The COVID-19 pandemic is causing healthcare leaders to rethink workflow, education, and training of staff as they are prepared to meet the needs of their community. Teaching and learning across all educational systems have been drastically disrupted with conferences canceled, classes rescheduled, and the need for education to occur from a distance. While it would be great if we could all just hit the pause button on everything we are currently working on, spring graduations are just around the corner and we must push on continuing to educate our next generation of nurses. Colleges of nursing are still educating pre-licensures students. Healthcare organizations still need to hire these nurses and transition them into their new roles. Nurse educators are being called to innovate in new and possibly uncomfortable ways while having fewer resources than ever before. It has been interesting to see the movement of education from the classroom to the online environment by educators across the globe. This disruption is creating a new level of openness to innovation when it comes to the way we teach and learn; nurse residency is no different. 

Here at the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program we are the leaders of innovation in training new graduates with over 6 years of experience and expertise. For those of you that haven’t jumped on the innovation train and explored our program – what better time than now. The IONRP is an innovative solution that can be used to provide transition to practice support even when social distancing is the new norm. Didactic instruction is provided online through interactive eLearning modules, residents reflect and explore the content independently through a Transition Journal and then meet for a cohort discussion. When residents can’t get together face-to-face for whatever reason, the cohort discussion can be completed via virtual classroom technology never needing to leave the comfort of their own home. 

How has the current healthcare crisis changed your training? Are you wondering how you can continue business as usual in a changed healthcare landscape? Innovation and use of online technology for nurse residency creates flexibility and convenience for the learner and frees up your time and resources. Nurse residency coordinators working in the ‘hot spots’ of this crisis must hit the pause button, but for those of us that are continuing the day-to-day while prepping for potential crisis this modern learning design might be just what is needed to continue business as usual while freeing up time and adding in flexibility. I encourage those nurse leaders and residency coordinators who can, consider how you can rethink their residency. Do you have the ability to move content online? Could you hold your discussion virtually?  If so, give it a try and let us know how it goes!  If not, we have you covered. The Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program is available for all healthcare organizations big and small from coast to coast. Even though there are some that think after 15 days of social distancing life will go back to normal the rest of us know that our healthcare system will be dealing with this for quite some time and we will have to change the way we do many things. Using innovation in times of crisis not only helps us continue business as usual but also has the potential to have positive impact improving our teaching strategies for the long-term.

Nicole Weathers 
Program Manager, IONRP 
nicole-weathers@uiowa.edu