Abstract
BackgroundSafety measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated universities to reorganise teaching to accommodate the students' needs, including nursing students who had been called back into clinical practice to support front-line nursing.PurposeTo describe the experiences of post-graduate students in nursing sciences (experienced in clinical nursing) during the Covid-19 pandemic.MethodThis qualitative descriptive study took place at a Swiss University delivering masters and doctoral programmes in nursing sciences. Participants were post-graduate students enrolled in masters and doctoral programmes. All current students were invited by email to participate in three focus groups, which were recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsThirteen students participated, with a majority who had been called back into clinical practice. Four themes were identified: Challenges of caring for patients during the coronavirus pandemic, Challenges of being a student during the pandemic, Resilience amid the difficulties, and Recognition of the Clinical Nurse Specialist competencies.ConclusionsOur results showed that amid the challenges, post-graduate nursing students demonstrated high leadership skills, resilience, and a tremendous sense of professional duty, where patients' and families' best interest remained their main concerns. Educators and nurse administrators need to acknowledge the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on post-graduate nurses, caught in the tension between their academic career aspirations and duty of care to patients, families, and the healthcare system.
Highlights
Reacting to the COVID19 pandemic in the education sector, schools and universities worldwide restricted access to their campuses and put in place new teaching modalities, such as online teaching, remote online assessments, as well as the suspension of non-essential services, such as closure of libraries and student counselling services
It was difficult for those in the final year of training and those who had to adapt to new teaching and learning modalities, and suspend their studies whilst being called in to provide or support front-line nursing care (Gomez-Ibanez et al, 2020; Lowes, 2020; Savitsky et al, 2020)
A quali tative study reported the experiences of final-year nursing students employed by Spanish healthcare services to provide care during the first surge of the pandemic
Summary
Reacting to the COVID19 pandemic in the education sector, schools and universities worldwide restricted access to their campuses and put in place new teaching modalities, such as online teaching, remote online assessments, as well as the suspension of non-essential services, such as closure of libraries and student counselling services. Clinical placements had to be suspended and the transition to remote teaching and learning took place whilst clinical services struggled to cope with the care and treat ment of Covid-19 patients It was difficult for those in the final year of training and those who had to adapt to new teaching and learning modalities, and suspend their studies whilst being called in to provide or support front-line nursing care (Gomez-Ibanez et al, 2020; Lowes, 2020; Savitsky et al, 2020). A quali tative study reported the experiences of final-year nursing students employed by Spanish healthcare services to provide care during the first surge of the pandemic They reported a strong sense of commitment towards the community and to being a nurse, despite many unknown challenges (Gomez-Ibanez et al, 2020). Given that more than 60% of the post-graduate students in nursing sciences had to support the workforce, the University of Lau sanne decided to interrupt their semester – a unique decision, as all other university programmes were maintained
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