Utilization of peer advisement course among first year students: A pilot study exploring students and their perceptions
Introduction
The transition from high school to college can be a stressful experience for first year university students, and nursing students are no exception. In addition to transition difficulties, retaining these students from admission to graduation is a rising issue faced by many institutions. Nationwide, the attrition rate among nursing programs has reached approximately 50% (Newton and Moore, 2009). In Pennsylvania State in United States of America (USA), attrition rate among nursing students was as high as 27% in baccalaureate programs (Pennsylvania Department of Health, 2017). Academic failure and a change in career goals were among the top causes of attrition, as reported by nursing students (Pennsylvania Department of Health, 2017). Similar rates were also noted in international undergraduate studies that targeted students' attrition (Ebert et al., 2020), while other studies examined factors that led to high rates in attrition among students (Daniels et al., 2020). In response to these national and global concerns, a peer advisement program has been proposed as an effective strategy to reduce attrition among undergraduate students. Faculty members often serve as advisors or mentors to students but tend to focus on long-term goals and career guidance rather than the daily concerns and minute details usually associated with the transition to college (Andre et al., 2017). Therefore, in addition to providing education and knowledge from their own experiences, peer advisors are thought to be a valuable social support resource for first-year nursing students (Andre et al., 2017). Based on the studies that have been implemented, peer advisement programs might be a feasible option to consider given the high pressure on faculty to meet their clinical, teaching, and research obligations across the United States (Andre et al., 2017; Diambra and Cole-Zakrzewski, 2002; Wong et al., 2016).
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Background
Informal peer advising has long been prevalent among undergraduate students in the form of networking throughout daily activities in residences, dining halls, or in recreational settings (Koring, 2005; Zahorik et al., 2016). However, formal peer advising programs have been on the rise to ensure appropriate support is available to students. Formal peer advisement programs often engage senior undergraduate students, who offer assistance to their fellow students with regard to time management,
Design, sample and setting
This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. All peer advisors and first-year nursing students who were enrolled in the FYSC were invited to participate in the study via email. The study was conducted in the Fall semester of 2017/2018. A total of 108 (70.1%) first-year nursing students and five (83.3%) peer advisors completed the survey.
After the completion of the course, a one-time survey was sent out to all first-year seminar students using an investigator-developed questionnaire
Students' course evaluation
One-hundred and eight students participated in the study. The findings of the study revealed that 68% (n = 70) of students agreed with the statement that the peer led group meetings met their expectations of the nursing school, while 8.7% (n = 9) of students disagreed with the statement. In addition, 95.1% (n = 98) of students stated that their peer advisors met their expectations.
Table 1 presents additional evaluation of the course. The results indicated that 60.2% (n = 65) of students
Discussion
The findings of this study revealed that 68% and 95.1% of students reported that the peer-led group recitation meetings met freshmen expectations of nursing school and of their peer advisors, respectively. In relation to peer advisors, the study indicated that more than 75% believed their peer advisors to be exemplary. The students also described their peer advisors as excellent communicators, approachable, accommodating, open, friendly, and sensitive to diversity. In addition, most students
Conclusion
This is one of the first nursing studies that examine both the perceptions and experiences of first-year nursing students as well as their peer advisors. The study offers a unique insight to the benefits a peer advisement course can offer both students and peer advisors. This study also highlighted how peer advisement programs can be a valuable resource for first-year nursing students and a more feasible alternative source for supporting freshmen during their transition from high school to
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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