Perceived benefits of peer leadership as described by junior baccalaureate nursing students

Nursing students often do not get the chance to practice the skills they need as nurses prior to graduation. Many of the required skills are difficult to teach using traditional classroom or clinical teaching methods. Peer leadership is one teaching method that may provide alternative learning opportunities for enhancing these professional nursing skills, and it encompasses the notions of peer teaching and peer supervision simultaneously. The purpose of this study was to describe what junior baccalaureate nursing students perceived as the benefits of a peer leadership experience, using Loving's Competence Validation Model as the theoretical framework. Twelve junior nursing students participated during their adult medical-surgical rotation and completed self-evaluations following the peer leadership experience. From analysis of these self-evaluations, responses were categorized into five perceived benefits: practice in prioritizing, enhancement of critical thinking skills, enhancement of technical skills, realization of peers as resources, and development of management skills.