Senior-led freshman groups: a strategy for professional development

Faculty members are challenged to promote professional nurse development in undergraduate students. The authors discuss an experimental teaching/learning strategy for senior nursing students and groups of freshman students in a baccalaureate nursing program. This strategy provided a unique opportunity for professional role socialization and school integration in first-year students and increased competence in teaching skills and confidence as professional role models in the seniors. Based on evaluations by the participants, the experimental teaching strategy was a positive experience for both freshman and senior students.