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. 2023 Jul 21;18(7):e0287438.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287438. eCollection 2023.

Ad hoc digital communication and assessment during clinical placements in nursing education; a qualitative research study of students', clinical instructors', and teachers' experiences

Edel Jannecke Svendsen  1   2 , Randi Opheim  3   4 , Bjørg Elisabeth Hermansen  5 , Camilla Hardeland  5
Affiliations

Ad hoc digital communication and assessment during clinical placements in nursing education; a qualitative research study of students', clinical instructors', and teachers' experiences

Edel Jannecke Svendsen et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: There was a concern about the shortage of nurses that resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, universities and university colleges were instructed to continue educating nursing professionals but were challenged by the social distancing and the limitations of clinical placements and clinical-field instructors. Clinical placement is essential in the students' development of practical skills and knowledge. Thus, transitioning to a digital follow-up platform of communication with the students between the universities/college and the clinical practice sites became necessary.

Purpose: To obtain knowledge about the experiences from the university/college teachers, students, and clinical-field instructors regarding the transition to a digital learning environment that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Qualitative individual digital interviews were conducted for data collection at three different nursing education programs from three Norwegian university/university college sites. Five students, four clinical-field instructors, and nine university/college teachers participated (n = 18).

Results: The inductive analyses identified two main themes: (1) Efficiency compromising pedagogical quality, and (2) Digital alienation.

Conclusions: Students and university/college teachers were worried about fluctuating quality with digital pedagogical. There were concerns that the students educated during this period will have reduced clinical competencies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist

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