Transitioning Italian nursing education in the post-pandemic period: priorities in the light of lessons learnt

Transitioning Italian nursing education in the post-pandemic period: priorities in the light of lessons learnt. Introduction. Once back to normalcy, many nursing edu-cation activities have been restored without an in-depth analysis of which transformations enacted in the pandem-ic period should be maintained and valued. Aim. To iden-tify priorities to effectively transitioning nursing education in the post-pandemic period. Method. Descriptive quali-tative design. A network of nine universities involved 37 fac-ulty members, 28 clinical nurse educators and 65 stu-dents/new graduates. Data were collected through semi -structured interviews; the main priorities reported in each university were combined to gain a global view. Results. Nine priorities emerged, including the need to: 1. reflect on dis-tance learning to promote its complementary role to face-to-face teaching; 2. rethinking the rotations of clinical prac-tical training by refocusing their aims, duration, and pre-ferred settings; 3. understanding how to integrate the vir-tual and the in-presence learning spaces into the educational pathway; 4. continuing with inclusive and sustainable strate-gies. Considering that nursing education is essential, it is a priority to develop a pandemic education plan capable of guaranteeing its continuity in all circumstances. Conclusions. Nine priorities have emerged all considering the importance of digitalization; the lessons learnt, however, indicate the need to enact an intermediate phase capable of guiding to-wards the complete transition of the education in the post -pandemic era.