Forecast for the Future: Technology Trends in Nursing Education report cover

To analyze this, Wolters Kluwer and the National League for Nursing (NLN) jointly conducted the Future of Technology in Nursing Education survey in late 2020. They wanted to dig into the shifts in technology adoption during the pandemic and see how that impacted future investments.

Wolters Kluwer has a special interest in the topic of technology adoption since we’ve made student preparation for practice a focal point of our goals. We’ve been at the forefront of digital learning using technology-based tools like vSim for Nursing, clinical experience for students through virtual simulation, and Lippincott® PassPoint, the first and only adaptive, online NCLEX® preparation solution.

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How did nursing programs adapt?

Moving to completely online learning

73%
Most programs that are primarily in-person programs went fully online at the start of the pandemic, between March and April 2020.

Embracing virtual simulation

91%
A majority of programs use virtual simulation to prepare students for clinical success through realistic patient interactions.

Adopting a full suite of tech solutions

>75%
Nurse educators anticipate a wide range of solutions, such as virtual simulation, online learning, Learning Management System, secure exam delivery, and more to be adopted by a majority of programs.

Filipina nurse working from home doing paperwork and using tablet

Shifting into hybrid gear

Expect a hybrid environment as the classroom of the future, with 39% of survey respondents indicating that their institutions plan to offer more online courses post-pandemic. As virtual simulation allows students to experience more lifelike interactions safely, integration with academic EHR applications and other evidence-based point-of-care tools will become increasingly important.

Merging in-person learning with technological solutions may be one way to address the need for increased clinical judgment skills and better prepared students for practice.

Read the Blog
Read the Blog

What does the classroom of the future look like?

The nursing classroom evolved in 2020, to be sure — but what do the next five years hold in terms of technology adoption? It promises to be a much different picture than what we’re used to, due to fewer clinical sites and emerging technologies going mainstream. We take a visual tour of the highlights from the survey in our infographic.

Download the Infographic
Download the Infographic
Snippet from The Classroom of the Future 2025 infographic
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