SHORT COMMUNICATION Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2022, Vol. 32(04): 548-549 548 Virtual Skills Teaching of Nursing Students during COVID-19: A Problem-Solving Approach Bibi Hajira 1 , Anna Rana 2 , Farah Naeem 1 and Yunus Qammer 1 1 Department of Nursing, Shifa College of Nursing, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan 2 Department of Nursing, University College of Nursing, Islamia University, Bahawalpur, Pakistan ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic radically affected the whole education system including nursing education. Nursing is a practice-based profession; therefore, it is necessary to transform acquired knowledge into practice. However, in the current situation of the pandemic, the nursing students were unable to learn and practise nursing skills in the skills lab on manikins or simulation. This paper aims to give an overview and practical application of alternative solutions to overcome this situation. Alternatives like virtual skills teaching along with sign-off were sought by using problem-solving approaches to facilitate students' learning and help them to acquire necessary skills timely. Key Words: Virtual skills teaching, Nursing students, Problem-solving approach, COVID-19. How to cite this article: Hajira B, Rana A, Naeem F, Qammer Y. Virtual Skills Teaching of Nursing Students during COVID-19: A Problem-Solving Approach. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2022; 32(04):548-549. Clinical skills play a vibrant role in the undergraduate nursing curriculum. These are defined as the capability to accomplish tasks with the utilisation of proper knowledge and experience. 1 Students learn the theory in the class and prac- tise skills in the skills lab with all the resources, manikins or simulation, required for practice, and feel satisfied and confi- dent.Forstudents,theskillslabisanidealenvironmentwhere they can get adequate supervision and are not afraid of making mistakes. 2 Furthermore, the key purpose of teaching clinicalskillsinskillslabistopreparethemforaspecifiedlevel of proficiency and to provide a platform where they can prac- tise skills before direct implementation on the patient. 1 However, in the current situation of the COVID -19 pandemic, the faculty is unable to teach skills in the skills lab. But, it is important to train students for clinical skills as nursing educa- tion cannot be completed without practical application of learnedknowledge. 2 COVID-19hasanimpactonalmosteverysphereoflifeandhas changed the dynamics of life, globally. Similarly, the whole education system, including nursing education, is also catas- trophically affected by the pandemic; and that was a difficult timeforthenursinginstitutionstodealwiththesituation. Correspondence to: Dr. Bibi Hajira, Department of Nursing, Shifa College of Nursing, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan E-mail: bhajiraali@gmail.com ..................................................... Received: October 28, 2021; Revised: December 28, 2021; Accepted: January 09, 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29271/jcpsp.2022.04.548 The pandemic rendered several colleges to remain temporarily closed and face-to-face education was restricted. This situation has an undesirable and negative impact on educational activi- ties,associaldistanceiscrucialatthisstage.Thus,nursinginsti- tutions were trying to find alternative ways to manage this difficult circumstance and to accomplish the clinical learning objectives of the students, timely. Virtual learning is described as learning experiences using various electronic devices with internet availability in synchro- nous or asynchronous environments. Nursing colleges have implementednumerouscreativestrategiestocombatthecrisis, using various software/apps such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams to take online courses. The reasons for offering virtual modalities include easy and convenient access for students, ensuring the physical distance by staying at home, and timely completion of the course. Although virtual learning is a need of the time and has many useful benefits, it also poses some challenges for the students and faculty that include command on online teaching and learning,useoftechnology,availabilityofuninterruptedinternet connection,availabilityofrequiredequipmenttolearnandprac- tise skills at home, and students’ readiness, and acceptance of virtual learning. 3 To overcome these challenges, a session was arranged for the students and concerned faculty to discuss the importance of the skills; and how to proceed with virtual skills learning including faculty training by taking three days’ virtual workshop arranged by the institution for blended learning and to tackle the virtual skills teaching. The plan for implementation including prepara- tion, scheduling, anticipated challenges, and available resources for virtual teaching and assessment of skills were also