Elizabeth A Gazza1. 1. About the Author Elizabeth A. Gazza, PhD, RN, LCCE, FACCE, ANEF, is associate director of faculty and staff development and professor, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. The author acknowledges the academic nurse educators who participated in this study while working full-time in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and Ms. Lauren Canipe for assisting with data management. For more information, contact Dr. Gazza at gazzae@uncw.edu.
Abstract
AIM: The aim of this study was to uncover the experience of being a full-time academic nurse educator (ANE) in a baccalaureate or higher degree nursing program during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: In 2020, ANEs who were teaching in clinical and classroom settings, conducting in-person research, and engaging in service were suddenly required to work under new COVID-19-induced conditions. METHOD: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used for the study. Personal interviews and a demographic questionnaire were utilized to collect data. RESULTS: Fourteen ANEs participated. Five themes were uncovered through data analysis: riding a rollercoaster, figuring it out, giving and getting help, seeing silver linings, and feeling loss. CONCLUSION: This study uncovered the experience of being an ANE during the pandemic. The findings inform strategies to enhance working conditions for current and future ANEs during the remainder of the pandemic and in post-COVID-19 nursing education.
AIM: The aim of this study was to uncover the experience of being a full-time academic nurse educator (ANE) in a baccalaureate or higher degree nursing program during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: In 2020, ANEs who were teaching in clinical and classroom settings, conducting in-person research, and engaging in service were suddenly required to work under new COVID-19-induced conditions. METHOD: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used for the study. Personal interviews and a demographic questionnaire were utilized to collect data. RESULTS: Fourteen ANEs participated. Five themes were uncovered through data analysis: riding a rollercoaster, figuring it out, giving and getting help, seeing silver linings, and feeling loss. CONCLUSION: This study uncovered the experience of being an ANE during the pandemic. The findings inform strategies to enhance working conditions for current and future ANEs during the remainder of the pandemic and in post-COVID-19 nursing education.