Service Learning Blog Entry 2 - Final Entry Summer 2011

Well hello again to everyone who is following my blog! This semester seems to have flown by and I have really enjoyed the service learning opportunities that I have had this summer at the Good Samaritan Clinic. I have been able to offer three additional diabetic education classes at the clinic since I posted my Midterm Blog. The classes provided information on nutrition, reading food labels, sugar-free snack options, meal planning, portion sizes, medications, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and exercise. Attendance has increased with each class and some of the clients have begun to include their significant others in the classes as well. We have enjoyed the fellowship of being together and learning as a group. The clients' have shared with each other how diabetes has impacted their lives and have supported each other and offered advice and tips on adopting heathier lifestyle options. I have another class scheduled for later this week. The topic will focus on follow-up appointments, blood-sugar testing, and long-term complications.

The following are my answers to the specific questions that we as a class have been asked to address in our service learning blog final entry for this semester:

What was the best/worst/most challenging thing that happened this semester?

The best thing that happened this semester was also the most challenging for me. When I first decided to offer the diabetic classes at the clinic, I did not know how the classes would be received and if clients would make it a point to attend. My first two classes had a few clients in attendance. I spoke to the administrator and the nurse practitioner at the clinic about boosting attendance among the clients. They were very helpful and a flyer was placed in the waiting room of the clinic. The clinic nurse began scheduling clients for the classes and attendance was greatly improved. I was so impressed with the support received from the clinic staff. Being able to provide education at the clinic has been a blessing to me as an educator and has challenged me to provide a supportive atmosphere in order to facilitate learning and continued attendance by the clients. The worst thing that happened this semester has been the intense heat with temperatures over 100 degrees. The clients have braved these conditions to attend the classes and I am grateful to be able to provide information that may improve their healthcare outcomes. Our last class was especially challenging because of a power outage that occured during the last 15 minutes of class. The power grid was overloaded in the city and the clinic was left without electricity. The clients were amazing and "we" used flashlights and cell phone backlights to finish the class. Throughout my service learning experiences I have witnessed how clients have persevered to overcome adversity in many forms.

What can you do differently as an individual and as a professional to support and advocate for some of the issues you encountered during your service learning experience?

There are several things that I can do as an individual and as a professional to support and advocate for issues that I have encountered during my service learning experiences. As an individual, I can become more involved in the community. This includes active involvement in community activities that support serving others. I have an opportunity in the fall to participate in a walk to raise funds for the Good Samaritan Clinic. There is also another opportunity to participate in fund raising for the local cancer support house.

As a professional, I have a responsibility to increase my efforts at improving the health of individual clients, families, and communities. As a DNP student, I have the responsibility to continue developing leadership competencies that include effective collaboration, effective communication, social awareness, compassion, empathy, and role modeling (Chism, 2010). I am active in my local nurse practitioner organization, and have taken the initiative to invite the administrator and nurse practitioner from the Good Samaritan Clinic to our next meeting in September. It is my hope that several of the nurse practitioners will consider volunteering their time and skills at the clinic in order to begin offering evening and weekend appointments for the clients who are unable to miss work during the daytime hours. I am going to serve as a role model and speak about my experiences in service learning at the clinic. As a professional, I am also responsible for continuing my efforts at self-directed learning in the future towards a goal of lifelong learning and critical reflection in order to deepen and evaluate my learning experiences (Ash & Clayton, 2009).

Take care and God Bless!

Felicia P.

References:

Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1, 25-48.

Chism, L.A. (2010). The dcotor of nursing practice: A guidebook for role development and professional issues. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.