Due to the unpredictable circumstances of the COVID-19 on health systems, many nursing students are having difficult times finding clinical sites for their clinical experiences. This is due to the risk and burden nursing students may place, along with the reduced number of non-urgent procedures. To address the lack of clinical placements for nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic times, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) imposed several solutions. 
- Halt all clinicals
- Resume clinicals like normal
- Partially resume clinicals 
- Allow nursing students to join the work force early
- Remote clinicals

Clinical Placement in Australia 

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting countries all around the world, there is a lack of clinical placement sites for nursing students. Without fulfilling their hour requirements, students may not be able to graduate or receive their license. 
- Clinical Placement in Australia 

Smith College

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Not only can e-learning create a "digital divide" and disadvantage students from resource-constrained schools or households, but it may also not be a viable alternative to face-to-face instruction for younger children who are still acquiring hand-eye coordination for writing. 

Drawbacks of E-Learning as Compared to In-Person Education

Previous pandemics  did not take into account how closure of schools would impact our healthcare work capacity (referring to healthcare workers who would have to miss work to take care of their children). 
Will the increased need for childcare increase net mortality? 
At what point will the strain on labour supply undo the benefits that school closures have? 
- Approx 15% of healthcare workers (14.8-15.2 CI) are in need of child care during a school closure
-Estimating that school closures bring a 15% reduction in COVID cases 
-Estimating a baseline mortality rate of 2% 

-With these estimates, a 15% decrease in the health-care labour force would need to decrease the survival probability (per health-care worker lost) by 17.6% for school closure to increase cumulative mortality
-If infection mortality rate increased from 2.00% to 2.35% in conjunction with a 15% reduction in healthcare labour, school closures would lead to more deaths than they prevent

Impact of School Closures for COVID-19 on the US Health-care workforce and net mortality

Bogossian, F., McKenna, L., & Levett-Jones, T. (2020). Mobilising the nursing student workforce in COVID-19: The value proposition. Collegian, 27(2), 147-149.
https://www.collegianjournal.com/article/S1322-7696(20)30051-2/fulltext
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2020.04.004

Mobilising the nursing student workforce in COVID-19: The value proposition

The transition to online learning has affected the learning experiences of medical students, as they are unable to have take part in clinical rotations, problem-based learning interactions, in-person anatomy dissections, group learning sessions, local examinations and licensing requirements, which used to be an essential experience for them. Students are therefore missing out on the hands-on experiences and patient interactions. However, with the help of current technology, students are able to conduct Telehealth sessions with patients, virtual dissections and online conferences, facilitating students' education. More actions need to be taken to make similar resources available to all students. 

The Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Student Education

As most schools and universities have transferred to online or e-learning as an alternative to in person education amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, households with  lower incomes may be negatively impacted due to the limitations of having access to mobile and internet accessible devices. 

Impacts of E-Learning and Dependence on Access to the Internet and Online Resources 

Year 1 and Year 2 medical education had already shifted to online platforms before COVID-19, so the pandemic did not disrupt it drastically. Year 3 and Year 4 education, however, has traditionally relied on in-person clinical rotations, most of which were canceled during the pandemic, with some schools shifting Year 3 students into Year 4 electives instead. These stopgap measures are not sustainable, do not satisfy the clerkship requirements students need to graduate and enter residencies, and strain faculty who must simultaneously overhaul curricula and manage major personal disruptions. The article's proposed solution is a nationwide 'grass-roots' coalition: medical schools collaborating together to jointly redesign clinical curricula to fit pandemic-era constraints.

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