Perceptions and Emotions of Nursing and Health Management Students About Distance Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the perceptions and emotions of nursing and health management students, who had clinical/vocational practice course, about distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Phenomenological design was employed in this qualitative study. The study was conducted with 39 full-time health sciences students in nursing and health management. Data were collected by in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted with ten open-ended and semi-structured questions between December 2020-January 2021. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: At the end of the study, it was classified into three themes and 14 sub-themes: “emotional state”, “the effect of distance learning on theoretical courses” and “the effect of distance learning on clinical/vocational practice”. Results have indicated that distance learning is insufficient especially in terms of clinical/vocational practices and that the emotional states of students are negatively affected. Conclusion: It is important to use learning methods that will increase the effectiveness of psychological support and distance education during the pandemic process.