http://jnep.sciedupress.com Journal of Nursing Education and Practice 2021, Vol. 11, No. 3 EXPERIENCE EXCHANGE Virtual clinical activities: Lessons learned with first semester nursing students Krysia Warren Hudson * , Sandra Marie Swoboda, Mishiko Redd, Melissa Diane Hunter, Nancy Sullivan School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, United States Received: October 9, 2020 Accepted: November 15, 2020 Online Published: November 19, 2020 DOI: 10.5430/jnep.v11n3p41 URL: https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v11n3p41 ABSTRACT Background and purpose: As COVID 19 impacted schools of nursing, the impact of clinical training was immediate. Students were removed from clinical sites but clinical training was necessary to continue the education of nursing students at all levels. Select virtual clinical experiences were substituted for in person clinical experience to reinforce foundational nursing skills. Results: Implementing virtual clinical activities proved to be a challenge for schools of nursing. Finding, structuring and managing activities that foster key foundational concepts for novice student nurses is imperative. Conclusions: Management of virtual clinical activities, via a SIM Center, is key in providing foundational experiences via simulation for the novice nursing student. Substituting structured virtual clinical days, with expert clinical debriefing, can provide an adequate clinical experience. Key Words: Novice, Nursing student, First semester, Virtual clinical, Simulation 1. I NTRODUCTION For decades, scientists have said that a disease is only one plane flight away. This is certainly true with the COVID 19 pandemic. COVID-19 is a contagious disease that is caused by the novel coronavirus and was first reported in Wuhan City, China in December 2019. [1] No one could have pre- dicted the sudden impact of COVID-19 on the education of nursing students. Traditionally, lecture, partnered with practical clinical experience, deputizes the nursing students of the future. Thanks to the pandemic and shortage of per- sonal protective equipment (PPE), [2, 3] nursing students were abruptly removed from nursing units and given virtual clini- cal activities in their stead. This article discusses the lessons learned from the abrupt stoppage of in-person clinical and the substitution of virtual clinical experiences for a first semester clinical nursing course. 2. BACKGROUND Course faculty plan clinical experiences to provide a well- rounded practical experience for the novice nursing student. The needs of a first semester nursing student, as a novice provider, is unique. [4] It is critical to utilize supportive clin- ical units that offer a variety of patients. In our academic setting, first semester students have not acquired knowledge pertaining to basic nursing care, so enhancing foundational nursing knowledge is a priority. Foundational knowledge is recognized as formulating assessment skills, technical skills, organization, communication and clinical judgement. As outlined by Giddens, [5] 30 basic assessment skills are used in the clinical setting. Technical nursing skills, like wound care techniques, are also foundational. Organization of care or time management of nursing workflow is another skill obtained in a first semester nursing students. [6, 7] Com- munication techniques, like SBAR (Situation-Background- * Correspondence: Krysia Warren Hudson; Email: khudson2@jhu.edu; Address: School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, United States. Published by Sciedu Press 41