NUR3114P

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT

Purpose: The service-learning project provides students with experiential education during their
participation in a service activity. The activity has been designed in collaboration with a
community agency which has expertise in addressing needs of a particular vulnerable
population. The purpose of the service is to both benefit the recipient and also enhance the
students personal growth and individual learning needs. The combination of an organized
service activity with student preparation and reflection provides an opportunity for students to
learn about themselves, their belief systems, and the needs of the communities that surround
them.

Instructions: Students will decide on an activity to share with the population being served.
Students are expected to complete Pre-Activity Assignment and a Post-Activity Reflection
Assignment. These assignments are P/F. Students must pass the service-learning component
of this course in order to be satisfactory in clinical. If a student misses the planned clinical day
for his/her service learning experience, the student must obtain, plan, and implement a service
learning experience (dependent upon faculty approval) on their own time prior to the end of the
semester. Students are expected to demonstrate the altruistic values of Bon Secours, display
sensitivity, and embody values of servant leadership and professionalism when engaging in and
reflecting upon the service learning activity.
Fall 2014:
Site: Little Sisters of the Poor
Activity: Clinical groups to plan an activity to implement with residents at the Little
Sisters of the Poor. You will be working with elderly clients with memory deficits and
physical limitations. It is best to do activities focused on orientation (seasons, holidays,
history facts, family traditions, etc). Keep the activities simple, fun, colorful, and
engaging. Due to dietary restrictions, please do not do anything involving food.
Arrive at LSP at 9:30am on your scheduled day. Your activity with the residents will be
between 10am and noon. Although that is 2 hours, your activity may not take that long.
After the activity we will talk with residents assist as needed. Have some back-up plans
in your mind of things we can do.
Complete your pre-work and post-work requirements.

NUR3114P

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT

LaWanda Dunn
PRE-ACTIVITY ASSIGNMENT
Please answer the pre-activity questions in a word document and submit via Blackboard 2 days prior to
your clinical experience:
1. Describe your planned activity.
a. we are planning a various things to account for if a something goes really quickly. We are making a
tree that the patients decorate their own leaves since we are in fall. Additionally we thought about
taking the patients on a walk outside since we heard that they dont get to go outside much. And
additionally we planned some motor activity for them through the singing (and acting out) the song
"if you're happy and you know it".
2. What are your hopes and expectations for this service-learning activity? Tell how your groups planned
activity will benefit this population.
a. I hope that everyone will be engaged in the activities. This will benefit the population because the
elderly don't get as much sunlight as they usually need for vitamin D , so the walk would help them
with that. They can exercise their mind through the arts and craft we have planned. And they can
actually get some movement from the "if you are happy and you know it" song.
3. What stereotypes/ myths/ biases do you have about the population with which you will be working?
a. I can't say that I do have any biases about this population. If there has been one thing that this
semester has taught me, it's that you never know what to expect, no matter how prepared you are.
4. How do you anticipate being a Servant Leader during this experience?
a. I don't know if there is a need for the activities that we are doing with this population, but I plan on
being a servant leader by meeting whatever need that this population has. Hopefully these activities
can promote healing and foster building more of a community within the people at the facility.
5. What do you think you will learn from working with this population in this particular setting?
a. I am sure this community will hone my willingness to become more patient.

NUR3114P

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT
POST-ACTIVITY REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT

Please complete and submit this refection within 24hours of your service learning experience. You may
answer in the table format below or type as a word document in four paragraphs noted as: Noticing,
Interpreting, Responding, and Reflection. You must complete all areas thoroughly in order to Pass this
clinical requirement. Failure to complete satisfactorily may result in course failure.
Personal Reflection Questions
Reflect upon your personal experience in this service-learning activity, using the following key components:
Note: you may answer these questions about the overall activity or you may choose to reflect upon an
interaction with an individual, a conversation, a specific incident, etc, that occurred during the activity. Answer
your questions as completely and concisely as possible as grading will be based on quality and not quantity.
P
F
Noticing: What is your story from your time with this population?
a. What did I observe?
i. I observed a well kept facility with nicely manicured landscaping.
b. What did I see & hear?
i. while I have never been to a nursing home, I kept hearing other
student say that this didnt have a "nursing home smell". I also
noticed that all of the CNA's on staff were trying to work around
the patients activities. For instance one woman was coloring a leaf
and the CNA came for her but asked me if she was busy. She then
said, "well I will come back later because she will get upset if I
interrupt her craft time."
c. What did I do?
i. I circulated around the room we were in. I spoke to some
residents to encourage them to come and join the activity and
assisted them to the craft table. I also circulated around the table
to see if any of the patients needed help coloring or wanted to
color a different style leaf.
P
F
Interpreting:
a. Describe the environment that you were in (people, setting, smells, etc.).
i. I was clearly in an environment that was well taken care of. There were
no obvious smells that were bad. Everything looked and smelled clean.
Besides residents, volunteers, and medical staff, I also saw a nun.
b. How did you know what to do once you were there?
i. We were greeted by someone at the front desk who directed us to have a
seat until the activities director came to get us.
c. How were you helpful to the organization and/or population that you served?
i. They really seemed to enjoy coloring the leaves to form a tree. After we
held up the finished product, it was so wonderful to see them smile and
say how beautiful they thought the tree was. I also liked to see them
look on the tree for the leaf or leaves they added to the tree.

Responding:
a. What have I learned about the needs of this community?
i. It seems like some of them could be quite lonely if they dont have
family to come and visit.
b. What gifts did I offer?
i. I felt like I offered them the opportunity to utilize their creativity
and marvel at their own potential.
c. What gifts did I learn?

NUR3114P

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT

i. I didn't think that they would be interested all that much in the
activity but they really were. I saw the joy they got out of seeing
their own creation. It was evident that they liked seeing the
immediate result of their work . I learned that something so
simple can actually create an inner confidence
d. What else do I need to learn to best meet the needs of this population in
the future?
i. Since they seemed to really enjoy the craft, perhaps I can find out
what other crafts they are interested in to further foster creativity.
Reflecting:
a. How can I use this service-learning activity in other types of clinical
experiences?
i. I can see this activity being easily modified to use with different
groups. Children could actually do the same activity while other
groups could actually design and cut out their own shaped leaves
and put different things on them.
b. How has this service-learning experience affected my personal life?
i. I lost my grandfather last week and I kept thinking about him
while interacting with this population. I kept thinking about how
lucky he was to have had my grandmother to be able to care for
him at home versus having to go to a home.
c. Has this experience changed my ideas of or approaches to interacting
with this type of population?
i. I don't think this has changed my ideas in how to interact or
approach this population.
P/F: