HIGHER EDUCATION IN NURSING IN TIMES OF A COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

To mitigate the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, social distancing and Emergency Remote Education (ERE) were adopted in Brazil, this transition occurred abruptly, generating impacts on higher education in nursing. The aim of this study is to analyze the ERE in public and private higher education in the state of Pará during the context of the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of nursing students. This is a descriptive exploratory study, of the survey type, with a quantitative approach, carried out between September and December 2020. To recruit participants, the Snowball technique was used, where the link to the online questionnaire was shared on social networks. The questionnaire contained 24 questions referring to 3 domains: characterization of the participants; evaluation of internet access and nursing teaching-learning during the pandemic. A difficult transition from traditional face-to-face teaching to ERE was identified between the two groups, with better accessibility, greater negative impact of ERE on private HEI students. The impact of the ERE on the training of professional nurses was divergent, whose positive view among academics from private HEIs was related to the end of activities, while negative to those from the public sector would like to ensure the assured clinical practice.