Student Satisfaction and Team Development Outcomes With Preassigned Learning Communities

The purpose of this study was to determine if keeping baccalaureate nursing students together in the same learning community (LC)/clinical cohort throughout their entire clinical rotations (four semesters) was more or less helpful in fostering student satisfaction and team effectiveness. Using a model developed by the authors (Team Relationships with Clinical Cohorts Modell™) and the Team Development Questionnaire™ by Payne (2001), there were no correlations between team effectiveness scores and the length of time the individuals in the LC were together. The only statistically significant finding when applied to nursing students is that as the fraction of females increased, the team effectiveness scores also increased (the team with the highest collective team score consisted of all white females with a narrow age range). Open-ended comments on positive aspects of staying with the same group included recurring themes of “friendship,” “support,” and “a built-in study group;” although the longer the LC remained together, the more likely the students were to recommend changing LCs with each rotation. Given the diverse pool entering the nursing profession, educators must find a way to design clinical placements in the manner that best meets the needs of this rapidly changing student population.

Index words: Clinical groups, Learning communities, Baccalaureate nursing students, Student satisfaction, Team effectiveness, Group dynamics