AIMThis study investigated graduate nurse readiness for practice after receiving virtual clinical replacement experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.BACKGROUNDThe pandemic led to the closure of clinical sites for many undergraduate nursing students. Nurse educators replaced the hospital setting with virtual clinical replacement experiences, potentially affecting readiness for practice in graduate nurses.METHODThe Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey was used to collect data in the areas of demographics, comfort level with skills, work environment stress, job satisfaction, role transition, and the impact of the virtual clinical experience on transition to practice. Descriptive statistics and independent t-tests were used for analysis.RESULTSThe virtual clinical replacement experience was statistically significant with greater confidence in providing for patient safety, stronger professional communication/leadership skills, and recognized support in the workplace.CONCLUSIONThe use of virtual clinical replacement experiences had a positive impact on new graduate nurses’ transition to practice.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.