Running head: SUMMATIVE REFLECTION 1

Summative Service-Learning Reflection

Maxine Audet

NUR 4144: Professional Role Development Servant Leadership

Ann Pryor, R.N. M.S.N.

“I pledge…”
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Noticing and Interpreting

I didn't really expect service learning to be a part of my nursing education. Although

looking back on all of these experiences, I’m glad that it was a requirement. When I was told that

service learning would be a part of class requirement back in Sophomore 1, I really wasn’t

looking forward to it and was just looking to get it out of the way. Overall, I would say that my

expectations were not meant, in the best way possible. All of my experiences have been

meaningful and enjoyable, and I did not expect it to be either of those things. I also enjoyed that

throughout our education we have been able to have more say in the organizations that we work

with, because it has given us the freedom to work with in places and with organizations that we

are interested in or communities that we would like to serve.

In the communities that I’ve had the opportunity to serve, I have seen various strengths

and weaknesses. Overall, I would say that strengths of the communities that I have served

include attributes such as cohesion, inclusiveness, and openness. Weaknesses have included lack

of education, resources, and also physical or socioeconomic restraints. The solutions to the

problems I saw were education and assistance both physical (i.e. food, shelter, etc.) and

economic.

I guess I figured that since this was a nursing program all of the communities, we would

be serving would have some sort of health angle to them. However, that has not always been the

case. I think going into it, I was kind of always prepared for that or was waiting for that, even if

the population or certain individuals had no physical or medical need. I think my socioeconomic

background probably had the most influence on how I saw “needy” communities. The word need

always seems to make me think of a financial need, so I was prepared to see people who were
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impoverished, I think also knowing the large homeless population in Richmond, helped to shape

me seeing the community in that way.

Responding

I have learned a lot about of the needs of the community throughout my service learning

experiences. I have learned that education, particularly health education seems to be a huge

pitfall amongst the “needy” communities. Also, the need for basic things like food is a huge need

as well as financial resources. I have also learned that some of the “needy” communities are

really looking for nothing more than some companionship, even if for just the brief period of

time for which we are there. I feel that often these communities can be ostracized from society so

often just taking the time to talk with them or teach them something could be very meaningful to

them.

I think some of my experiences have been meaningful or relevant, others I do not think

were meaningful or relevant to the community. I sometimes got the impression that we were just

one of many volunteer groups that were coming through and the community did not really care

who we were or why we there, so it was difficult to make a connection with the which I think

would have made the experience more meaningful and more relevant. Additionally, I felt that as

a nurse, we could have worked with different organizations or performed different tasks that

would have been more relevant to the community.

Reflecting on Service-Learning

I think that my service-learning experiences have been able to shed some light on my

perception of my call to serve. I feel that while all of my experiences were valuable, there is

more help that I could provide in reference to nursing care specifically. I think these experiences
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have helped me to realize that I do enjoy serving the community and I can relatively easily use

my nursing skills to help serve communities in need.

When I first began my career at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing, I honestly

had no idea what service learning was. So, yes, my ideas of service learning have changed since I

started my career as a nursing student. I now know that service learning serves as a means to not

only fulfill both course and school objectives, but it engages students with the community and

provides students with a more hands-on approach.

Thinking back to my first service learning experience in NUR 1100, I really had no idea

what I was getting myself into. I chose to help serve water at a 5K, which obviously filled a

need, but I did not feel that it helped any sort of disenfranchised community. Going into

subsequent semesters, where our service-learning experiences were more or less assigned to us, I

began to understand more of what service learning actually is. These experiences I enjoyed much

more, as I had the opportunity to be involved with organizations that I probably would not have

had the opportunity to be involved with. I think these experiences truly helped to shape our final

service learning experience, where we were able to work with any organization of our choosing

and organize the entire project.

Reflecting on Civic Engagement

Civic engagement is defined as actively working within a community to develop

knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make a difference. The goal is help promote quality

of life and can include both political and non-political processes (Ehrlich, 2000). Civic

engagement and service learning seem to go hand-in-hand as both involve working within a

community in an effort to make a positive difference. The differences seem to lie within the
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communities that are served, where service-learning tends to involve a “needy” community and

civic engagement can involve the greater community or city.

As I continue on in my nursing career and become a registered nurse, I hope to stay

involved with the community and engage in service learning. As discussed throughout this paper,

I feel that my skills as an RN could be better used to serve the community than some of the

service-learning projects that we participated in throughout school. I would like to serve

underprivileged communities through providing these communities with healthcare services,

either through volunteer my time at the Care-A-Van, Crossover Clinic, or Heath Brigade. I have

always been interested in public health, particularly public health education and teaching people

the true risk factors for disease and ways to improve disease prevention, so hopefully I will be

able to integrate that into any future service that I can provide, especially as my knowledge base

continues to grow as a I begin my nursing career.

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References

Ehrlich, T. (2000). The definition of civic engagement. The New York Times. Retrieved from:

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/college/collegespecial2/coll_aascu_de

fi.html?mcubz=3