Nursing and Emergency Preparedness Education in a Pandemic: Challenges in Response to COVID-19

Concurrent Session 2
Streamed Session

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Session Materials

Brief Abstract

This session will explore process and best practices when rapidly transitioning in-person nursing and emergency management courses to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples will include interactives, simulations and government resources to consider for nursing education and “full-scale” exercise as identified in the HSEEP manual.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Jaclyn Ricords, LearningMate

Co-presenter: Bob Smith, American Public University System

Dr. Bob Smith is the Manager, Instructional Design for the American Public University System (APUS). Dr. Smith is a graduate of the University of West Florida. He is an expert in all phases Instructional Design. Dr. Smith has 25+ years as a Curriculum Designer, Developer, Manager, and Curriculum Development Team Leader. A U.S. Navy Veteran he was also a Military Instructor and Military Curriculum Developer to include 2D and 3D design. He has over 20+ Years as a Project and Program Manager. Dr. Smith received the “Innovator of the Year Award” from the Advancing & Redefining Communities for Emergency Management Organization for the design and development of a 2D/3D Synchronous and Asynchronous virtual learning environment to train disparate disaster responders. Dr. Smith previously at APUS was involved in the Competency-Based Education Program and previously was the Senior eLearning Architect for the new Doctor of Strategic Intelligence and Doctor of Global Security Program. From 1999 until 2016 he worked as a Federal Civil Service employee as the Program Manager for the Veterans Health Administrations Office of Emergency Management Education, and Training (E&E) program. Responsible for the education, training, and exercise program for the 220,000+ Veterans Health Administrations (VHA) employees. He is a recognized expert in the development of web-based training curriculum utilizing emerging technologies such as Learning Management Systems (LMS), Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), and Reusable Learning Object methodologies.

Extended Abstract

This session will focus on the unique needs and concerns of nursing and emergency preparedness educators and students in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from firsthand experience, we consider some of the early lessons as we face this health crisis,  discussing the concerns that have been shared by students and solutions that have worked well for courses by focusing on practice and engagement with online education.

We will explore process and best practices when rapidly transitioning in-person nursing and emergency management courses to remote instruction. How can we know if our nursing online practice materials are effective? How can we give our students in emergency preparedness online education options for flexibility with their materials? Examples will include interactives, simulations and government resources to consider for nursing education and “full-scale” exercise as identified in the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) manual.

Pursuing innovation in a quickly changing field is challenging. We will review online education and training materials for on-demand emergency preparedness and response training resources offered by CDC, other federal agencies, OER materials related to health and coronavirus created by universities several as part of the National Nurse Emergency Preparedness Initiative (NNEPI), as well as several new surveys from the field (NIH, CIC and others). Both 2D/3D scenarios will be shared that can assist with training and educating nurses when they cannot meet outside of clinical duties.

Social distancing restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have profoundly changed how nursing students are learning around the globe. With 70% of America's schools closed, many universities are scrambling to train nurse educators on how to conduct distance learning, as well as inform students how to complete coursework from home. The COVID-19 pandemic may also encourage many nurses to seek higher education to move away from the bedside and work in administrative roles. It is a complex process, to bring interactivity and simulations into online learning but can be crucial to providing the practice that is required in the current climate. What else can we do to provide nursing and emergency response students with flexibility, convenience and opportunities for advancement? Join us to discuss being well-formed courses and interactive options to this important group.

Level of Participation:

This session will share an overview of the challenges and then cover both research and course examples, including interactives and simulations, to provide examples to participants. A poll for key resources and handouts with OER and research will be included in the session.

Session Goals:

Individuals attending this session will be able to discuss strategies for addressing the rising tension in nursing and disaster management education during this unprecedented time, as well as strategies to further skills and knowledge to contribute in a direct and meaningful way.