The experience of baccalaureate clinical nursing faculty transitioning to emergency remote clinical teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for the future

Background: Experiential clinical learning in undergraduate nursing education allows for fusion of nursing knowledge with practice to ensure the development of competent graduate nurses. The global COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an abrupt transition from in-person clinical educational experiences to emergency remote clinical teaching. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of baccalaureate nursing clinical faculty who transitioned from in-person clinical to emergency remote clinical teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. Design: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Setting: The study took place in the United States. Participants: Nineteen baccalaureate nursing clinical faculty participated in the study. Methods: Participants engaged in semi-structured, in-depth, online interviews. Results: Five themes emerged from the data: transition, collaboration and support, the joy of teaching, authentic professional experience, and the overarching primary theme, stress of the moment. Conclusions: The transition to emergency remote clinical teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic caused stress and anxiety. However, there were important lessons learned about how to best support students and faculty while providing a robust online learning experience. Understanding the experiences of clinical nursing faculty during this abrupt transition can support recommendations for best practices in the future.