Expectations and concerns about transitioning to face-to-face learning among Korean nursing students: A mixed methods study

Abstract

Owing to the coronavirus disease pandemic, nursing education materials were developed for online use. However, as nursing involves working with human beings, the experience of face-to-face learning is important. This study investigated the learning satisfaction and anxiety experienced by nursing students based on their learning methods, expectations, and concerns about transitioning entirely to face-to-face learning. Using a mixed-methods design, 120 and 14 third- and fourth-year nursing students in Korea completed an online survey and individual interviews, respectively. Data were collected from July to August 2022 to assess nursing students’ learning satisfaction, anxiety, expectations, and concerns based on their learning method. Learning satisfaction was 3.96±0.68 out of 5; the students who experienced “online lectures only” had significantly higher overall satisfaction (F = 3.22, p = .002), nursing lectures satisfaction (F = 2.01, p = .046), and nursing practicum satisfaction (F = 2.19, p = .031). Anxiety was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 tool and was evaluated at the “minimal level,” with an average score of 3.46 ± 4.80 out of 21. From the qualitative results obtained through interviews, we derived three categories and nine subcategories. These categories include: the burden of unfamiliar learning situations that are difficult to predict, considerations about face-to-face learning needed to improve learning satisfaction, and the turning point that offsets the sense of deprivation during college life. The qualitative results provided evidence for determining specific goals for face-to-face learning that reflected the opinions of nursing students. To successfully transition to face-to-face learning, it is essential to consider a combination of student efforts, professors’ attention, and university-level support to develop a learning approach that combines the strengths of both online and face-to-face learning. Maximizing the benefits of online learning, such as integrating face-to-face and online learning through repetitive reviews of recorded videos of face-to-face sessions at their own time, can effectively reduce students’ burdens and anxiety and increase their learning satisfaction.