Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Teams, and many more video conferencing platforms have become part of our everyday life. These video conferencing platforms provide an innovative way to teach hospital staff in this new socially-distanced era. While hands-on education and skills have always been the norm, these new platforms allow for a new form of interaction. From the comfort of their own home, participants can ask questions, interact with content experts, and even watch skills performed in real-time. Many of these platforms allow for breakout rooms so that participants can interact amongst themselves, much like in traditional classes. While there are drawbacks to this new form of education, such as the inability to provide hands-on skills demonstrations, infection prevention benefits are incredible. To offer hands-on skills demonstrations, many classes have turned into a blended approach. Blended education involves weaving didactic instruction through online platforms followed by skills demonstrations in traditional in-person courses. For example, the Progressive Care class provided participants with information sessions with guest speakers through a Zoom class, followed by several hands-on skills stations the next day. This new communication method requires a significant paradigm shift for both participants and educators. It is merely a glimpse into the future of nursing education and the incredible advances that are sure to be developed soon.

In March 2020, the ELITE Team launched Self-Directed Skills Check-Offs using quick response (QR) codes to provide unparalleled training and adhere to safety standards. Self-Directed Skills are comprised of a variety of skill stations. These may include glucometers, hemoccult tests, gastroccult tests, restraints, and Zoll defibrillators. Each skill is strategically positioned in simulation areas to accommodate participants' rotation through each station at their own pace. Each station has content available by scanning a QR code. Using their smart devices, participants scan the QR code at each station and view a short video followed by a return demonstration of the skill. Each participant can watch the video multiple times, pause the video, or practice it while viewing the video. Facilitators are also available for questions. Research suggests that QR codes enable easy access to meaningful information and promote learner engagement and independence (Karia et al.), thereby supporting adult learning theories.

Roll Call is yet another technological advancement that has decreased unnecessary contact during this pandemic. The Roll Call application allows for contactless attendance verification. It takes the place of sign-in rosters, where all the participants using the same pen and paper to validate their attendance. With Roll Call, educators can quickly and efficiently scan the employee's badge to verify attendance. This application can be utilized in both in-person and virtual classes. Online courses with set rosters provide the attendee information and allow the educators to mark participants as present in the class quickly. This simple application can help prevent the transmission of infections and ensures that participants are in the correct course.

Recent events surrounding COVID-19 necessitated a rapid response for training and up-skilling nursing personnel, including RNs, PCAs, and UAAs for the Caring Hands Labor Pool. E-learning is a technology-based learning tool used for RNs to gain the knowledge needed without having them participate in a classroom setting. We leveraged the Learning Management System (LMS) to provide coursework online, avoiding the time and cost required to give this classroom training. This allowed for self-paced learning at a time and place that was convenient for staff. Online learning is known to be cost-effective and directly affects boosting employee morale, satisfaction, and longevity. In this particular situation, it was safer and quicker than classroom training. The LMS made it possible to provide various coursework individualized for where staff would be helping, either ICU or Acute Care. The LMS gave us the flexibility to group content from multiple sources. There was content created internally, a link to external coursework, and content or articles from professional resources, such as Elsevier Clinical Skills and Nurse Reference Center Plus. The training was standardized, consistent, and the staff could resume work and apply new skills faster than traditional instructor-led training alone.