Sokhela Dudu G, Nokes Kathleen, Orton Penelope M
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
Health SA. 2024 Oct 10;29:2609. doi: 10.4102/hsag.v29i0.2609. eCollection 2024.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused abrupt closure of schools including higher education institutions. The transition from in-person to virtual teaching platforms caused challenges for frontline nurses in post-basic programmes. Nurses were forced to divide their efforts between responding to the pandemic and their studies.
The study aims to describe the experiences of nurses studying post-basic qualifications during COVID-19 in KwaZulu-Natal.
The setting comprised virtual platforms such as closed social media groups (nursing colleagues and South African Society of Occupational Health Nurses Facebook) and Microsoft Teams or WhatsApp calls.
A qualitative descriptive design using individual virtual interviews with eight nurses working in healthcare settings while studying post-basic qualifications. The framework was Fullan's Change Theory in educational settings. Data were analysed using applied thematic analysis.
Four themes were identified; transitioning from in-person to online teaching and learning, challenges in clinical placements, support to achieve educational goals, and unique aspects of studying and caring for infected patients and 10 sub-themes emerged.
Participants found benefits of online learning despite challenges with the Internet network. There was a shortage of mentors, and personal protective equipment in clinical settings; however, participants were cognisant of the duty to care for infected patients notwithstanding personal risk of infection.
Nurses were at the frontline of the pandemic yet facing challenges in clinical facilities and their studies. The study could contribute to understanding participants' experiences, which might help with response planning in future pandemics.
新冠疫情导致包括高等教育机构在内的学校突然关闭。从面对面教学平台向虚拟教学平台的转变给基础后课程的一线护士带来了挑战。护士们被迫在应对疫情和学业之间分配精力。
本研究旨在描述夸祖鲁 - 纳塔尔省在新冠疫情期间攻读基础后学历的护士的经历。
研究背景包括封闭的社交媒体群组（护理同事和南非职业健康护士协会脸书）、微软团队或WhatsApp通话等虚拟平台。
采用定性描述性设计，对八名在医疗机构工作且正在攻读基础后学历的护士进行单独的虚拟访谈。理论框架为教育环境中的富兰变革理论。数据采用应用主题分析法进行分析。
确定了四个主题；从面对面教学向在线教学的转变、临床实习中的挑战、实现教育目标的支持以及学习和护理感染患者的独特方面，并出现了10个子主题。
尽管存在网络问题，参与者仍发现了在线学习的好处。临床环境中存在导师短缺和个人防护装备不足的情况；然而，尽管存在个人感染风险，参与者仍认识到照顾感染患者的责任。
护士处于疫情前线，但在临床设施和学业上面临挑战。该研究有助于了解参与者的经历，这可能有助于未来疫情应对规划。
