Penn State nursing students see in-person clinical time halved
STATE COLLEGE, Pa — Hospitals are slashing collegiate clinical time at an unprecedented rate. Medical professionals hope to minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure for both patients and students. But for Penn State nursing majors, their fear isn’t about getting COVID: it’s about being under prepared.
In-person clinical time at Penn State has been halved, according to the College of Nursing Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education at Commonwealth Campuses Dr. Michael Evans.
Pre-pandemic, students could expect clinical time to account for around 45 or 90 hours — but now, those numbers have dwindled to around 22.5 and 45.
The cut has left students wondering if they’ll have enough hands-on experience to be prepared for the job.
“It’s a very hands-on profession and we’re not getting that anymore,” said Jalen Fowler, a junior nursing major.
The change in clinicals has also affected students’ prospective career path.
Fowler was disappointed at the lost time and has even reconsidered becoming a nurse practitioner altogether.
“It’s not my main priority anymore,” Fowler said.
Instead, Fowler’s decided to attend graduate school and research health disparities in how nurses interact with patients of color.
“This would have been the year for me,” said junior nursing major Neelia Caraang.
Caraang wants to specialize in OB-GYN and pediatrics, which is what junior year clinicals focus on, and is concerned about the missed opportunity.
Junior clinicals usually run for a smaller amount of time, meaning that what used to be 45 hours over multiple days now accounts for only about 22.5 hours over two.
With so much of the clinical time cut short, the university has implemented a virtual module to compensate for the loss.
The module consists of simulated scenarios in which the students interact with automated patients through a series of options ranging from preselected responses to open-ended answers. Professors have control over an array of medical situations and can choose specific situations for the students to engage with.
Though the module does offer a variety of medical circumstances, it can’t compare to in-person interactions — which students need.
“I don’t really think they’re effective,” Fowler said of the online clinical replacement assignments. “I don’t think it’s a good way to learn.”
“It’s not going to be nearly enough,” Caraang said.
Nia Tomlinson, another nursing junior, agrees.
“I think that if we had skill labs, which they are capable of doing, it would be better than doing virtual,” Tomlinson said.
Skill labs involve fake scenarios in which students practices things such as taking vitals or performing injections. Tomlinson believes these to be good alternatives, as right now students are forced to find extended hands-on experience outside of school through opportunities like internships.
Tomlinson, Fowler and Caraang all found that the change to course structure and the pandemic in general has added stress to an already stressful major.
Nursing students were brought back to in-person learning earlier this semester than others, but many wouldn’t have clinicals until after the rest of campus returned — which left some wondering if the decision was the right one.
“Is it a safe decision?” Kezia Mlenga, a nursing junior, said.
Students have also seen a workload increase — and some feel that their professors could improve their outreach.
“I think the nursing school could do better,” Caraang said. “If they really want us to succeed, they should take our needs into consideration.”
Some students described their teachers’ outlook as “toxic positivity”, saying that they would often tell the students to reach out in times of need but were cold or unhelpful when taken up on the offer.
Larissa Richard, a Schreyer Honors College nursing junior, found that professors of smaller courses tended to reach out more than those with larger ones.
Dr. Evans, who has been at the university since 2003, did not want to comment on students’ description of professors’ outreach as he didn’t know the details of the situation. He did say that there are always higher ups students can contact, later adding “We’re here to help.”
When it came to the students’ qualms with the early return and virtual clinical course, Evans conveyed that the university’s hands were tied.
“We are always at the mercy of the clinical agencies,” Evans said.
Penn State coordinates its clinicals with hospitals through clinical agencies, meaning that if the agencies stop accepting students out of precaution, then there is nothing the university can do.
Due to the surge in COVID cases mid-December and early January in Pennsylvania, clinical openings were changed, complicating the early arrival of nursing students.
Evans did acknowledge that there is no true replacement for in-person clinical time, but found there to be limited options. The university has been proactive in helping students find internships and the college of nursing has held monthly townhalls for newly graduated students, but those only go so far.
“We really didn’t have a choice,” Evans said of the virtual clinical module.
Because of limited classroom capacity, skill labs would be tricky to plan, leaving virtual as the only option.
Due to the nature of the pandemic, academic planning can’t be certain. Evans sympathizes with the students’ struggles and had some words of encouragement for them.
“You are going to enter a profession that is the best profession in the world,” Evans said. “It will be worth it in the end.”
