Service Learning And Nursing Curriculum

Service-learning (SL) is an educational pedagogy that integrates both community service and learning goals to enhance the student learning experience and growth, while strengthening communities and improving the common good. As society becomes increasingly more diverse and the need for cultural competence in healthcare and in nursing students is ever more prevalent, SL is a modality now being utilized in many university curriculums. The purpose of this literature review is to examine the impact of SL on nursing education. Sources utilized in the search of literature include CINAHL Plus with Full Text and ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. Key search terms used consist of “service learning”, “nursing students” and “nursing curriculum”. After

The article incorporated concepts from the Institute of Medicine’s report on nursing regarding moving toward emphasis on community and public health settings to meet the changing needs of health care rather than only focusing on acute care experiences to prepare nursing students. The authors assisted nursing students in implementing a bicycle program with middle school students in a low-income area. The project intended to meet objectives for the students with concepts of caring, cultural competence, and social responsibility; community objectives of increasing physical activity, improving school performance, and providing positive opportunities for social interaction among middle school youth. Strengths of this article are actual implementation of a project and reflections of nursing students used for evaluation. The study found that integration of SL develops cultural competency and social responsibility among nursing students, which prepares them to help patients promote, maintain, and restore health. However, no data or evidence was collected from youth participants to know if community objectives were

The authors utilized a student-directed approach that includes SL throughout the curriculum at volunteer agencies. Students are introduced upon start of the program and are actively involved throughout the curriculum. Students must complete 100 service-learning hours with at least ten hours per course prior to graduation. The article discovered students had the opportunity to learn, develop, and experience different cultures while serving the community and populations in need. Strengths of this article are the inclusion of specific examples of course objectives, tracking records for hours, student reflection documents and evaluation forms for community agencies. Additionally, the authors identified the need and examined the success in a post-licensure program. Weakness of this publication is that it only examines one