Service-Learning Clinical Experience
Purpose:
To provide an opportunity for senior nursing and allied health students to participate in a transcultural population based clinical experience with persons living in the Rio Grande Valley area on the Texas – Mexico Border of the United States who are economically disadvantaged, uninsured and underserved, and lack health care services.
Learning Outcomes:
As a result of the service-learning experience, Students will have the opportunity to:
- Develop a population based community assessment of health needs and services related to the following areas: maternal child health; first aid; lead safety education and poison prevention; sun exposure damage problems and skin cancer prevention education; diabetes incidence and prevention; elevated cholesterol level incidence and prevention; or general availability of health education and screening opportunities for persons in the Rio Grande Valley area of South Texas.
- Collaborate with bilingual nursing students of Hispanic and Mexican heritage to provide health screening and health education to economically disadvantaged persons living in the Rio Grande Valley area on the Texas – Mexico Border in communities underserved and lacking in health care services.
- Collaborate with persons from South Texas College, Division of Nursing/Allied Health, South Texas Promotoras Association, local colonias programs, other local institutions of higher education, public health, and health care & delivery, and civic & non-profit organizations in community assessment, health screening, health education & promotion, and exchange of ideas and information related to health services and care.
- Explore the health care delivery system in Border towns through a bi-national encounter with health professionals from the United States and Mexico.
- Reflect on experiences based on journaling activity.
Rationale, Overview and Partners in the Project:
This project is recommended for schools which curriculum requiring students to complete a population based community (public) health course, community/population assessment, minority/Border or multicultural health, medical anthropology, or service provision in areas stricken by poverty.
The two components of this course are theory and clinical. The theory component includes a full day conference with information about community assessment; population based health planning; arising and current local and global health issues; culturally and linguistically based health interventions; social justice; traditional & complementary health care (herbolaria and Curanderismo); binational border health systems; and evidence based practice. The clinical portion of the course is carried out through health fairs in the “colonias” (underserved areas in the Border). Students from participating institutions work together in small groups to assess a giving population to gain information about the biophysical, psychological, physical, social, behavioral, and health systems. Students use gained information to prioritize needs and develop an intervention plan.
Health providers recognize the importance of understanding the whole person as care is planned and delivered. Integral to understanding is working with persons from within the population. Therefore, the current project provides students with opportunities to assess the population of South Texas from the literature or from a humanities course (If needed, online courses are provided through STC) as well as by immersing in the culture of the Rio Grande Valley.
Richness of the clinical experience:
- Classroom theory regarding population based community (public) health nursing
- Community-based clinical opportunity, working in small groups to explore the health, culture, social, religious, economic, political, and geographic aspects of the community.
- Days of experience in the Rio Grande Valley and border Mexico. Health screening and health education are collaboratively delivered with nursing/allied health students of Hispanic and Mexican origin to residents of colonias in the Rio Grande Valley; and health agency tours and dialogue occur in a “bi-national” nurse encounter.
- Collaboration with international, national, state, and local programs to implement the project.
- Reflection related to the transcultural nursing/allied health experience using journaling and discussion
If your college/university/healthcare organization would like to participate in a service-learning experience in the Texas-Mexico Border CONTACT US
South Dakota State University (SDSU) College of Nursing Department of Undergraduate Nursing -West River andSouth Texas College Nursing/Allied Health, McAllen, TexasNursing Service-Learning Experience
For more information about South Texas College’s Nursing/Allied Health Programs visit: http://nah.southtexascollege.edu/
