But for Dr. Marnie Kramer, a new faculty member in the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, there was little for her to adapt to, as she was already working remotely.

Kramer’s home is actually a whole province away from the University of Manitoba.

“I am in a unique position at UM where I am a distance-based tenure track member,” says Kramer, who recently moved with her husband from Kimberley, B.C. to Saskatoon.

Kramer, who joined the college as an assistant professor in January this year, said there was an odd kind of serendipity to her starting shortly before the pandemic changed the way Canadians lived and worked.

“I went very quickly from working alone with my students, to being completely engaged with faculty who were also suddenly put in a distance-delivery context,” she says.

Kramer currently specializes in working with nursing graduates who failed their registration exams.

“In nursing, we have a national registration exam that must be passed for the graduate to register with their respective provincial regulatory body,” she says, referring to the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), a U.S.-based exam that provincial regulators adopted in 2015.

When the exam was introduced, she says there was a sharp drop in the pass rate of nursing graduates across Canada from around 88 – 90 per cent to 69 per cent.

“We had about 2,800 students in the system who were unable to work as nursing graduates at that time,” she says. “Over the last five years we’ve come back up to an 85 per cent pass rate for first time writers, so close to where we were, but that still means that 15 per cent of current Canadian-educated nursing graduates are failing the exam yearly.

“It’s kind of a tricky process, because when you fail that exam, your nursing program can’t help you, but the regulator can’t help you either. You float in this terrible no man’s land where you’re not licensed and no one can help,” she says.

Kramer grew up near Edmonton and went to the University of Alberta to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing when she was 17. She spent her early career as an intensive care nurse before earning a master’s degree in adult education 2007 and a PhD in nursing in 2013 from the University of Toronto.

She’s been a faculty member at the University of Alberta, MacEwan University, University of Toronto, Mount Royal University and University of Victoria/College of the Rockies, with an expertise in undergraduate nursing programming and curriculum development.

She is currently working with UM PhD candidate Kim Mitchell on developing a clinical tool to predict nursing program failure, based on factors extending beyond traditional criteria. This includes students’ self-efficacy and mindset. Those with “growth” mindsets are generally more successful with the exam than those with “fixed” mindsets, she says.

“It is not about failing, but what you do with the failure and how you continue to push and develop despite it,” says Kramer. “Our hope is we’ll better predict risk of failure earlier in the program or eventually create an admission exam that will challenge how we conceptualize undergraduate nursing education and learning.”

Kramer’s interest in working with students who need to repeat the NCLEX comes from her own experience as an undergraduate student.

“I have a soft spot for students who struggle because I struggled in the first two years of my nursing program,” she says. “I have never forgotten what that was like to fail at something. It is such a difficult and humbling experience.”

Kramer adds that she keeps the rejection letter from her first application to the University of Alberta’s master of nursing program framed next to her master’s degree to inspire her to understand the mechanisms at play for students who struggle.  

“The person who signed that rejection letter was my final examiner who signed off on my thesis defense,” she says. “I truly believe in learning from failure and being persistent.”

“Some adjustments had to be made to support students and mentors working remotely, but we are officially underway with a full summer program,” said Diane Cepanec, director of the program, which brings together 16 student researchers and 14 mentors from the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

To begin the program in its virtual form, Cepanec facilitated a video conferencing orientation session for all participants that focused on a discussion of roles and expectations setting up an online office and opportunities for training and networking and emphasized the importance of keeping a work routine and maintaining a positive and healthy life-work balance.

“We also discussed connecting as people beyond our formal titles, which is so important and makes a difference in the kind of experience and learning that students have,” she said.

Sidrah Khawaja, a research assistant for her third consecutive summer, said that being connected to her colleagues has been a key part of her success with the program.

“Research is about teamwork and now we’ve been forced into an uncomfortable situation of having to be isolated, but having the support from the MCNHR team and my mentors has made the transition so much easier” she said.

Khawaja, who also has a UM bachelor’s degree in genetics, noted the program has been very important to her since she entered the College of Nursing.

“In my first year, one of my professors noticed I had an interest in research and told me about the program,” she said. “I wouldn’t have known this opportunity existed for students prior to that, and I thought it would be an interesting way to learn more about nursing research. It’s become such a big part of my life now.”

This summer, Khawaja is working with Dr. Donna Martin, associate dean of graduate programs, and assistant professor Dr. Marnie Kramer on an international project led by Dr. Amanda Kenny from LaTrobe University in Australia that focuses on a review of research in nursing education and the impact of how nursing education is constructed.

Khawaja and Naomi Armah, another returning research assistant, gave an online presentation on May 19, welcoming participants and highlighting methods for success while taking part in the program remotely. They said this was especially important for students new to the program.

“We highlighted the need for excellent communication and establishing relationships with your mentors, support staff and colleagues,” Armah said. “Resilience begins in the mind, and once you have that intrinsic motivation, you will be better able to learn, adapt to changes and explore other contextual factors that can support you through the journey.”

Armah, a PhD student in the College of Nursing, is in the program for the fourth time. Over the last few years, she has been involved in multiple projects, including one that led to a published article in the International Journal of Public Health in 2019. This summer, she’s working with Dr. Nicole Harder, Mindermar Professor in Human Simulation, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, on a scoping review of psychological and moral distress in healthcare providers who are involved in the withdrawal of treatments of patients in intensive care settings.

“I have had the opportunity to work on literature reviews, engage in data collection and data analysis, and work on grant and ethics applications. So many opportunities have come my way from working at the MCNHR as a summer intern,” Armah said.

First-time intern Sandra Aboh said she appreciated the online introductory sessions and they helped her feel welcome.

“We got to meet our team and learn about the resources we have. We also had an opportunity to work on schedules and have some coffee time, since we can’t meet on campus anymore,” she said.

A bachelor of nursing student set to enter her fourth year, Aboh moved to Winnipeg from Nigeria in 2017 to study nursing. She previously earned a degree in microbiology from Bowen University in Nigeria.

“I’ve always been interested in research, and as I went through the program I found topics that were of interest, like youth and marginalized populations,” she said.

Aboh received an undergraduate research award to take part in the seminars and work with Dr. Roberta Woodgate, Canada Research Chair in Child and Family Engagement in Health Research and Healthcare, and her team on a project looking into culturally-sensitive services for youth.

“I know this time is different because I can’t just walk up to my mentor, but she is very accessible through video conferencing apps, email and phone, and will answer any question I have,” Aboh said.