Transitioning an Advanced Practice Fellowship Curriculum to eLearning During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 global pandemic brought mandatory shelter-in-place orders, disrupting traditional face-to-face teaching methods for advanced practice fellowship programs nationally, creating a challenge for fellowship program directors to preserve curriculum using nontraditional methods.

METHOD

Using a variety of both web-based and app-based virtual platforms, a nationally accredited fellowship program converted traditional in-seat learning modalities to elearning platforms using both synchronous and asynchronous education.

RESULTS

Preliminary data indicate that knowledge acquisition and perceived fellow satisfaction are preserved despite the abrupt change to program delivery. Programmatic modifications were submitted to the American Nurse Credentialing Center for compliance and deemed as creative, innovative, and collaborative.

CONCLUSION

Curriculum for advanced practice fellowship programs can be favorably converted to elearning using virtual platforms during a crisis. Through prompt reevaluation and restructuring, virtual platforms can replace in-seat didactic lectures, patient case studies, mentoring, and even simulation, while ensuring program continuation and compliance with accreditation standards. [J Nurs Educ. 2020;59(9):514-517.].