What type of a group do the 7 nurses on the night shift represent on the following case? Does this type of gro?

Does this type of group improve the performance of the night shift?

Welcome to Barnes City Hospital!

Paula Meers has been the supervisor of nursing for the night shift at Barnes City Hospital for nearly 4 years. Paula supervises twenty-four nurses who work from 11:00 p.m. until 7:30 a.m. Seven of the nurses have been very close to one another, both inside & outside the hospital. Each of these 7 nurses has been with the hospital for more than 20 years, & they gained the respect & confidence of the medical staff & the administration. 1 of these nurses, Bonnie Lin, is an excellent nurse, a very friendly & outgoing person, & well respected by this group of 7 nurses.

When new nurses r brought on to the shift, they r assigned a mentor for the 1st 3 months. In addition, the 7 nurses also engage in a welcoming routine of some jokes & a few nonharmful tricks. Many of the new nurses recognize this as a harmless rite of passage for new members of the nursing night shift. But Paula, as supervisor, has become concerned that the jokes & tricks may be causing some problems. 3 newly hired nurses have left Barnes City hospital after only 2 weeks on the job.

Paula arrange a meeting with Bonnie to express concerns over the jokes & tricks. Bonnie states that the jokes & tricks r harmless fun that is necessary to break the tension & constant pressure of caring for the patients. In addition, she says, ”Any nurse who can’t take the jokes should not be working the night shift at Barnes City Hospital.”

3 weeks later, 3 more newly hired nurses resign after telling Paula that they did not like the “jokes & tricks treatment.” These nurses tell Paula that they believe nursing is a serious profession & that they cannot work under the present conditions. The nurses leave the meeting stating that they intend to communicate their concerns to the hospital administrator.