Impact of COVID-19 on teaching an undergraduate children’s nursing module: Rapid Responses

Abstract

Innovative teaching practices are constantly developing within nurse education. The nursing curriculum does not exist in isolation and it must reflect the changing nature of health, health service delivery and society. Nursing curriculums must be dynamic, flexible, adaptable and subject to continuous review. As a result of continuous curriculum reviews, integrating blended learning and the promotion of critical thinking the students and lecturers in the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity College Dublin were in a good position to respond to the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which rapidly unfolded in March 2020. This paper outlines the delivery of a children’s nursing module using 100% online methods, instead of traditional face-to-face methods, due to the restrictions associated with COVID-19. Delivering a module 100% online was a new experience for lectures and students alike! While blended leaning was not new, the notion of delivering 100% of a module on a professional registration programme was certainly a new undertaking. However, in the course of the module it became apparent that the students were well attuned to digital interaction.