b'CAREERS GUIDE|in real time and in a highly efficient man-ner. Were able to project these exercises virtually, said Dr. Kitko. Its a sophisticated system, not just someone on a computer watching a person walk around the lab.Of course, Penn State is one of the coun-trys largest universities, and whats more, as a Land Grant University the schools mission is to educate nurses throughout the state of Pennsylvania. As such, the school was already accustomed to teaching in this manner to reach students at commonwealth campuses throughout Pennsylvania. Penn States main campus is centrally locatedin fact, the pre-cise midpoint of Pennsylvania lies within Recent preliminary survey from the American University Park, PAbut a student, for exam-ple, at the Scranton campus in northeasternAssociation of Colleges of Nursing showed that Pennsylvania enjoys not only the resources of that campus, but via Zoom or other plat- across some 900 nursing schools, enrollment forms can enjoy the resources in Universitywas up 6 percent in the year 2020.Park as well.Add the existing skills of the Penn State faculty in delivering coursework in a virtual platform, and the transition became moreare weathering the storm. Certification rateshave increased.manageable for Dr. Kitko and colleagues. at both the graduate and undergraduate lev- Asked whether those adult learners may Minus losing that ability to get studentsels have remained high for Penn State grad- have been inspired by working through the out into clinical settings, it wasnt an over- uates. As associate dean, I was quite worriedpandemic, Dr. Kitko looked at another possi-whelming pivot for our faculty, Dr. Kitkothat our pass rate would take a hit, Dr. Kitkoble explanation. People go out into the fields, summarized. Regardless of your resources,admitted. But we havent missed a beat there,and after several months of working on the the size of the schoollosing those clinicalweve been able to maintain those certifica- front linesthey need a break.abilities impacted everybody. tion rates. But they want to stay in nursing. Theyre We had to make a pivot, for sure. I dontBut the other critical markerarguablycommitted to the profession. They come want to minimize that. But we were able toeven more importantis the ability of stu- back to school, further their education, and do so without missing a beat, because of ourdents to make the jump from student nurseget themselves off those front lines. Again, resources and the teaching modalities we hadto professional. Dr. Kitko admits shes morefor now its anecdotal, but were seeing people in place prior to COVID. concerned about any perceived deficits in thatcoming back to school for graduate education What will it mean for students enteringarea. earlier than they did in the past.the job market? Will they be at a disadvan- Theyre making that transition in a veryOne thing is for surethe resilience of tage compared to previous graduating classesdifferent environment, she said. Theyrethe people who comprise the nursing profes-because of the missed clinical experiences? going into the front lines, dealing withsion has been reinforced over the past year. I Dr. Kitko clarified that its a little early toCOVID patients in stressed health systems.have students who are running COVID units know those answers for sure. Everything ImHow does that impact their orientation peri- during the day and remained committed to saying is anecdotalIm very hopeful thatods? Its going to be interesting to see howgetting their NP or DNP degree, said Dr. before long well have some data to confirm orthose pieces come together. I read storiesKitko. One student in California was run-dispel these topics, she said. online about nurses burning out, leaving thening a COVID unit, earning his DNPthen But I think there will be deficits. Gettingprofessionhow will that impact us on thehe had to deal with the wildfires. The commit-into that clinical setting, interacting withother end? ment of these students is incredible. Theyve practitioners and patients is difficult to rep- Interestingly, nursing enrollment num- stayed resilient, committed to the profession licate without the natural environment. Withbers are slightly down at University Parkthe were amazed. We stress to our faculty to be that said, there could be some silver linings tomost traditional of Penn State college settingsflexible with these students, but our students [the virtual learning approach] as well.but at the commonwealth campuses, whichare getting it done. Theyre staying committed Preliminary data indicates that studentscater to adult learners, enrollment numbersto furthering their education.18 CAREERS GUIDE |2021| www.elitecme.com'