How has the TWU School of Nursing managed during the pandemic? This question has been asked of me often during these last months, and we sincerely appreciate the expressions of concern that come with this question.
On March 16th 2020 as the cases of COVID-19 grew in Metro Vancouver, the university switched from on-campus to online courses to finish the spring semester. Our undergraduate clinical and lab courses also switched 
to online, except for our 4th year students who were completing their final preceptorships.
We were very pleased that with the support of our clinical partners, frequent communication, and close support, our graduating class of 2020 was able to complete the semester! Congratulations to them! We are planning a celebration with them this Fall, with the Pinning Ceremony that was postponed.
The TWU School of Nursing faculty showed tremendous commitment and creativity in guiding the undergraduate and graduate students through the final learning for the semester. For example, our students demonstrated their new assessment skills to their lab instructors, via Zoom. Clinical supervisors developed extended case studies with virtual one-on-one and group coaching, to foster the clinical reasoning that is crucial to clinical learning. Final assessments (e.g., case studies, exams) were also completed online. An elective course, NURS 350 Spirituality and the Helping Professions, which was scheduled as a retreat course at the end of April, was taught as a 1-week online course, complete with contemplative practices, student presentations, and book learning circles.
For the MSN program, adaptations have also been required. We have had a closed thesis defence, with a Third Reader joining via Zoom. May is typically very busy for the MSN program with nurses from across Canada joining on the Langley campus for a month-long residency. On May 4th, 14 nurses from Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and California started into 5 weeks of online learning. In early June, the Ottawa health policy residency will be facilitated virtually, with guests from Ottawa presenting during online seminars. Even our annual Leader-In-Residence, Rob Calnan (TWU Adjunct Professor and President BC College of Nurses and Nurse Practitioners), is part of the online delivery for the program’s signature residency.
The School of Nursing Faculty, and professors across Canada and around the world, are preparing for a very different Fall. We will be offering the undergraduate and graduate courses with a mix of online and face-to-face learning. Those nursing skills that cannot be taught online, including our clinical experiential learning, will be taught in-person. TWU is offering an online faculty development course in May and June to support us in this transition. New words are being added to our vocabularies (e.g., multi-access modalities), new technologies are becoming second nature (e.g., Zoom, Moodle), and we have learnt how to work together while we are apart. We have found ways to stay connected through weekly virtual coffee hours (what we refer to as FIKA – the Swedish word taking a pause together, ideally over a cup of coffee and piece of cake). With the students, we are hosting regular online Townhall meetings.
Nurses are providing leadership during this pandemic in a wide range of ways. At TWU, Dr. Barb Astle is on the University’s Health and Safety Taskforce and Professor Heather Meyerhoff is on the Multi-Access Teaching Taskforce. Dr. Rick Sawatzky has received a British Columbia Academic Health Science Network for a grant on Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health outcomes and healthcare experiences as reported by frail older adults who are living at home, and their family caregivers. Congratulations, Rick!
We appreciate your prayers for us during this time, that we continue to know wisdom, calm, and safety during this time of unpredictability.