Implementation of the Essential Elements of Service Learning in Three Nursing Courses

Service-Learning Projects: Meeting Community Needs

The University of South Dakota’s (USD) nursing program is an associate degree (ADN) level program. In recent years, learning objectives for the students in the ADN level at USD have been updated to include the National League for Nursing’s position statement, which includes recommendations to design new methods to meet students’ learning needs. This article discusses the evolution of service-learning projects between USD’s nursing program and the community. It will discuss four specific projects in terms of (a) matching the academic needs of the students with community needs, (b) commitment by academia to the community, (c) the impact of service learning on faculty productivity, and (d) the quality of student learning. Finally, some of the challenges of participating in service-learning activities are outlined.

Service-Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Where is the Reflection?

Service-Learning is recognized as a valuable pedagogy that involves experiential learning, reflection, and reciprocal learning. Reflection is a critical component because it assists students to develop critical thinking and social awareness as they reflect upon their experiential learning with community partners. Although there is a proliferation of literature about service-learning, upon closer examination, it is apparent that some authors do not place emphasis on reflection when reporting on service-learning projects. This begs the question, "Where is the reflection?" The purpose of this article is to provide an overview and describe misrepresentations and exemplars of service-learning. After providing an overview of service-learning, examples of how service-learning is misrepresented in the literature are discussed. Exemplars of service-learning are also cited. Calling attention to how service-learning is reported in the literature will increase awareness about the need to critically evaluate articles for evidence of reflection.

A collaborative endeavor to educate community nurses in Guangzhou, China

A collaborative endeavor was initiated between a Hong Kong school of nursing and a school of health in Guangzhou to develop a prevention-focused community nursing educational program. The collaboration aims were to increase the ability and confidence of Guangzhou nurses in performing their community healthcare roles and to train local community health nursing trainers in Guangzhou. The collaborating parties participated in a series of review for planning the teaching team, the taught subjects in the curriculum, the education approach, the student assessment and the train the trainer scheme for the program. The program was developed after the review, planning and implementation phases. This collaboration provided the groundwork for the education of community nurses in Guangzhou and developed local trainers in community health nursing; it enhanced understanding of the present status of community health nursing for both the school of health and the students; and it provided a reference for others that may collaborate with institutions in the People's Republic of China to initiate or strengthen educational programs to build up community health nursing.

Addressing barriers to cultural competence

Although the need for cultural competence in healthcare is well established, the integration of cultural competence approaches in most healthcare settings is not yet a reality. A review of the literature reveals several factors in clinical settings that pose barriers for health providers. The purpose of this article is to explore the barriers to cultural competence faced by nurses and to examine the role of staff development in addressing these barriers.