As the COVID-19 crisis escalated in early 2020, schools of nursing and nursing programs in the United States and around the world shut down. Nurse faculty were forced transition to online teaching in a short time. Descriptive phenomenology was used to explore the experiences of associate degree nurse faculty who transitioned to online teaching during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inductive thematic analysis was performed on the interview data from 41 faculty teaching at associate degree nursing programs in the U.S. The findings of the study are presented under 6 main themes: stressful/overwhelming, feeling emotionally and physically exhausted, support, new knowledge and growth under pressure, new opportunities for nursing education, and leadership in times of crisis. To prevent the worsening of the nurse faculty shortage and help educate nurses for the future, nurse educators must be supported and recognized for their work during this period and beyond.

Integration of nursing classroom didactics with clinical and simulation experiences is crucial to obtaining improved student learning outcomes and successful academic achievement. According to the Institute of Medicine (2010), to ensure the delivery of safe, patient-centered care across settings, the nursing education system must be improved. Patient needs have become more complicated, and nurses need to attain requisite competencies to deliver high-quality care. An important aim is to increase active learning behaviors and maintain student engagement, which will foster an effort to learn and meet the complex needs of patients today. The integration of clinical and simulation with theory concepts can contribute to successful student development, confidence, self-efficacy, and reenforced desire to learn which is the key to success and competence development. Teamwork and collaboration are valued in nursing educational objectives as well as in the workplace. Blending a shared vision and mutual expectations helps to meet goals.