*4.1. Implications for Nursing Education*

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in education worldwide. Although most colleges have shifted to online learning, nursing schools must continue to have clinical practicums, which require students to work in close contact with patients. The concern of viral transmission and the unpredictable progression of the COVID-19 pandemic may further increase students' uncertainty of academic advancement and affect their mental health negatively. Therefore, it is imperative for nurse educators to help students to identify and develop optimal coping strategies to minimize anxiety due to the pandemic. Providing clear guidelines for infection control will help students to feel confident about their safety and minimize stress as they work with patients. Furthermore, it is critical to provide a supportive learning environment that helps students to develop effective coping strategies [32]. For example, nursing school can develop and integrate a resiliencebuilding program throughout the nursing curriculum to assist students in managing stress associated with academic, social, and personal challenges. Such a resilience-building program may include mindfulness-based stress reduction strategies, muscle relaxation exercise, self-care, communication skills, problem-solving skills, or study skills. These activities may be implemented via lectures, reflective journaling, experience sharing, roleplaying, or homework assignments [33]. Studies have shown that such programs can help students to utilize effective coping strategies and time management, which improves mental health and academic success [33–35,37]. In addition, tailored resilience interventions based on needs assessment and skill-building activities may be helpful [36]. Given the need for social distancing, online platforms may also be useful for spiritual and peer support, as well as resilience training to enhance psychological wellbeing [15,38,39].
