COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Nursing Education Revealed in New Research

A recent scoping review published in BMC Nursing has provided valuable insights into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing education worldwide. The research, conducted by Oslo Metropolitan University, aimed to map the existing research literature on how the pandemic influenced faculty in nursing education professionally and personally. According to the study, the pandemic led to an online working environment, challenging workloads, and less focus on research, negatively impacting nursing faculty. The personal impact was also significant, affecting physical, emotional, and social aspects of faculty members' lives.

Key Takeaways:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted nursing education worldwide, affecting faculty professionally and personally.
• The pandemic led to an online working environment, challenging workloads, working hours, teaching methods, and less focus on research, impacting nursing faculty professionally.
• The personal impact of the pandemic on faculty members was related to physical, emotional, and social aspects.
• The study found that 34 articles were eligible for inclusion after screening 8525 publications, with the majority from North America and Asia.
• The research suggests that nursing education was unprepared for such a crisis, and future studies focusing on long-term online working environments for nursing faculty are encouraged.
• The authors recommend that future studies investigate the long-term effects of online working environments on nursing faculty to improve nursing education.

Statistics:

• 8525 publications were screened to identify eligible articles.
• 34 articles were found eligible for inclusion in the scoping review.
• The majority of included studies originated from North America and Asia.
• The scoping review mapped the literature on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted faculty in nursing education professionally and personally.
• 90% of the included studies used qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods to illuminate experiences and descriptions of challenges facing nursing faculty in academia during the pandemic.

Sources:

• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty in nursing education: a scoping review. BMC Nursing, 2025;24(1):880.
• Oslo Metropolitan University
• Oslo Metropolitan University Reports Findings in COVID-19 (The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty in nursing education: a scoping review). Education Letter. July 23, 2025; p 5.