Award Date

December 2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Nursing

First Committee Member

Angela Silvestri-Elmore

Second Committee Member

Catherine Dingley

Third Committee Member

Andrew Reyes

Fourth Committee Member

Howard Gordon

Number of Pages

189

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of new nurses in the United States who experienced Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) for most or all of their nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they perceive ERT influenced their transition to practice during their first year as registered nurses.

Background: The National Council of State Boards of Nursing reports that in 2021, the overall pass rate for first-time NCLEX-RN® demonstrated the sharpest decline since 2013. Most of the 185,000 nursing students who took the exam in 2021 and 2022 received their nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing a rapid transition to remote learning, which involved drastic limits to clinical experiences, simulation education, psychomotor-skills labs, and didactic course delivery. Prelicensure nursing students who experienced pandemic-related disruption to their education are now registered nurses and have transitioned to practice. Exploration of how nurses make sense of their experiences with ERT and the significance of these experiences on their transition to the nursing role is essential to understanding the implications of disrupted learning on the transition to nursing practice.

Methods: A multi-philosophical perspective rooted in the philosophies of phenomenology, hermeneutics, and ideography was used as an underpinning for this qualitative study. Guided by the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) process, the exploration of the lived experiences of 12 nurses living across the U.S. who transitioned to RN practice after experiencing ERT due to the pandemic was conducted through individual semi-structured interviews that were video recorded and transcribed. Data analysis guided by the seven steps of IPA revealed Personal Experiential Themes in individual cases and Group Experiential Themes across all 12 cases. Themes were individually identified and then clustered based on common meanings to understand how the participants perceived and made sense of their experience.

Results: Findings revealed three superordinate themes, each with three subthemes, that give meaning to the participants' experiences as a student, then transitioning to practice, and their current life-world establishing themselves as nurses. The first central theme, Awareness of Being Foundationless, includes the subthemes of an Era of Uncertainty, the Disruption of Dynamic Learning, and the Loss of Embodied Experiences. The second theme, the Challenge of Becoming, encompasses the subthemes of Struggling with Irreconcilable Expectations, the Guiding Presence of a Preceptor, and the Perpetual Cycle of Systemic Dysfunction. The third theme, the Evolving Nursing Role, includes the subthemes of Personal Toll of Being a Nurse, Strength Through Adversity, and Dedication and Detachment in the nursing role.

Implications: Current literature describes nursing students' perceptions of ERT during the pandemic; however, no published research explores the phenomenon of the transition to nursing practice for those who experienced these pedagogical changes and how it continues to affect their practice. The timely opportunity to explore this phenomenon in-depth allowed nurses to reflect on their experiences with ERT in nursing school and share their perspectives on how ERT has shaped their first year of nursing practice. Results may help educators and administrators shape contingency teaching plans for potential future pandemics and explore innovative ways to preserve the practical nature of critical educational experiences that may not be appropriately replaced by ERT. Study results amplify the need for supporting these new nurses in their socialization to the nursing role and throughout their careers.

Keywords

COVID-19; Emergency Remote Teaching; Healthcare Administration; Nursing; Nursing Education; Transition to Nursing Practice

Disciplines

Education | Health and Medical Administration | Nursing

File Format

pdf

File Size

3270 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Download


Share

COinS