Meghan Wenzinger, a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, recalled her mother—who is a nurse practitioner—receiving a letter from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last spring, asking for extra health care support for COVID-19 patients in New York City.
Wanting to help but also lacking experience, she became motivated to continue her nursing education.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Wenzinger was not the only one inspired to pursue the nursing field. In 2020, enrollment in entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs increased by 5.6%. Master’s and Doctor of Nursing practice programs also rose by 4.1% and 8.9%, according to the American Associate of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
“Health care workers received a great deal of media exposure this year,” said Dr. Lisa Muirhead, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. “This exposure allowed people to see nurses in action and the impact they have on people’s lives. Generation Z is seeking careers that provide meaning and they have identified nursing as one of the career choices that provides a lifetime of powerful impact.”
However, the transition to remote courses—especially in a field heavily reliant on clinical practicum experiences and hands-on learning—proved to be challenging.
To adjust, schools such as Purdue University Global, launched an online acute care nurse practitioner skills lab. Through virtual reality and immersive learning experiences, students were able to participate in “true-to-life scenarios” as well as develop their decision-making and motor skills.
“Our data analytics from initial student cohorts demonstrated a previously unseen level of engagement, completion and success,” said Dr. Michele D. McMahon, associate dean for graduate nursing at Purdue University Global. “As a university, using a targeted approach to ensure successful implementation of these new technologies has really spoken to our virtual agility as a team in meeting the needs of our students in a sustainable and relevant way.”
