Educating Nursing Students Through the Pandemic: The Essentials of Collaboration

Introduction: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting regulatory educational requirements and graduating students competent for nursing practice was essential. Competent graduates were needed to support a strong nursing workforce in Connecticut during this chaotic time in health care. This paper describes the powerful impact of statewide collaboration toward meeting this goal. Methods: The Connecticut League for Nursing Council of Deans and Directors (Council) organized six work groups to address the practice issues brought about by COVID-19 to continue educating nursing students and ensure a robust nursing workforce for the state. Volunteers from the Council offered to lead the groups and members joined based on interest. The six work groups were: (1) enhance communication with the Connecticut Board of Examiners for Nursing (BOEN), (2) examine academic progression policies across programs to ensure academic rigor, (3) examine integration of nursing students into professional practice and the provision of support for new graduates, (4) Strategize on transition to practice issues, (5) ensure APRN students meet the required 500 precepted direct client care hours, and (6) examine summer clinical experience options for RN and LPN students. Conclusion: The Council\u27s top priority was to graduate competent nursing students ready for practice. This necessitated the establishment of a framework for ongoing deep, timely discussions among Council members and with the BOEN regarding the new education imperative for creative patient care learning experiences. Through collaborative efforts, the Council was able to enhance robust and timely sharing of strategies, policies, and other guidelines. The Council has partnered with the Connecticut Nurses Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, and the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce to provide a strong united nursing voice for executive decision-making and within the political arena in support of the role of nursing students and faculty, and their continuous involvement within direct caregiving environments

How the Practice/Academic Partnership Model Helped One State During COVID-19

During the spring and summer of 2020, boards of nursing (BONs) throughout the U.S. were faced with requests from educational programs for ways to replace clinical hours due to the inability to access clinical sites caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While many clinical sites have since reopened to nursing students, some barriers still remain, resulting in a backlog of clinical hours for many nursing students throughout the state of Connecticut. Reflecting on lessons learned over the past year, collaboration between the BON and nursing leaders throughout the state has proved essential to providing the practice hours and clinical learning experiences needed to assure that students meet graduation goals and expectations for future clinical practice as an RN

After the Gap Analysis: Education and Practice Changes to Prepare Nurses of the Future

AIM: The purpose of the study was to describe the Connecticut Nursing Collaborative-Action Coalition’s work in identifying and addressing gaps between nursing education and practice based on the Institute of Medicine’s Future of Nursing report. BACKGROUND: Massachusetts Nurse of the Future (NOF) Competencies highlight the knowledge, skills, and attitudes/behaviors required for professional nurses. Integrating these concepts into the educational system will prepare the nursing workforce to respond to current/future health care needs and population health issues. METHOD: Education and practice partners in four regions conducted a gap analysis of the education to practice transition for new graduate nurses using NOF as a framework for assessment. RESULTS: Gaps in competencies were similar across regions. However, each organization uniquely addressed curricular gaps to best prepare nurses of the future. CONCLUSION: Curriculum improvements will provide students the advantage of being prepared for the rapid changes happening in health care