Students as Frontline Nurses
The COVID-19 Experience
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the education of students who are also practicing nurses on the frontline. Students were invited to creatively reflect on their unique experiences — an aesthetic reflection of an unprecedented time.
About
The study was led by a team of nurse researchers from the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Students as frontline nurses participants were recruited during the first wave of COVID-19 from May to June 2020. The study incorporated personal and aesthetic ways of knowing. This approach provided an opportunity for students to present thoughts, feelings and reflections on their experiences as academic students and practicing nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic through narrative responses and aesthetic representations. Critical creativity, central to Practice Development methodology informed an approach that helped participants to de-construct, make sense of and reconstruct their experiences as students and practitioners (Titchen & McCormack, 2010). The findings enhanced our knowledge and understanding of students’ perceptions of the disruption of placement and academic experiences during a pandemic crisis towards informing future strategies to mitigate the issues that may arise in such situations.
Methodology
This qualitative descriptive design study used thematic analysis qualitative approach to inform online dissemination strategies. Sixteen participants were recruited from post-diploma undergraduate and graduate nursing students and participated between April and May 2020. Students were tasked with creating an aesthetic piece (critical reflections, art, poetry, artifacts, photos etc.) with a written description, as well as a written reflection responding to three main questions.
The creative activity in this study is a strategy to help students critically assess their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic as a student and as a practicing nurse in a unique and critical way. By engaging in aesthetic reflection, students become part of the knowledge sharing process. Students were trained in the creative process of developing visual representations before creating their aesthetic pieces.
Guiding Questions
- How has the transition to online classes and the early end of practicum placements due to COVID 19 impacted your learning about nursing practice?
- How has this experience shaped your professional and personal relationships, your ability to be resilient, and your ability to adapt to changing situations and environments?
- What impact has the COVID 19 pandemic had on your transition into professional nursing practice?
What makes our methodology unique?
The creative activity in this study is a strategy to help students critically assess their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic as a student and as a practicing nurse in an unconventional way.
By engaging in aesthetic reflection, students become part of the knowledge sharing process. Students were trained in the creative process of developing visual representations before creating their aesthetic pieces.
