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Community College Daily
Handling clinicals, apprenticeships and more
By Ellie Ashford
March 18, 2020
Community colleges across the country are shifting classes to online
instruction in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but they’re
finding more challenges in figuring what to do about nursing clinicals,
apprenticeships and other hands-on programs.
When Ivy Tech Community College (Indiana) restarts classes,
“accommodations will be made for labs, clinicals and some technology
courses to meet in groups of 10 or less if social distancing can be
assured,” said Jeff Fanter, vice president for marketing and
communications.
“There is a very detailed approval process being put in place to review
such courses,” Fanter said.
Some colleges are still trying to figure out how to go forward. Oakton
Community College in Illinois has extended spring break for a week and
is moving all class lectures online, but “we’re still assessing
alternatives for lab programs, clinicals and apprenticeships, ” said
spokesperson Steve Butera.
Howard Community College in Maryland is working with companies directly
about what to do about apprenticeships, as the state’s labor department
hasn’t issued any guidelines on that yet, said spokesperson Elizabeth
Homan. The college revised its spring break schedule so classes won’t
start until March 30.
Creative solutions
At Everett Community College (EvCC) in Washington, students in classes
such as aviation maintenance, advanced manufacturing, nursing,
emergency medical services (EMS) and other courses that require
in-person work can finish their training, “with strict social
distancing required,” President Daria Willis wrote in a March 16 notice.
EvCC is serving students and the community remotely and has closed all
offices, computer labs and buildings. The college anticipates reopening
for in-person services on April 6. Student housing remains open to
residents but guests are not allowed.
With clinicals, “instructors are getting creative,” Willis said. Many
EvCC nursing students take clinicals at hospitals in Seattle, the
epicenter of coronavirus in the U.S, so that’s no longer possible.
Beginning next quarter, faculty are asked to front-load lecture
materials in their courses to provide more time for determining how to
deal with hands-on activities.
The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is
working with the state’s nursing commission to see if there’s any
leeway or flexibility in required clinical hours, Willis said.
EMS programs and science labs at EvCC are using larger classrooms to
allow for social distancing. Welding students are working in booths, so
they’re not in close contact with anyone.
The college is looking at ordering science lab kits, but “we haven’t
made any sweeping decisions for the next quarter,” Willis said.
EvCC’s career and technical program for dual-enrolled high school
students is now run online because local public schools are closed.
Restrictions on clinicals
Officials at South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) in Washington
“are going program by program to assess the options. It’s a lesson in
creativity,” said spokesperson Kelly Green.
Local healthcare providers told the college that students could finish
this quarter and that they would reassess for the next quarter.
Protecting students’ health is front and center, Green noted, as there
are five positive COVID-19 cases in the county, and a group of students
from Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWIT) visited the
Evergreen nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, which had a major
outbreak. One faculty member from LWIT tested positive, and all those
students are self-quarantined at home.
“The biggest challenge is finding a balance between what faculty say we
need and what regulators and accrediting bodies say we need,” said
Green, who noted that faculty would like to use lab simulations, but
accreditors are still requiring in-person instruction.
Automotive technology and welding programs are bigger challenges, Green
said, although welding students already wear masks with respirators.
Some workforce and lab programs at SPSCC are splitting into smaller
groups to allow for social distancing. Instead of having 10 students in
a lab, for example, there could be three separate sessions.
Nursing students at Metropolitan Community College in Nebraska “are
still in clinicals with our instructors as long as the hospitals allow
us to be there,” said Stacey Ocander, dean of health and public
services.
Students are not allowed in high-risk areas or on the same floor as
patients with infectious diseases, Ocander said, and they have their
temperature taken before entering the building.
Students were prohibited from long-term care facilities weeks ago, she
added. Health classes are now delivered online, and labs are restricted
to just two students at a time.
For other students, Metropolitan is putting as much instruction as
possible online and is following social-distancing guidelines for
workforce programs and labs, said Tom McDonnell, vice president for
academic affairs. Some academic areas, such as culinary arts, are
preparing kits for home use.
Everything could change
The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) “remains open for
business” but has canceled many events, including commencement
ceremonies in May, Chancellor Glenn Dubois said in a March 17 notice.
Dubois commended colleges in the state for offering classes remotely,
limiting instruction to small groups and continuing to offer computer
lab and food pantry resources when possible.
When it comes to nursing clinicals, “we don’t have answers right now,”
said Assistant Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Kraus. “A lot of clinical
partners have to respond to the pandemic as well, and some have
immediately canceled clinicals.”
Nursing homes, where many students do their clinicals, “are blocking
their doors to everyone,” Kraus said.
“Obviously, not everything can go online,” he said. Some colleges in
the state are breaking down welding classes, so the instructor meets
with two or three students at a time, not 15, for example. Regarding
apprenticeships, the key factor is whether there are more than 10
people in the room.
On performance-based learning and clinics, “we have yet to come up with
a universal answer but smart people are working on it every day,”
Krause said.
VCCS is working with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
on how to deal with such issues as credits and graduation.
“Our biggest challenge right now is how and when we will get an all
clear,” Kraus says.
Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Ohio has suspended all nursing
skill labs and clinical rotations until further notice.
“We will be continuing skills lab content online in a number of
formats,” Nursing Dean Wendy Batch-Wilson wrote in a March 17 notice.
“While we do not know when face-to-face restrictions will be lifted, we
do ask that you have a plan in place should labs and clinicals resume
in the coming weeks,” Bath-Wilson wrote in the memo to nursing
students. “Because standards set by our accrediting bodies must be met,
missed time and experiences must be completed if/when we are able to
continue.”
Tri-C extended spring break for an extra week and expects to start
for-credit classes on March 23, said spokesperson John Horton.
Instruction for those classes will be delivered online or via
videoconferencing through the end of the semester.
Apprenticeship and workforce programs, such as welding, are still
happening on a case-by-case basis, Horton said.
All that can change, he said, as “things are moving pretty quickly.”
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