Mental and Technical Readiness of Freshmen Nursing Students in an Online Learning Modality

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic opens more windows to online learning globally. With this, all countries have shifted their educational setup to online learning modalities due to this pandemic. This study assessed the level of mental and technical readiness in the online learning modality of freshmen nursing students in one of the catholic private institutions in the Philippines. The researchers made use of descriptive research. An adapted questionnaire was used as a data-gathering tool but subjected to a reliability test. Results revealed that most of the respondents were female, graduated from the STEM strand, and belong to poor families. It further disclosed that for the mental dimension, the students were ready, and for the technical dimension, they were only somewhat ready. Additionally, inferential statistics showed that among the student’s profiles, the family’s monthly income showed a significant difference specifically between the poor and the lower-middle-income group both in mental and technical dimensions. The proposed psycho-social programs were focused on the topmost indicators that obtained the lowest mean scores among indicators observed, such as the presence of distractions, spending 20-30 hours each week on an online course, and availability of reliable person around, lack of a printer, stable internet connection, and the student’s device compatibility needed for online learning. Thus, the researchers highly recommend that the institution should intensify its orientation program on the use of the learning management system of an online learning modality and improve its program on mental health issues for both students, parents, and teachers.