What is cohort nursing? A nursing cohort is a group of nursing students who enroll at the same time and expect to graduate together. Cohort members take classes, attend labs and work through clinical rotations together. The cohort model offers camaraderie, emotional support and professional networking opportunities.
If you’re thinking of becoming a nurse, one of the first steps you should take is exploring what you can expect in nursing school. It will be challenging, but you will have support from your instructors and fellow students. When working toward your degree, you will study and collaborate with other members of your nursing cohort. What is a nursing cohort and what can you expect from it?
Marian University strives to offer a close-knit, supportive learning environment infused with our Franciscan values. Marian University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program can allow you to earn a nursing degree in as few as 16 months by leveraging your prior non-nursing education. It’s a faster track toward an exciting career in nursing, and you’ll benefit from the cohort model every step of the way.
Before getting started with the nursing school admission process, take a closer look at the concept of the cohort model. Discover the nursing cohort meaning, learn about the benefits it offers and get some tips for working well with your cohort members.
What Is Cohort Nursing?
In nursing school, a cohort is a group of students who started the program at the same time and share the same anticipated graduation date. They take classes, attend labs and navigate clinical rotations together. This student grouping allows students to bond and build relationships with their fellow cohort members. This model of education helps facilitate a close-knit and supportive learning environment.
Whether in-person or online, students might find themselves nurturing a community within their cohort.
Take a look at how to successfully navigate life in nursing school.
Benefits of Learning in a Nursing Cohort
Nursing cohorts, as groups of students who enroll and graduate at the same time, can be a vital resource and support structure. Students can reach out to one another and work together to study and learn concepts. Some of the most significant benefits of a nursing cohort include:
- Ease of learning: Many people learn better in a group setting. This model allows for group learning with the fellow cohort members you connect with.
- Sense of community: A nursing cohort provides a sense of community with a group of peers. You can find friends and even form lifelong bonds from among your cohort. Your peers are navigating the same challenges in nursing school and working toward the shared goal of becoming nurses, so connections are natural.
- Emotional support: A Nursing education, especially in an ABSN program, can be challenging, and no one will understand what you are going through better than others in your cohort. Since you’re all working through the same classes, labs and clinicals together, you can offer emotional support to your cohort members and vice versa.
- Broadened perspective: Studying with your cohort can introduce you to a range of new perspectives. From studying to problem-solving and stress management, seeing how others might approach a problem can help you on the path to success.
How Cohorts Work in an Accelerated Nursing Program
At Marian University, our accelerated nursing curriculum can be completed in as few as 16 months. Students will meet their fellow cohort members before the program begins, so you can bond before classes start.
The groups collaborate formally and informally. Each cohort completes their clinicals and labs together, and they take the same courses at the same time. For informal communications, many cohorts set up group chats. They also create study groups and review sessions. Overall, most students love that they can closely collaborate with this group of peers.
Why Cohorts Matter for Nursing Students
As a nursing student, you can benefit from the camaraderie that the cohort model offers. You may enjoy the sense of fellowship and the opportunity to support others as you all work toward a shared goal. These benefits seem ideal in theory, but it can help to know what it’s like in practice.
Discover what some Marian University ABSN program graduates have to say about their ABSN cohorts.
“The cohort is close,” says ABSN program graduate Christopher W. “We went through our first semester together.... That brought us together. I have a bunch of friends in the cohort. We all study together and kind of like going through the fire together is probably the best way to put it. You make friends fast. You don’t see them as much as the program goes on unless you’re in the clinical setting with them, so it’s always fun to get together for testing and things like that.”
Stacie B. says, “I think [the ABSN program at Marian] really lends itself to having a great group of nurses because, for the most part, all of us have lived a little bit of life between getting out of school the first time and going back to school to become nurses. So, we bring a lot of life experience with us in terms of our future nursing career as, for most of us, it’s our second career.”
Explore the top benefits of earning a BSN degree.
Tips for Working Well in a Nursing Cohort
Whether you’re naturally outgoing or you’re a bit reserved, there are a few steps you can follow to get the most out of the cohort model of nursing education. Working to get to know your fellow nursing students and collaborate openly with them can improve your learning experience and help you navigate nursing school more easily.
Try these tips:
- Introduce yourself. Speak up and break the ice by offering compliments, asking questions and getting to know your cohort members on a personal level.
- Take the initiative. Set up a chat group and collect phone numbers to add your cohort members to it. Explain that the chat group is intended for socializing outside of school and can be a source of information when students need help or have a question.
- Form a study group. Invite other members in your cohort to form a study group with you. Designate someone to serve as the facilitator. Set an agenda for each meeting.
- Offer support. You might sense when someone else is struggling. Be the one to step forward and offer emotional support.
Start in the Next Cohort
Marian University’s ABSN program brings flexibility and convenience to nursing education. You can choose to attend at either of our two program sites in Indianapolis, Indiana, or Nashville, Tennessee, and you can choose from three start dates per year in January, May and August. While enrolled, you’ll benefit from personalized support from our Academic Success Coaches. While we are a Catholic university, we welcome students of all faiths.
Contact an admission advisor today to learn more about earning your nursing degree in as few as 16 months. Your admission advisor will walk you through the process each step of the way, helping you develop a plan for meeting the requirements and enrolling at your targeted start date.