The training fostered meaningful senses of connection to local communities.

In-person clinic activities helped students socialize safely and productively.

Administering vaccines let students have a positive impact fighting the pandemic.

Multidisciplinary health clinic exposure helped clarify the nursing role.

The novel training experience increased students' perceptions of their confidence.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many nursing schools limited in-person clinical instruction to lower the risk of student exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Some U.S. state boards of nursing authorized virtual learning experiences to attempt to fill this void. The effects of restricting such hands-on training are not fully understood, but we believed it could be detrimental to student development and saw partnering with local COVID-19 vaccination clinic as a promising alternative. Between January and April 2021, second semester pre-licensure nursing students assisted at the clinic and submitted reflections on the experience. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this educational encounter.

One hundred seventy-one students submitted reflections on their experience, which were de-identified and uploaded to a HIPAA- and FERPA-compliant cloud storage system using SAFE desktop and coded for thematic analysis.

Analysis revealed five major themes: community, socializing, perceived confidence, impact, and professional role.

This study demonstrated the viability of instruction at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic as an alternative learning experience for nursing students encountering restricted face-to-face clinical training. It suggests that schools can develop other novel clinical experiences to increase students' perceived confidence, provide opportunities to practice skills, and gain insights into nursing practice.

Nursing students

Clinical reflections

Novel clinical experience

COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19 pandemic

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