A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF NURSING LIVING-LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Abstract

Living-learning communities, although not a novel concept, have been known to promote student performance and a sense of collegiality. Because nursing is essential to the medical profession, nursing student retention and pass rates are of paramount importance. Attrition tends to happen to nursing students in their first formative years (Newton & Moore, 2009). Therefore, this study was conducted to explore findings associated with living arrangements and residential factors promoting and deterring retention. Although most studies on this topic have utilized quantitative methods, this qualitative comparative case study, involving two universities in Indiana during the winter of 2014, examined the personal experiences of 14 students residing or having resided in a nursing-themed living-learning community. The investigation searched for themes in mentoring and explored if and how mentoring was used. A symbiotic relationship was found among the various themes identified revealing that the dynamics of the living-learning community offer a strong network for mentoring and promoting the academic, social, and personal development of the nursing student that, in turn, promotes retention and program completion. Additionally, the resident assistant in the living-learning community was found to be of central importance in sustaining the positive dynamic. Implications for practice that are thought to be of most use in carefully building and sustaining a living--learning community were derived from the themes.