Nursing professors' challenges in developing their competencies for electronic learning: a qualitative study.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Technology
• Higher Education

Background:

• Successful integration of electronic learning (e-learning) in nursing curricula hinges on faculty e-learning competencies.
• Nursing professors encounter obstacles in developing these essential digital skills.
• Overcoming these challenges is vital to maximize e-learning's impact on nursing student outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the challenges faced by nursing professors in developing their e-learning competencies.
• To identify key barriers hindering the effective use of e-learning in nursing education.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive qualitative study utilizing conventional content analysis.
• Data collected through 23 semi-structured interviews with 17 nursing professors and 3 nursing school managers.
• Participants were purposefully and theoretically selected from nine nursing schools in Iran.

Main Results:

• Nursing professors' challenges were categorized into four main areas: managerial barriers, ineffective professor evaluation, ineffective e-learning implementation, and resource limitations.
• Identified barriers impact the development and application of e-learning competencies.

Conclusions:

• Nursing managers and policymakers must enhance their own e-learning competencies.
• Essential to provide adequate facilities and infrastructure to support faculty e-learning development.
• Development and implementation of valid evaluation tools for e-learning practices are necessary.