructors in transitioning to online teaching via professional development or training.