In March 2020, when the pandemic shut the world down, I had just completed orientation for the first clinical placement of my first year of nursing school. I never got to work at the long-term care home I selected, and I was forced to finish the term from my home computer. Over the next two years, the pandemic would continue to impact my clinical education. In second year, for half of a term, I completed ‘virtual clinical’ case studies on a computer for an eight-hour ‘shift.’ Schools were doing their best, and placement units were doing what was needed to protect patient safety in times of uncertainty. But, as a mature student with previous experience in health care, I knew how much we were missing. 

Skills such as how to touch and move people, how to manage our responses when something is shocking or disgusting, and the important experience of developing collegial relationships with other nurses – were put on hold. Virtual clinical training does not offer any of these formative experiences.

Even before the pandemic, there was an identifiable theory-practice gap experienced by students and newly graduated nurses. Real life differs from what we learn in school. A 2019 article published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies found newly-graduated nurses identified a theory-practice gap and a lack of confidence in performing clinical skills. Specific areas identified included inadequate preparation in medication administration, weak knowledge of pharmacology, lack of confidence with nurse-physician interactions, and low levels of clinical leadership. This lack of confidence can compromise patient confidence in their nurse and, ultimately, patient safety. These pre-existing gaps were exacerbated by the pandemic. As new grads, knowing these gaps exist decreases our confidence and increases our anxiety. And according to a 2022 article in The Journal of Nursing Administration, these are two of the most common reasons for new graduates to quit nursing within the first two years.