Ishida, D., Fujimoto-Ikuma, A. A., & Conde, F. A. (2008). Transition into the work world: An assessment. Journal of Cooperative Education and Internship, 42(1), 11-19.
Educators worldwide are concerned with the achievement of program outcomes of their students, and evaluation of learning outcomes is an important part of all academic programs. A real test of how these learning outcomes are met can be demonstrated in the new graduates’ transition into the work world. Here this issue is explored in the context of nursing. This study sought to 1) assess the achievement of program outcomes during the transition of the graduates in their first registered nursing role, and 2) to determine if there were differences between graduates who took a nursing co-op program (a career focused paid work experience with elective credit) in their course of study, and those who did not. Students from this ethnically diverse program of study were surveyed six months after graduation when they were in their first registered nursing role. Although there were no statistically significant differences seen between the co-ops and non-co-ops, there were some interesting differences between the groups that have implications for nursing education.