On Aug. 21, the Graduate Programs of Nurse Anesthesia (GPNA) at Texas Wesleyan welcomed 105 new excited nurse anesthesia residents. 

For several years, TXWES GPNA has included in its orientation some activities related to team building. Teams were assigned by clinical residency site, which allowed students to quickly become familiar with people they would spend the longest amount of time with. Activities were built around problem-solving skills such as building towers out of spaghetti and tape. 

This year a new twist was added. The faculty opined that students might not fit well with all of their clinical group or the group might be very small (some clinical sites only have 2 students/cohort). The faculty developed a list of field trips that the students could sign up for based on interest. The supposition was that relationships would develop quicker and stronger if students had a similar interest  Field trips included a trip to the zoo, checking out a variety of museums, cycling along the Trinity River and a visit to the the botanical garden. Students signed up for the trip of their choice. All options were either free admission or very low cost (<$10). 

The trip was linked to expectations and an assessment in the first semester Professional Aspects course, so the students were required to attend. The assessment was a 1-page reflection paper and a picture of their group. The feedback from the students was super positive — one of the students said we had “tricked them into beginning friendships!"