Outcomes of Cooperative Education in a Baccalaureate Program IN NURSING

Cooperative education, or co-op, an educational model in which students alternate periods of study with academic-related employment, is a required component of the nursing program at Northeastern University. Students in the five-year baccalaureate program complete three six-month co-op experiences. While on co-op, students function as full-time, unlicensed assistants in a wide variety of specialties and settings. The School of Nursing works closely with individual nurse managers and human resource professionals at more than 55 health care agencies to maintain attractive co-op opportunities for students. A study was conducted in 2003 to I) identify and compare activities and outcomes of co-op reported by students with those reported by their nurse managers and 2) determine if the type of activities and outcomes reported by students changed as they progressed through co-op experiences. Findings revealed consistency in the proportion of activities and outcomes reported by students and managers. The most commonly reported activities were Routine Care and Procedures and Assessment and Evaluation. Both groups reported affective outcomes most frequently, followed by cognitive and multidimensional outcomes. As students progressed through co-op experiences, only minor differences were noted in the types of activities they performed; the learning outcomes students achieved changed only slightly.