Hello to all who have been following my blog since my inital posts in Spring 2011! I have continued my service learning experiences at the Good Samaritan Clinic in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Since my last posting in the summer, I have been involved in many projects at the clinic. In September 2011, I was involved in planning and implementing a Fall Health Fair for the clients and the public. The services offered were health screenings for glucose levels, hypertension, and height/weight/BMI measurements, and health promotion offerings related to nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and medication use. The volunteers at the health fair included faculty members, undergraduate senior nursing students, and clinic executive director. We screened approximately 30 persons in a 3 hour time period. We are currently planning for a health fair in April and hope to increase attendance for this event.
What are you currently doing with this organization and how do you see it evolving as you sustain your commitment to them?
Currently I am actively engaged in offering diabetic education classes at the clinic in combination with senior level nursing students in their community health clinical rotation. The students are offering classes once or twice per month, and I am offering additional classes that will support their efforts and maintain a routine schedule of classes for the clients. I am commited to maintaining my commitment to the clinic, and will offer classes during the months of May, June, and July as well. Additional commitments include planning and implementing a Spring Health Fair during April. The plans will be ongoing and will also include initial plans for a Fall Health Fair in September.
What do you envision being the shortcomings and strength of your service learning commitment?
The shortcomings of my service learning commitment include the limited amount of time dedicated to the clinic due to work and school obligations. My future plans include dedicating more time at the clinic in order to continue educational offerings and volunteering my services as an FNP to provide healthcare services on evenings and weekends. After completing my DNP degree, I hope to begin writing grants in order to obtain additional funding for educational offerings at the clinic.
The strengths of my service learning commitment include being able to offer classes aimed at health promotion and disease prevention. These classes were not being offered onsite before I began my service learning. The clients now have access to health information in a supportive atmosphere onsite at the clinic. The health fairs are another strength of my service learning commitment. The clients were very appreciative of having an opportunity to participate and include their family members and friends. The health fair was advertised to the public via a newpaper ad. Advertisement for the next health fair will include radio promotion as well. Hopefully the attendance will improve with each offering.
Thanks for following my blog! Take care and God Bless!
Felicia P.
