Covid-19 lockdowns: a catalyst for rethinking assessments in skill-based nursing courses
Document Type
Book Chapter
Department
Institute for Human Development
Abstract
Amid the Covid-19 mandated lockdowns, the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery in Pakistan (SoNAM-PK) closed their physical campuses to adhere to public health requirements for social distancing. The students living on campus returned to their primary residences. Students, especially in remote areas of northern Pakistan, lacked dependable internet connections and travelled miles to reach a central hub where internet connections were made available for the students by the university through a partnership with Aga Khan Development Network schools. While male students could travel on their own, female students required a male escort or stayed home and missed the lessons – in alignment with cultural norms and restricted mobility (Cassum et al. 2024). A few students captured and shared videos to exhibit their struggles to access internet connections and technological devices to the faculty and the university at large through social media, including Facebook and WhatsApp. Faculty at the school quickly pivoted instruction from face-to-face to the online medium, often without sufficient preparation. Around 30% of the SoNAM-PK faculty had experienced teaching in a blended modality; however, assessing students online was new for everyone. Aligning with the book’s theme, only assessments of the practice-based courses are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Salim, Z.,
Khamis, A.,
Kurji, Z.,
Petrucka, P.,
Cassum, S. H.
(2024). Covid-19 lockdowns: a catalyst for rethinking assessments in skill-based nursing courses.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/eastafrica_ihd/209