Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused universities to undergo a transition from a face-to-face curriculum to emergency distance education. For the Nursing school of the University of Chile, the impossibility of attending health centers with students is added, due to the health crisis affecting the country; however, along with the challenges, opportunities emerge for innovation, creativity and collaboration.

Objective:

To present the experience concerning the implementation of a distance learning Nursing curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the Kern model.

Methods:

The implementation of an online education plan was analyzed following the Kern's model, which proposed a student-centered proposal, in order to elaborate a curricular framework oriented to solve the training demands. Interests, needs, resources and learning articulation were considered, with an initial focus on the actors involved in the educational process.

Results:

The problem situations and challenges appeared in a cross-sectional manner for students and teachers, as well as at all organizational levels. These are mainly related to social gaps, the impossibility of carrying out face-to-face activities, and emotional factors. Flexibility, adaptation, collaborative work and uncertainty management were paramount skills in this process.

Conclusions:

Virtualization in education has been an emergency alternative that has permitted to face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflecting on the experience in a critical manner has allowed to identify effective and innovative educational practices, as well as opportunities.