5th Edition of the Phi Xi Talks – “COVID-19 and Its Disruptive Effects on the Nursing Education: challenges and opportunities”

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way of working in all walks of life, including nursing education in developing and developed countries (Agu, Stewart, McFarlane-Stewart and Rae, 2021). Nursing schools around the world have responded to the pandemic following the guidelines of the World Health Organization and specific guidelines in different countries/regions. In most countries/regions, face-to-face teaching and learning has been converted to virtual distance learning, and clinical experience has been suspended to protect students and faculty from the pandemic.

However, this solution limits students' skill development and clinical practice arrangements, which are conventional methods in nursing courses. In addition, teachers are forced to learn how to browse and deliver course content online, while students’ families and guardians are forced to provide the necessary technology and Internet services needed to access courses online. Several reports around the world identified Internet accessibility, affordability and reliability in certain areas as factors that negatively affected the quality of nursing education during this period. Given the uncertainty of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of new strains of the virus, institutions and governing bodies must discuss and implement policies and measures to regain lost time and experience (Azzi-Huck & Shmis 2020), as well as revise current regulations related to nursing curricula.

Within this scope, the Phi Xi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International invites all nursing educators, researchers, and practitioners to join the fifth edition of the Phi Xi Talks, titled “COVID-19 and Its Disruptive Effects on the Nursing Education” to discuss the challenges faced by nursing schools from Europe, South and North America during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as opportunities to revisit the curricula and pedagogical approaches used. This webinar is hosted by the Phi Xi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau's International - STTI, with the support of the Nursing School of Coimbra - ESEnfC and the Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing - UICISA: E.