Peruvian Nursing Students' Experiences of Returning to Face-to-face Classes

Abstract

Introduction: During COVID-19, classes were virtual to avoid contagion, now they have returned to in-person classes, but this change has generated various positive and negative experiences in students that must be investigated.

Objective: To describe the experiences of nursing students on returning to face-to-face classes at a private Peruvian university.

Methods: Qualitative research, with an exploratory descriptive approach, carried out between April and May 2023. The population consisted of 60 nursing students from a private university in Chiclayo, Peru, who attended the II cycle and the sample was 12 students obtained by the saturation and redundancy technique. A semi-structured interview conducted through the Zoom platform with prior informed consent was used to collect data. Thematic content analysis is used for data processing.

Results: Four categories were obtained: a) Active methodologies, greater concentration and note-taking during theoretical classes, b) Fascination with performing nursing procedures in a simulation laboratory during practices, c) Positive and negative experiences in the relationship with teachers and colleagues, d) Changes experienced in the evaluations.

Conclusions: Nursing students experienced different advantages and disadvantages when returning to face-to-face classes. However, it is noted that they preferred face-to-face classes because their level of attention was optimal and they could go to the laboratories to do their practices. For this reason, nursing students are recommended to better organize their time without procrastinating to be able to complete all the proposed tasks and thus avoid having negative experiences when studying, doing work or taking their exams.