Background: 

 

One of my biggest regrets in college is not engaging in service learning opportunities sooner. Service learning has helped me make connections between what I learn in the classroom and professional experiences. I have been able to practice physical nursing skills through these learning opportunities which has resulted in me being a more confident and competent nursing student in hospital clinical rotations. For example, I have always been terrified to perform CPR. I am CPR certified and knowledgeable of the “guidelines” of CPR, but I have never been confident in my abilities to act. I was given the opportunity to volunteer in a Code Blue simulation as mentioned in my key insight Enhancing Learning Through Active Involvement. In this simulation, my classmates and I ran a realistic Code Blue where I assisted in bagging the patient, defibrillating the patient’s heart rhythm, and performing emergency chest compressions. After completing this simulation for students ten times, I was more confident in my abilities to help in an emergency Code situation when necessary. This semester, my clinical preceptor and I responded to a Code Blue one morning while on shift. I felt very confident about my abilities to jump in and assist the nurses with performing chest compressions. I also understood what roles were being assigned and what was being performed during the simulation. Service learning has also prepared me to become a leader in the healthcare industry as I prepare to begin my career as a registered nurse. 

 

Unfortunately, I did not know what service learning was or the opportunities that were available to me until after my junior year of college. Students, particularly those who are pursuing careers that require personable interactions, should have opportunities available to apply learned skills and have professional interactions with people other than their classmates. As I mentioned in my Key Insight, Enhancing Learning Through Active Involvement, I learned about psychologist Jerome Bruner in my Nursing of Children and Families (NURS 325) course. He has developed many theories but one in particular that I am interested in is his process of education theory. In this theory, he states that learning is better accomplished through active involvement and social context (Miglino, Ponticorvo & Simona-Sica, 2015). According to BMC Nursing Journal, it is often hard for nursing students to develop effective clinical strategies unless through clinical practice (Shatiff & Masoumi, 2005). Service learning also gives students the opportunity to create professional relationships with other health care employees, experience cultural diversity, learn leadership development skills, and develop communication skills that you carry along to a professional career.

 

 

 

 

 

The Issue: Knowledge Deficits in Service Learning

 

I asked twenty nursing students, practicing nurses, and nursing professors (both in ADN and BSN programs) questions regarding service learning. My purpose for asking these questions was to get a better understanding of why there is such a deficit in service learning and why more students do not take advantage of this opportunity to apply their skills further. The three questions that I asked included:

 

1. Did you know about service learning (through community service and volunteering) before entering college? Did you learn about it while in college, if so when?

2. Do you see service learning as “busy work” and just an extra use of your time or as beneficial?

3. Are you aware of the service learning opportunities that are available in your community?

 

Answer to question 1: Almost all participants stated that they did not know what service learning was until after beginning college. In fact, many of them did not know the opportunity existed until they took a course that required it or pursued an activity such as Graduation with Leadership Distinction.

 

 

Answer to question 2: A majority of the nursing students stated that they view service learning as “busy work.” The only time they did not consider service learning "busy work" was when it was something of their interest or passion. Nursing professors who participated stated that they believe service learning is such a valuable tool in education and they try to expose all their students to it as early as they can.

 

Answer to question 3: Almost every participant stated that they are only familiar with the opportunities that are present to them through their education, not the loads of opportunities that are readily available in the community. The only exception was the nursing professors who have researched service learning opportunities for their students.

 

 

In conclusion, students do not know what service learning is and what opportunities are available to them. I was not exposed to service learning until late in my junior year of college. Many students also view it as just working or extra use of their time rather than beneficial because they do not know the incredible benefits that could come from service learning. A course evaluation released by the Campus Compact of the Mountain West included the opinions of some nursing students that took the course. Students believed that the service learning course was a “waste of time.” The students felt that the course requirement of service learning was too hard to juggle with school, work, and interfered with family time. (Quinland-Bush & Ireland-Johnson, n.d.) This is why I must explain to students rather early the benefits of service learning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Recommendations:

 

The key to improving the lack of knowledge about service learning is through early exposure of the opportunity. Nursing faculty, staff, and students, including myself, could begin encouraging freshman pre-nursing students to research service learning. Also, presenting to these students the benefits that service learning could have on themselves and their college experience would help to encourage them to become involved in service learning opportunities. Becoming involved as a pre-nursing student will benefit students by developing their critical thinking and leadership tendencies, making the transition into nursing easier. As I speak about in my Key Insight, Early Exposure, early exposure to service learning helps students gain experience in various areas of health care (such as community health). Also, students can develop professional relationships in the community that can lead to professional or work opportunities in the future.

 

Another way to encourage students to take advantage of service learning is by explaining the benefits it has to them personally and their future. As I stated in my “The Issue” section above, many students find service learning to be just an extra use of their time. The best way to make students interested in participating in using their spare time to engage in service learning is by explaining how it will benefit them personally and professionally. I can do this by having nursing directors, nurse leaders, and experienced students speak. Having a variety of perspectives will better intrigue these students and give them a wide array of information. I also feel like having students who have experienced service learning speak is beneficial as they are closer in age to incoming freshman and have been a pre-nursing freshman at one point of time. 

 

 

 

 

The Implementation:

• The first thing to establish is who my target population will be. My target population will be freshman pre-nursing students at the University of South Carolina Lancaster.

 

• There are many opportunities in which I can approach these freshmen. One being freshmen orientation. During the summer, these students attend one of four freshmen orientation session before school begins. USC Lancaster also hosts a BSN information session for incoming freshman pre-nursing students every semester. Lastly, I could speak to honor students at USC Lancaster’s Honors Day when they make rotations in the simulation lab. During these sessions, there are many activities and speakers that students attend. The best way to speak to these pre-nursing students as a whole would be to talk to them during these events in the nursing building auditorium (Hubbard Hall). My presentation would include:

  • What is service learning and how does it compare to community service?

    • Community service is a broad term for performing voluntary work in a community to benefit others. Service learning is a term geared to achieve specific learning goals. It is often used in academics. These participants participate to benefit, learn, and grow from their experiences. Therefore, I am achieving service learning by participating in volunteer opportunities/community service (Loyola University, n.d.).

  • How can service learning improve your performance as a nursing student and as a future health care professional?

    • Nursing students benefit from service learning in numerous ways. Students are exposed to experiences that they would not get in a classroom setting and prepares them to become a registered nurse. Service learning benefits students in the following ways: It allows students to gain hands-on experience with nursing skills, students can explore diverse cultures and communities, broadening their perspective of diversity issues, and allows students to experience areas of nursing such as community health nursing. Service learning also develops a variety of skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, leadership, and interpersonal skills.

      • Information from (Riverside Community College, n.d.) & (University of Minnesota, 2011).

  • Other benefits that come from service learning?

    • Service learning can also benefit students personally. Students can gain a sense of care and compassion. Caring is the core of nursing, and through service learning, you can gain a caring and compassionate relationship built on mutual trust between yourself and the community you are working within. Students can also develop a sense of civic responsibility by intentionally caring for others, including others from diverse backgrounds. Service learning allows students to connect with professional and community members that could later help connect you to employment opportunities. Service learning could increase student self-esteem and confidence by allowing them to make a difference through active and meaningful contribution to the community. Lastly, service learning can contribute to a decrease in stress and depression as a result of being able to interact with and help others.

      • Information from (Riverside Community College, n.d.) & (University of Minnesota, 2011).

  • Give students examples of service learning projects that are available in the community and the experience you gain.

    • As mentioned previously, students do not know what opportunities are available to them in the community to aid in their service learning. Students will likely be more willing to be involved in these opportunities if they are aware of exactly what is available and what is included in the opportunity. After research service learning opportunities in Lancaster, SC I found a variety of resources where students can become involved in service learning. Some available possibilities include American Red Cross, Women’s Enrichment Center (non-profit), Safe Passage supporting domestic abuse survivors, Catawba Area Aging Agency, and J. Marion Sims Foundation. Almost all non-profit clinics are looking for volunteers as well. Some non-profit clinics surrounding USC Lancaster include CareNet of Lancaster, Community Medical Clinic of Kershaw, and Affinity Health Center of Rock Hill, SC. All hospitals also have volunteer programs that students can pursue including MUSC of Lancaster and Piedmont Medical Center.

      • (SCiway, n.d.)

  • Lastly, to gain the interest of pre-nursing students, nurse leaders and employers could speak about how service learning can place students above others when applying for employment. Also, having previous students who have experience in service learning talk to students about their experiences with service learning and how they benefited from it.

 

• Whenever I present to these students, I would give them a handout with the benefits that are mentioned above so they could take the information home to look over. On these handouts, I would include organizations that they could perform service learning with and contact information.

 

• Lastly, I would try to find scholarships for students who are interested in service learning through ministry and mission trips.

 

 

 

 

 

Evaluation:

• I would begin by creating a survey to hand out to freshman college students at the beginning of orientation. This survey would include questions such as:

  • Do you volunteer in your community?

  • Do you have an interest to volunteer in the community?

  • Do you know what service learning is?

  • I would be interested in service learning if… (give multiple choices to select from)

  • Do you think service learning is beneficial to course work?

  • Do you think service learning is beneficial to your future professional career?

At the end of this pre-survey, I will ask for their school email addresses.

 

• I would then send a mass email out to the emails I collected after two years and after four years asking these students if they pursued service learning. In this survey, I would include:

  • Did you pursue service learning?

  • Has it been beneficial to your college career and course work?

  • Has it helped you develop skills and interprofessional relationships for the future?

  • Would you recommend students pursue service learning?

  • Where are you performing your service learning?

  • What feedback, questions, or comments do you have?

 

• To encourage students to participate in these surveys I would have a drawing for some USC College of Nursing gear, such as the college of nursing sweatshirt (at a $50 value).

 

• In the 2018-2019 “upper division” cohort of the nursing students, only roughly three to four students are involved in service learning out of approximately 48 students. I believe that this program would be considered successful if I could encourage at least 12 students to perform service learning (as collected in the surveys) going into their junior year.

 

 

 

 

References:

 

Shatiff, F. & Masoumi, S. (2005). A qualitative study of nursing student experiences of clinical practice. BMC Nursing, 4(6). doi 10.1186/1472-6955-4-6

 

Quinlan-Bush, M. & Ireland-Johnson, D. (n.d.). Student focused service learning. Retrieved from http://www.ccmountainwest.org/sites/default/files/direlandjohnson.pdf

 

Riverside Community College. (n.d.). Service Learning. Retrieved from https://www.rccd.edu/community/serviceLearning/Pages/Benefits.aspx

 

University of Minnesota Center for Community Engaged Learning. (2011). Benefits of Service-Learning. Retrieved from http://www.servicelearning.umn.edu/info/benefits.html

 

SCiway. (n.d.) Lancaster charities- Nonprofit organizations in Lancaster County. Retrieved from https://www.sciway.net/org/community/lancaster.html#lancaster-health

 

Miglino, O, Ponticorvo, M & Simona-Sica, L. (2015). Theoretical perspectives of hands-on educational practices. E-Learning- Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management, 1, 61-82. doi: 10.5772/60922

 

Loyola University. (n.d.). Service learning vs. community service. Retrieved from http://www.loyno.edu/engage/service-learning-vs-community-service