Overview of the Service-Learning Project:
You will participate in a one-day service-learning experience in your community. This experience should not couple with your employment. You will identify an organization within your community in which to volunteer. There are no specified required hours (recommend a minimum of two hours), but you must be involved enough in order to complete all components of the assignment.
Students that prefer a group service-learning experience please reach out to faculty for more information. To name a few examples: Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, Skills Development Center, Day Care Center forAdults, Food Pantry at local churches.
The sky is the limit for opportunities! There is not a time restraint on this experience, for it is intended to be meaningful and provide you an opportunity to be exposed to a vulnerable population.
Program Outcome:
• Engage in communication and collaboration with the interprofessional health care team.
• Practice empathetic caring within the framework of the Catholic health ministry.
• Integrate servant leadership into nursing practice to promote global health.
• Provide safe, quality care incorporating evidence-based nursing practice.
• Demonstrate commitment to the nursing profession and lifelong learning.
Course Objectives:
• Apply concepts of population health to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes of
communities.
• Utilize the principles of servant leadership, and the Catholic Health Ministry to promote culturally
sensitive nursing care of vulnerable populations
• Evaluate one’s own unconscious bias, culture, social, and economic factors on health beliefs and
disparities related to nursing care for vulnerable populations.
Module Objective Identify a vulnerable population of interest
Instructions:
1. There are two components, a pre and a post reflection. Each section is worth 50 points, and both
are required for a final grade to be awarded for the project. The instructions below will walk you
through the steps to complete the pre-activity.
2. Students are expected to thoroughly complete the questions and submit as directed by the
instructor prior to the service-learning activity.
3. Please first describe the site that you are planning to engage in service-learning.
The first step of becoming culturally competent is to perform an honest self-assessment.
4. Pre-Activity Reflection: Each student will complete the pre-activity assignment prior to preparing
for the service-learning experience. Answer the following questions as honestly as possible:
a. What are your hopes and expectations for this service-learning activity?
b. What stereotypes/ myths/ biases do you have about the vulnerable population with which you will
be working?
c. What information do you need about this population in order to best address their needs? How can
you seek out this information?
d. What does the concept of Servant Leadership mean to you? What does the concept of
Professionalism mean to you? Be sure to incorporate essential facts learned in your course
work. How can you apply and integrate this knowledge into your service-learning experience?
e. What barriers exist for this population with regards to optimal health outcomes?
f. What do you expect that you can learn from working with this population? Do you think that you
can empower those that you serve to be your teachers? If so, how? If not, why not?
