Instructional adaptations for prelicensure nursing students shaped by pandemic-era educational disruption

Abstract

Background

Nursing faculty increasingly report changes in confidence, self-regulated learning, clinical judgment, and professional development among prelicensure nursing students whose secondary education was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These learners may require instructional approaches that acknowledge pandemic-related educational experiences while maintaining academic rigor.

Innovation/Major Points

This article synthesizes emerging literature and describes practical instructional adaptations to support nursing students. Strategies include increasing course structure and transparency, scaffolding clinical reasoning and clinical judgment, fostering psychologically safe learning environments, explicitly teaching self-regulated learning skills, and intentionally promoting professional identity formation across classroom, simulation, and clinical settings.

Implications

These evidence-informed teaching strategies provide nurse educators with practical approaches to strengthen student engagement, confidence, and clinical judgment while preserving rigorous expectations for professional nursing practice.

Conclusions

Rather than viewing current learners through a deficit lens, nurse educators should recognize the lasting influence of pandemic-era educational disruption and intentionally adapt teaching strategies to support learning, professional growth, and readiness for practice.