Service-Learning and Professional Values Development of Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Engaging Students in a Bilingual Service-Learning Health Promotion Project

Introduction: This service-learning, health promotion project used Leininger's Culture Care Theory to engage Baccalaureate Nursing students in a health promotion initiative specific to Hispanic community members. Methods: Thirty-seven students examined population health data, surveyed Hispanic community members to identify health priorities, and developed a population-specific intervention on diet and risk factors for diabetes. Students created a 5-min script focused on healthy eating plans with recognition of traditional foods associated with the Hispanic culture. Students delivered the script to community members attending an annual Hispanic Heritage Festival. Results: Seventy-six percent of the 488 community participants reported increased knowledge about diabetes risk factors and healthy eating habits. Each student completed a self-reflection on how the project impacted their transcultural skills and reported increased confidence related to engagement and communication with the Hispanic community. Discussion/Significance: Incorporating community-based service-learning into the undergraduate curricula is a powerful educational approach that can enhance students' ability to provide culturally congruent nursing care.

Integration of a service-learning component into a course on nursing care for children with developmental disorders: A mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

Service-learning provides nursing students with hands-on experience in a real-world setting. Students learn how to care for others and manage their emotions.

AIM

This study examined the effectiveness of integrating service-learning into a nursing course on nursing care for children with developmental disorders.

DESIGN

This was a mixed-methods study with two pretest-posttest quantitative analyses and a qualitative component.

METHODS

Nursing students (N = 74) enrolled in a semester-long course in nursing care for children with developmental disorders participated in the study. Data were collected between February 2017 and June 2021. The service-learning part of the course assigned teams of two to three students to provide nursing care for a child (ages 5-19 years) diagnosed with a developmental disorder. At the conclusion of the course, students presented a short video with reflections of their experiences. Pretest versus post-test scores compared mid-term and final exam scores regarding knowledge of children with developmental disorders and scores on a 9-item self-report instrument on service-learning skills. Self-reflections from the video presentation provided qualitative data about the impact on students' awareness of the caregiving needs of children with developmental disorders.

RESULTS

The mean final exam scores were significantly higher compared with midterm scores (96.12, (SD = 4.63) vs 94.82 (SD = 12.08); F = 6.81, p < .001), indicating knowledge of developmental disabilities had increased. Pretest vs posttest scores for service-learning skills indicated confidence had significantly increased (p < .001). Students' video reports indicated sensitivity to the challenges and needs of these children had increased.

CONCLUSIONS

Service-learning exposed nursing students to the challenges and rewards of caring for children with developmental disorders. Knowledge, as well as confidence, increased. Nurse educators could easily integrate service-learning into courses required as part of the curriculum for pediatric nursing students.

Service learning and the medical student affective domain

BACKGROUND

The Association of American Medical College (AAMC) requires all students to demonstrate four core attributes: knowledge, skills, altruism and dutifulness. A formal service-learning curriculum may serve to explicitly foster altruism and dutifulness in the affective domain of Bloom's taxonomy as well as proactively improve student well-being.

APPROACH

All Harvard Medical School students enrolled in the Principal Clinical Experience (PCE) programme in the 2018-2019 academic year at Brigham and Women's Hospital were excused from clerkship responsibilities and given the opportunity to participate in a half-day team-based community-service intervention at a not-for-profit organisation in Boston, MA. Following the service-learning initiative, we examined student compassion, civic responsibility, well-being and team cooperativeness using validated survey questions, supplemented by free-text feedback.

EVALUATION

Forty-five of the 55 PCE students (82%) attended the outing. Overall, 68% of students found the outing to be valuable and 23% somewhat valuable. On a scale of 0-20, students reported very high self-perception of compassion (mean = 19.9), civic responsibility (mean = 19.7) and team development and composition (mean = 19.1), after the event. Students reported lower perceptions of personal well-being (mean = 17.5), but emotional wellness was the most frequently mentioned theme in open response.

IMPLICATIONS

Incorporation of a team-based service-learning activity contributes to the students' community understanding, empathy and class team building. Utilisation of a published framework in the development of this initiative likely contributed to its success. Given our findings, we plan further expansion of this service learning longitudinally through the 4-year curriculum to potentially strengthen the affective domain for students further.

Integrating service learning into the RN to BSN curriculum with the application of QSEN competencies

To accomplish the goal of a more highly educated nursing workforce, academic nursing has supported a significant increase in the number of RN to BSN programs. The focus of educating practicing registered nurses is moving toward revising and designing curriculum that promote positive patient outcomes and supports contemporary healthcare practices. Facilitating a service-learning model for RN to BSN curricula and applying the Quality and Safety Education in Nursing (QSEN) competencies are two effective methods for enhancing professional practice. The purpose of this article is to promote the concept of integrating service learning into the RN to BSN curriculum and applying the QSEN competencies to learning activities to achieve improved quality and patient safety.