“Truly once in a lifetime opportunity”. An overview of nursing students experiences of study-to-work transition in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Abstract Introduction. The outbreak of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic resulted in a paralysis of healthcare systems. The most important problem was the provision of an appropriate number of healthcare personnel. One of the ways was to enable final-year students of medical sciences to start professional work. Aim. To analyse the available literature dealing with student study-to-work transition during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic outbreak. Method. The resources of five databases: PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, CINAHL Complete via EBSCOhost were researched. The inclusion criteria: 1) English language, 2) papers published in peer-reviewed journals, 3) type of publication, 4) papers published between 01.01.2020 and 31.12.2020. We have found 2,341 articles. The 17 papers were included in the final analysis. Results. The analysis pointed to soft competences as one of the most important group of competences enabling efficient study-to-work transition (n=13). Students pointed to the ethical problems encountered at the start of work in the pandemic (n=8). Two important factors should be highlighted as crucial for the future formation of the professional identity of a group of students starting their professional career in the pandemic: the impact of the disturbed process of professional adaptation and the need to implement changes to the processes of education of students of medical sciences.