16 Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com
July 27–September 7, 2020
supporting nursing colleges
✚
While most hospitals have faced unprecedented dis-
ruption in recent months, the pandemic has presented
particular challenges to nursing colleges. Clinical sites for
direct patient care, already in short supply for many programs,
have gotten scarcer still as patient access is restricted by coron-
avirus protocols.
"The moment COVID-19 hit hospitals, nursing schools
had to adjust their clinical practicum curriculum and within a
few short weeks find new ways of delivering education during
these difficult circumstances," says Houskova.
Graduation for nursing students could be delayed, tighten-
ing the bottleneck on new graduates entering the workforce.
Recognizing this dilemma, ANA\C called on the Board of
Registered Nursing and the California Department of
Consumer Affairs (DCA) to relax the existing regulatory limits
on simulation training.
A clinical hour distribution waiver was put in effect through
August 1 to allow nursing students to satisfy their practicum
requirement with up to 50 percent non-direct patient care (sim-
ulation and skills laboratories) during the pandemic. Extending
Top: ACNL partnered with a local florist to deliver bouquets to nurses
and other frontline healthcare workers at UC Davis Medical Center.
Bottom left: ACNL Interim CEO Donna Kistler, RN, M.S.
Bottom right: ANA\C Board Member and West Coast University Dean
Robyn Nelson, RN, Ph.D.
W H A T N O W F O R C A L I F O R N I A N U R S I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N S ?
