Innovative Opportunities for Nurse Practitioner Education Uncovered by the Pandemic

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Pandemic Response

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted clinical placements for nurse practitioner (NP) students in Spring 2020.
• This necessitated the development of novel clinical learning opportunities to meet program requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe innovative clinical opportunities implemented for NP students during the pandemic.
• To ensure NP students could progress academically despite clinical site withdrawals.

Main Methods:

• The study outlines unique clinical experiences designed to serve community needs during the public health crisis.
• These opportunities facilitated the completion of NP students' clinical requirements.

Main Results:

• Over 130 NP students gained valuable clinical experience through these innovative placements.
• Competence was increased in caring for vulnerable populations during a public health emergency.

Conclusions:

• The experiences fostered development in leadership, clinical management, population health, infection control, policy, informatics, telehealth, and ethics.
• These innovative models offer a potential framework for graduate clinical programs globally.
• Essential community services were provided concurrently with student training.