Nurses’ Perceived Quality of Educational Life during the Covid-19 Induced Rapid Transition to Online Learning in Post-Graduate Courses: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate healthcare post-graduate students' perceptions of the quality of educational life and learning experience during the forced online transition due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The study design was inspired by a qualitative inductive approach. Participants (N = 24) were nurses who attended healthcare postgraduate courses. In-depth video-recorded interviews were carried out. Thematic analysis was chosen to infer data from the transcripts. Four critical themes emerged from data analysis: 1) the "emotional" change in the quality of life; 2) learning environment and quality of educational life; 3) the socio-relational dimension; 4) strategies to improve the educational life. Although initial struggles related to the unfulfilled different learning styles and socio-relational needs, students showed mostly a proactive attitude. They discovered, with the help of online learning, that a learning program could be adapted to their lifestyle. Lastly, study participants highlighted the crucial importance of online tutors to improve their engagement and the quality of educational life.

Maternal and Child Health Nursing education before and during COVID-19: An exploratory descriptive study

“…This study explored educator perspectives of how COVID-19 changes impacted postgraduate education programs for Maternal, Child and Family Health nursing, a unique sub-set of mature aged students. Their experiences of rapid change and uncertainty reflect previous reports from nursing and midwifery ( Adams et al, 2020 ; Dewart et al, 2020 ; Luyben et al, 2020 ; Ramelet et al, 2022 ; Sarli et al, 2021 ) and other health service settings ( Pierce et al, 2020 ). Similarities included challenges of working at home with reduced access to services and support networks ( Pierce et al, 2020 ; Usher et al, 2020 ; Vandenberg & Magnuson, 2021 ).…”

“…COVID-19 restrictions meant face-to-face aspects needed to move online or occur in smaller, physically distanced groups. While there are many positive aspects of online learning, it requires time to develop and implement well ( Peddle et al, 2020 ) and reported experiences vary ( Pei & Wu, 2019 ; Regmi & Jones, 2020 ; Sarli et al, 2021 ). The rapid pace of implementation necessitated by the pandemic is likely to have impacted both student and faculty experiences ( Vandenberg & Magnuson, 2021 ; Waddington & Porter, 2021 ).…”

“…Delays in clinical practicum potentially delayed program completion and transition to the health workforce at a time when staff were in high demand ( Bogossian et al, 2020 ). Postgraduate students already employed as nurses and midwives were often directly involved in the pandemic response or needed to backfill colleagues ( Luyben et al, 2020 ; Sarli et al, 2021 ), further impacting their education.…”