Running head: SERVICE LEARNING PRE-ACTIVITY

Service Learning Pre-Activity

Vera Nixon
Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing
Vulnerable Populations and Global Health
NUR 4215
Ms. Daniels
January 31, 2016
Honor Code I pledge . . .
Service Learning Pre-Activity
In working with a local church in my area, I hope to broaden my horizons with the local
community through interactions of individuals within the church. I also hope to learn of more
ways to connect with the community, as I have yet to really make any connections within
Goochland County. I expect the local church to have a number of ways to be able to reach out to
the community, starting small at first.
At this time, I know I have the stereotype of a larger vulnerable elderly population based
on the interactions I have had so far in my everyday dealings in the community, through simple
errands such as grocery shopping, stopping at the gas station, going to the local post office, and

other mundane tasks. In addition, as I also tend to interact with numerous rural families and
individuals, a common finding of lower economic status, lower educational levels, and less
resources, have been a shared discovery through my work with families. I have found that the
majority of rural individuals and families tend to have at least a high school diploma, and
sometimes a few years of college, with a very small minority with advanced degrees, such as
masters and the like. In addition, there appears to be a common denominator of a large number
of labor workers when compared to office workers or the like. Due to this exposure, I am aware
of my biases leaning toward an expectation of a lower educational status for adults, while young
adults and younger tend to be on a path towards expanding and/or surpassing the current
educational level of the community.
In order to prepare for working with the vulnerable population in my local area, I hope to
find ways to truly discover preferences, likes/dislikes, and interests of the population that I will
be working with. This discovery should assist me with making lasting connections with the
vulnerable population, without appearing to be patronizing or judging in any way. The resource I
plan to use is the census information for Goochland County. The information provided by the
census will provide information to the percentage of individuals with a high school degree or
higher, bachelors or higher, population by age, and distance traveled for work (United States
Census Bureau, 2015).
Out of the ten characteristics of servant leadership, compassion, empathy, and active
listening (Waterman, 2011) are the cornerstone. Being able to recognize and separate
compassion and empathy from pity are essential in developing servant leadership, rather than just
participation with individuals of the community. Compassion and empathy work hand-in-hand
with each other to promote a feeling of understanding between the servant leader and those being

SERVICE LEARNING PRE-ACTIVITY

helped, while allowing for an opening to discuss ways to change behaviors that may be harmful
to the individual (Kumar, 2010). Active listening, truly listening to what the person is saying as
well as the non-verbal communication throughout the conversation, is extremely important in
creating an open conversation in which learning can occur (Kumar, 2010). This allows for the
knowledge of all involved to be shared and improved upon.
Professionalism is just as important as the concepts of servant leadership, as
demonstrating and maintaining the professional relationship can foster education to achieving
optimal health. Professionalism means recognizing personal limitations, biases, and stereotypes
and working beyond those limitations within the knowledge provided from professional
education and resources to provide the best care for each individual. Demonstrating to the
client/patient the knowledge of the nurse as well as the available professional evidence-based
resources is important to aid the patient/client. Finding and working with individuals that have
professional experience with the vulnerable population that I will be working with will help to
develop my professionalism in this area.
The two largest barriers discovered, a greater distance to travel to work, and a greater
elderly population (United States Census Bureau, 2015), demonstrate the possibility of less
resources to assist the elderly in the area. In Goochland County, people tend to travel a greater
distance to work. There is also larger population of elderly (and therefore possible retired
persons), compared to the state percentage, who may need assistance (United States Census
Bureau, 2015). This leads to the possibility of less people and time to assist the elderly as they
therefore leave earlier for work and get home later from work. In relation to the distance people
travel to work in Goochland County, it also stands to reason that people must then travel a
greater distance for resources, such as medical care.

SERVICE LEARNING PRE-ACTIVITY

As I work with the population in my area, I look forward to learning about the population
in general, as my field of expertise is the pediatric population. I hope to discover more about the
resources that are available from those that utilize them, as well as their opinions on ways to
improve said resources. I hope to empower the individuals to help expand my knowledge by
discussing with them the resources I know are available for the pediatric population, and finding
ways that they overlap with the resources available for the elderly. If my population ends up to
be younger than expected, such as those with children still at home, I hope to then expand the
knowledge I already have, with hopes of bringing it back to my workplace and improving upon
them. Demonstrating that I am aware of the limitations of my knowledge may assist the
vulnerable population to therefore share their amassed knowledge further.

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5
References

Kumar, K. (2010, January-March). A new culture of leadership: service over self. JCN, 27(1),
46-50.
United States Census Bureau. (2015). State & county quickfacts: Goochland County, Virginia.
Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51075.html
Waterman, H. (2011, February). Principles of servant leadership and how they can enhance
practice. Nursing Management, 17(9), 24-26.