Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

Service Learning Proposal

Courtney Wright
Ferris State University

Abstract

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

This proposal will describe an agency that a student chose to fulfill her service-learning
project. It will explain a little bit about the company and what kind of work the student will
complete while volunteering through this company. It will also describe the goals the student has
made before completing the volunteer work and what activities will be done to make these goals
obtainable. The student must complete some form of evaluation and information about that
process is also described in this proposal.

Service Learning Proposal

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

A service-learning project gives students the opportunity to donate their time to help their
community or a community in need. While volunteering, the students will use what they have
learned through their education at Ferris State University and apply it while helping others
during their service learning experience. The role of service learning is different than that of
experience obtained working in a clinical setting by many different ways. A few of the ways are,
service-learning focuses on accomplishing a social change, everyone learns from each other and
it creates an environment that allows critical thinking (Seifer, 1998).
Agency Description
The agency that I chose for my service-learning project is International Volunteer HQ.
This organization helps individuals who are seeking volunteer work outside of the United States.
They help individuals pick a country and from there they set up where you are going to stay,
where you are going to do your volunteer work and all the other small details that go along with
traveling out of the country to volunteer (Volunteer In Costa Rica, 2015). See Appendix A for
contact information.
Volunteer Role Description
Through International Volunteer HQ, I will be traveling to Costa Rica to help in
providing care to patients. There are many different facilities that I have the potential to go to,
which include, nursing homes, clinics for disabled children, ambulance services and HIV/AIDS
assisted living homes. While at these different facilities I will help with physical therapy, take
vital signs, curing wounds, shadowing doctors and socializing with the patients.
Objectives as Related to the Program
Through my service-learning project my biggest objective is to be immersed into the
culture and learn how they perceive health care and how it is different from the care we receive
in the United States. So often, if care is given different from what we are familiar with, we
are often surprised by it and believe the way we do our care is the best. Going into the nursing

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

profession you really cannot think that way, one must always keep an open mind. Learning about
a different culture and how they give their care will help me with my future in nursing to remind
me to always make sure that I perceive a situation from the patients cultural perspective. The
wait times are relatively long in Costa Rica, because of how affordable the care is (Costa Rica
Health Care, 2012). While in Costa Rica I will do anything in my ability to assist the nurses
and doctors to keep the wait times down. This will make a difference in the patients lives,
because hopefully they will receive a positive experience from a not so positive situation.
Activities to Meet Objectives
The activities that I will be doing in Costa Rica are basic nursing skills that we have
learned in our first semester. It is not always about what skill you perform, but how you do it.
When individuals come to the hospital they are often very apprehensive and scared. When
performing routine tasks, like vital signs, you have the opportunity to do more then finding the
patients blood pressure. You can spend that time to help the patient stay calm and try to ease any
anxiety that they may have. I will have to use critical thinking while doing these tasks in Costa
Rica, because they speak a different language than me. While doing these tasks I hope that even
with the language barrier I am able to be there for the patients, provide the best care possible and
make a difference in their lives. A study was done by the Higher Education Research Institute
(HERI) at the University of California, pertaining to community service during college. This
study indicated that students who participated in service learning had an increased awareness of
civic responsibility and personal effectiveness (Cultural transformation, 2014).
Evaluation Plan
While in Costa Rica I will keep a journal on my daily volunteer experiences, including
what I have learned. Writing what I have learned daily will allow me to evaluate my
experiences and also set future goals for the next couple days. In the long run I will be able to
look back on my journal to reinforce what I have learned from my experience.

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

APPENDIX A
Contact Information:
International Volunteer HQ
Contact Person: Chelsea Green- Continent Manager
Phone: 1-877-342-6588
Email: Chelsea@volunteerhq.org

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

Website: www.volunteerhq.org

References
Costa Rica Healthcare. (2012). Retrieved March 28, 2015 from
http://costarica.com/relocation/health-care/
Cultural transformation. (2014). Retrieved March 28, 2015 from
http://www.diversityweb.org/digest/sp.sm00/service.html
Seifer SD. (1998). Service-learning: Community-campus partnerships for health

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professions education. Academic Medicine, 73(3):273-277.

Volunteer in Costa Rica. (2015). Retrieved March 28, 2015 from
https://www.volunteerhq.org/volunteer-in-costa-rica

Journal one, International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) February 2015- January 2016

Volunteer Role: Preparation for nursing mission trip.
Contact: Clover Stiles (clover@volunteerhq.org)
Hours:10
At the beginning of second semester of nursing school many of my fellow classmates
and I decided we wanted to go on a trip abroad for our service learning project. After talking to
previous nursing students and hours of research, we decided to go Costa Rica through
International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ). After we contacted IVHQ there were many steps we had to
complete before we were set to go on our nursing mission trip. The first step was to pay our fee.
The purpose of this fee was for IVHQ to arrange our trip. In order to pay for this portion of the
trip we set up a Yankee Candle fundraiser. I made flyers for my mother and father to take to work
to ask people to purchase items. I also asked all of my family members to purchase items from
this fundraiser. Yankee Candle was a successful fundraiser because of everything purchased, we
received 40% of the money back. Thankfully I was able to fundraise enough through Yankee
Candle to pay for my first program fee.
The next step to prepare for our departure was to complete three online trainings.
These trainings contained pertinent information that would assist us in a successful trip. We had
to also acquire a background check and travel insurance. We decided to stay with a host family
instead of a hotel, so we purchased them a gift to show our gratitude. There was one larger
program fee we had to pay before we were all set financially for this trip (besides the plane
ticket). This fee encompassed transportation, breakfast, dinner and living accommodations. To
pay for this portion of my trip I decided to do a garage sale and a Christmas wreath fundraiser. I
was blessed enough to receive enough donations to cover this portion of the trip. A few weeks
before our trip we received an e-mail that we could bring donations for the local clinics that
needed help. I rounded up what I could from my home and also turned to my family to gather as
many supplies as I could. After months of planning and anticipation we were off to Costa Rica!

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

On January 2nd we arrived in Costa Rica and Maximo (which is the company that we
volunteered through) picked us up at the airport. From the airport they took us to our host
family's house so we could drop off our baggage. After we quickly dropped off our baggage we
headed to Maximo for our orientation. At this orientation we had to fill out paperwork with our
information on it and also received information about our host family. We learned what to do and
what to not do while we were on this trip and also learned what we would be doing for our
volunteering. They informed us that the first two days we would be working with the elderly.
During these days we would be taking blood pressures and doing overall assessments of the
patients. On the next three days we were going to an underprivileged daycare. For these days we
were taught to give lessons to the children, such as dental care, hand washing and much more.
All of the supplies that we brought to Costa Rica would go directly to these two populations.
They then took us on a tour of Maximo and we exchanged money in the building as well. This
concluded our orientation and from there our host family came to pick us up.
A personal goal that I set was to fundraise enough for the majority of my trip and collect
donations to bring to the underprivileged individuals in Costa Rica. With hard work, fundraising
and endless support from my friends and family this was possible. The School of Nursing
Program Goal that I was able to meet with this activity was the Generalist Nursing Practice. This
was obtained through finding out the target healthcare needs of community of Costa Rica. We
then set out to obtain healthcare supplies to donate to the populations in order assist them in
reaching a healthier lifestyle.
Journaltwo,InternationalVolunteerHQ(IVHQ)January4th,2016
VolunteerRole:Assistingthenurseswithbloodpressures,feedingsandalso
observations.
Contact: Clover Stiles (clover@volunteerhq.org)
Hours: 5

OnJanuary4th,itwasmyfirstdayvolunteeringinCostaRica.Inthemorningwemet
ourgroupleaderattheMaximoheadquarters.Fromtherewedroveabout20milesfromwhere
theMaximoofficewastoaretirementcommunity.Inthiselderlyfacilitytherearetwowings,
thewomen'swingandthemen'swing.Wesplitupintothreedifferentgroups;onegroupwentto
themen'swingandtwogroupswenttothewomen'swing.Iwenttothemen'ssidetomeetthe
nurseandseewhatIcoulddotoassisther.WhenIarrivedtotheirsidetheywerestartingto
disperseafternoonsnackswithcoffee.ManyoftheresidentsatthisfacilityhaveAlzheimers
andarenotcapableofcompletingactivitiesofdailylivingbythemselves.Istartedtofeedoneof
theresidentsthatwasunabletodosohimself.AfterIwasdonefeedinghimandalloftheother
residentshadfinishedtheirfood,Iclearedalloftheirplatesandtookthemtothekitchentoget
washed.
ThenextactivitythatIdidwasobserveanNGtubebeplacedinaresident.Thiswasa
goodproceduretowatchtoseehowdifferentitisinCostaRicathanintheUnitedStates.The
sterilizationofthisproceduremademecringe.Itallstartedbythenursingaidetyingdownthe
patientwithropesohewouldnotinterrupttheprocedure.Alloftheitemswereplacedonadirty
tableandthenurseputon"sterile"glovesandthenproceededtotouchothernonsterileitems.

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

Shethenlubedthecatheterandinserteditintotheresidentsnose.Theresidentdidnotlikewhat
thenursewasdoingandproceededtoyellprofanitiesather.Theywouldtryandgethimtosip
onwatersohewouldswallow,butherefusedtoandspititout.Afterabouttenminutesoftrying
togettheNGtubedown,thenursestuckherfingersintheresidentsmouthtoadvanceit.After
thishappenedthenursecheckedtheplacementbyinsertingairintothetubeandthenlisteningto
hisstomachwithherstethoscope.Shethenflushedthetubewithwaterandfedthepatient
throughit.
ThenexttaskIwasgivenwastotakethebloodpressureofmanyofthemen.With
othernursingstudentsinmygroupweweregivenalistofthementhatneededtheirblood
pressurestakenandweresetonourown.Thiswasthemostchallengingpartofourday,because
nooneinourgroupspokeanySpanish.Someoftheresidentshadtheirnamesonthebackof
theirwheelchairsandotherswehadtoaskthemtheirnames.Itwasachallengetofigureout
whattheirnameswereaftertheysaidthembecauseofthelanguagebarrier.Afterthefirstfew
residentswereallygotthehangofitandfoundwaystocommunicatewiththem.Manywanted
toknowwhattheirbloodpressurewasafterwetookit.SinceIdidnotknowhowtosayany
numbersinSpanishIwouldeitherwriteitdownandshowthemortellthemitwasgood.Many
weresothrilledthatweweretheretoassistthem,evenifwecouldnotunderstandtheirlanguage
fully.Manycameuptohugusandtoldustheylovedusmultipletimes.Thefirstdayof
volunteeringwasverysuccessfulandIlearnedalotabouthowtohandlelanguagebarriers.I
knowthatIwilltakethisexperienceanduseitinmyfuturenursingcareer.
Volunteeringatthiselderlyfacilitybenefitedtheagencyinmanyways.Theworkwe
completedwasnotbyanymeansdifficultorsomethingthatthenursestherewerenotalready
skilledin.Beinganewsmilingfaceintheseresidentsliveswasthebestbenefittheycouldhave
acquiredfromus.Inthisfacilitytheresidentsweremostlikelytostaythereuntiltheendoftheir
lives.Everydaytheyseethesamehardworkingcaregiverswhoareoverworkedandconstantly
runningaroundtryingtocompletetheirdailytasks.Helpingwithbloodpressuresreallymadea
differenceandallowednotonlythecaregiversmoretimewiththeirpatients,butallowedusto
spendtimewiththepatientsaswell.
AgoalthatIsetwastobeabletocommunicatewiththepatientswithoutthemormyself
gettingfrustrated.ThiswasadifficultgoalsincenoonespokeEnglishandIdidnotspeakany
Spanish.Withinminutesatthisfacility,Ilearnedauniversalcommunicationskill,whichwasto
simplysmileatthepatients.EventhoughIcouldnotaskthemabouttheirlives,orwhattheyhad
eatenforbreakfast,Iwassimplyabletomaketheirdayalittlebetterbysmilingatthem.
TheSchoolofNursingProgramGoalthatIwasabletomeetwiththisactivitywas
Professionalism.WhilewatchingthenurseinsertanNGtube,ittookeverythingformenotto
speakupabouthowtheyweredoingtheprocedure.Theirvaluesandbeliefsforthisprocedure
weredifferentthanmine,butIrespectedthisandsatbackandwatchedinsteadofactingupon
myinstincts.Thereisatimeandplaceforeducatingothersandasanursingstudentinadifferent
countryitwouldhavebeenunprofessionalanddisrespectfultosaysomething.Nomatterwhere
onesnursingcareertakesthem,theymuststayprofessionalandrespectfultowardsothers
beliefs.

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10

Journalthree,InternationalVolunteerHQ(IVHQ)January5th,2016
VolunteerRole:Administeringmedicationsandfoodtotheresidents
Contact:Contact: Clover Stiles (clover@volunteerhq.org)
Hours: 5

Afteralongdrivethroughthemountainswearrivedatthesameretirementhomeas
thedaybefore.Assoonaswearrivedwedroppedoffallofthedonationswehadpreviously
collectedatthenursesstation.Wethenproceededtojumpinheadsfirst.SinceIwasatthe
men'ssidethepreviousday,Idecidedtogotothewomen'ssideinordertogetthefull
experience.WhenIfirstarrivedatthewoman'sside,theywerereceivingtheirfirstsnackofthe
afternoon.Ifedaladywhowasbedriddenandunabletofeedherself.Shewouldnotswallowthe
foodsoIhadtoaskforassistancefromthenurse.Iftheydonotswallowtheirfoodandholditin
theirmouth,thenurseplugstheirnosetoforcethemtoswallow.Afterthenurseforcefedthe
lady,Ifinishedfeedingherandthenmovedontothenextresident.
ThenursewasgoingaroundtubefeedingafewpatientsandaskedifIwantedtodoit.
IjumpedattheopportunitytolearniftheydidfeedingtubesdifferentlythanwedointheUnited
States.Thenursesdonotweargloveswhendoingatubefeeding,butIputonglovesbecauseI
amusetowearingglovesduringanytypeoftubefeedings.Ifirstclampedthetubeandthentook
outaplasticendpiecethatwasholdingthetubeshut.AfterthatIstuckaplasticfunnelinthe
tubeandIpouredwaterinitandunclampedittoflushthetube.Afterthewaterwasalmostgone
Ipouredtheliquidfoodintothefunnelandthenflusheditagainwithwater.Ithenclampedthe
tubeandputtheplasticstopperbackinit.
Laterwhenanotherclassmateofminedidatubefeeding,thenurseaskedhernotto
weargloves.Shesaidthattheindividualsinthecommunityfeltthattheywerebeingtreatedlike
theyhaveadiseaseanduswearingglovesshowedwewereabovethem.Thispartisvery
challengingtomebecausethepurposeofglovesistoprotectpatientsandourselves.SinceCosta
RicaisathirdworldcountrytheydonohavethesameeducationaswedointheUnitedStates.It
makesmesadtothinkthatsomanypeoplecouldbesavedandtheirrateofinfectioncouldbe
lowerifeveryonejustworegloves.Aftereveryonewasfed,thenursingassistantsnexttaskwas
toputalloftheelderlypatientsintobedandchecktoseeiftheywenttothebathroom.Ihelped
totransferindividualsintobedandpositionedthem.Thewaytheytransferpatientsisbyone
personatthebackofthewheelchairgrabbingthepatient'sarmsandtheotherpersonatthefront
ofthewheelchairgrabbingtheperson'slegs.WhenIwentaroundtohelpthenurseseeifanyone
hadgonetothebathroomshewasstickingherunglovedhanddowninthepatient'sbrief.Since
wewerenotallowedtoweargloves,Imadethedecisiontonothelpthenurseoutwiththistask.

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Idecidedtomakemywayovertothemen'ssidetoseeiftheyneededanyhelp.Manywere
watchingtelevision,butassoonasIwalkedoverthere,theirfaceslitup.Itookafewblood
pressuresbeforeendingthevolunteerday.
ThevolunteeringIcompletedthisdaybenefitedthecommunitybycompletingsomeof
theirbusyworksotheycouldspendmoretimewiththepatients.Thereisonlyonenurseforthe
entireretirementcommunity,whichIamsurecanbeveryoverwhelmingforher.Completing
someofhertasksforhergavetheresidentsanewsmilingfaceandalsogavehertheopportunity
tospendmoretimewiththeresidentsaswell.
AgoalthatIhadsetforthisdaywastolearnasmuchasIcouldaboutnursinginCosta
Ricaandtohelpthenursecompletehertasksfortheday.Thiswasachievedbyme
administratingmedicationsandfeedings.Thisonetaskhelpedmeachievebothofmygoals.
Doingsoallowedthenursetocompleteherothertasksandallowedmetolearnaboutmedication
administrationinCostaRica.
TheSchoolofNursingProgramGoalthatIwasabletomeetwiththisactivitywas
ScholarshipforPractice.IntheUnitedStatesweunderstandbasedonevidencethatitisbest
practicetowearglovesduringnursingprocedures.WhenIworkedwithafeedingtubethefirst
taskIcompletedwasputtingongloves.Thistasknotonlyprotectedthepatient,butprotectedme
aswell.JustbecauseIwasinadifferentcountry,Ididnotforgetmysimplenursingskillstocare
forthepatients.

Journal four, International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) January 6th, 2016

Volunteer Role: Education
Contact: Clover Stiles (clover@volunteerhq.org)
Hours: 5
January 6th was our third day of volunteering. Wet met at Maximo to head to the
children's daycare. Once we arrived at the facility all of the children greeted us with hugs and

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12

smiles. For this day we had planned to teach the children about hygiene. The few Spanish
speakers from our group gave them a small lesson on how to properly wash their hands and
body. We called on one boy to come to the front of the classroom to demonstrate how to properly
wash his body. After the children started to lose their attention span we decided to let them color.
We had brought coloring pages that had hygiene pictures on it, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste
etc. After we passed out the pages and crayons we socialized with them as best we could.
The attention span of the children was very short, so after they finished coloring their
pictures they were very active and ready to play. Someone had donated bubbles for us to bring on
this trip, so we decided now would be the perfect time to disperse them. We started off by giving
each child one pack of bubbles and they absolutely loved it. Some of the younger children did
not know what to do with them so when others would blow the bubbles they would try and eat
them. Some of the children wanted more bubbles, so they would come around to us and act as if
they did not get any in the first place. They were very sneaky, but it was hard not to give into
their sweet smiles.
Volunteering benefited this community by the children learning new ways to better their
health. These children are use to spending the whole day running around and playing with no
education. They behaved better than I thought they would, and listened closely to everything that
we were teaching them. I believe that it was because we were new faces and they wanted to
impress us. Another way we benefited the community was by entertaining the children to give
the daycare workers a break. Each daycare worker was in charge of multiple children; many
more than you would see here in the United States.
One goal that I set was to assist the children to learn about something they had not
previously known. The children surprised me and knew more than I thought they would about
hygiene. They were eager to demonstrate their knowledge to their peers and us. Though I do not
think we taught them something they did not know, we stressed the importance about hygiene
and how it effects their health. I believe they did learn how important hygiene is and that they
should practice it everyday.
The School of Nursing Program Goal that I was able to meet with this activity was Health
Care Environment. These children do not receive much education about their bodies and what
they need to do to be healthy. As a future nurse it was my job to advocate for these children and
try and assist them the best I could while in their presence.

Journalfive,InternationalVolunteerHQ(IVHQ)January7,2016
VolunteerRole:Education
Contact: Clover Stiles (clover@volunteerhq.org)
Hours: 5

OnJanuary7thwehadourfourthdayofvolunteering.WemetatMaximotogoand
volunteeratthesamedaycarefacility.Sincethepreviousdayhadnotgoneasplanned,assoon
aswearrivedatthefacilitywemetinaroomtomakeagameplanfortheday.Wedecidedto
breakupintothreegroupstoteachaboutdifferentthingssothechildrencouldgetupandmove

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aroundeverytwentyminutes.Oneofthegroupsdecidedtoteachaboutdentalhygiene.Inthis
grouptheyhandedouttoothbrushesandflosstoeveryone.Theythenfounddollsand
demonstratedwiththemhowtoproperlybrushandflosstheirteeth.Thesecondgroupdecidedto
teachaboutexerciseandstretching.Inthisgrouptheyplayedmusicanddiddifferentdance
moves,stretchesandotherfunactivities.Inthelastgroup,whichwastheoneIwasin,wetalked
aboutnutrition.Wehadallofthechildrensitatthetableandhadthemgoaroundandsaytheir
favoritefood.Afterthat,wequizzedthemonhowmanyservingsofwater,fruitandvegetables
youshouldhaveeveryday.Wethennamedoffdifferentfoodsandhadthemputathumbsupora
thumbsdowniftheythoughtitwasgoodorbadforthem.Lastly,weaskedthemifvitamins
weregoodorbadforthem.Allofthemraisedtheirhandsandsaidthatthevitaminsweregood
forthem.Wethenmadethemwashtheirhandswithhandsanitizerandpassedoutonegummy
vitamintoeachofthem.
Sinceweonlyhadthreegroupsandtherotationswerenotverylongwedecidedtopitch
inandpurchaseasnackforallofthechildren.Afewofuswenttoalocalmarkettopurchase
freshfruit.Weboughtbananas,papaya,watermelonandpineapple.Wethenbroughtitbackto
thedaycareandprepareditanddistributedittothechildrenequally.Atthedaycaretheyhave
oneemployeethatwasinchargeofcleaning.Wedecidedtogiveherabreakandwashallofthe
dishesafterthechildrenfinishedtheirmeals.Shewassogratefulthatweofferedsothatshe
couldhaveabreak.Wepassedoutbubblestothechildrensincetheywereahitthedaybefore.
Thistimeweonlygavethemoneeachbecausethepreviousdaytheywerefightingoverthem.
Afterthebubbleswerepassedoutweplayedwiththemoutsideandbythetimeweweredone
playingitwastimetogo.
Volunteeringbenefitedthiscommunitybythechildrengainingeducationthattheyhad
notpreviouslyknownbefore.Wheneducatingchildrenaboutitemstheyshouldandshouldnteat
itcanpresentabitofachallenge.Bytheendofoureducationsessionthechildrenknewand
understoodhealthyfoods.Theonlyproblemwiththiseducationactivityistheyarenottheones
whopreparethefood.Ihopethattheeducationstickswiththemandtheyareabletouseitwhen
thesituationpresentsitself.
AgoalthatIsetwastomaketheeducationportionofthedayfunforthechildren.
WhenIwasthatageIneverwantedtobeinschooltolearn,Ijustwantedtobethereforthefun.
Teachingthechildrenabouthealthyfoodandthenpreparinghealthyfoodforthemwasafun
wayforthemtolearn.Theyabsolutelylovedthefruitbowlwemadethemandwerevery
gratefulforit.
TheSchoolofNursingProgramGoalthatIwasabletomeetwiththisactivitywas
GeneralistNursingPractice.Thedaybeforeweassessedtheneedsofthechildreninorderto
makelessonplanstofurthertheireducation.Thegoalofthiswastohelptheindividualstowards
ahealthierlifestyle.
Journal six, International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) January 8, 2016
Volunteer Role: Health Assessments
Contact: Clover Stiles (clover@volunteerhq.org)
Hours: 5
On January 8th we had our fifth day of volunteering. We met at Maximo to head to a

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daycare. We were supposed to go to the same daycare as the previous two days, but they had a
bible study class scheduled. Instead we went to a different daycare that was smaller than the one
the previous day. When we arrived at this daycare we jumped right into assessing the children.
We broke off into four different groups to assess different parts of the body. One group did a
check for lice and also an oral assessment. The second group did an assessment on the children
looking at their eyes, ears and nose. The third group did an assessment on the children listening
to their heart and lung sounds. I was in the fourth group, which was assessing the children's
posture. We assessed their shoulders, knees and feet to make sure they did not have flat feet. Out
of all the children it was discovered that one of the girls had lice. The company that was there
with us wrote down her name so they could gather the supplies for her to get rid of her lice.
After we checked all of the children we played soccer with them until the younger
children woke up from their nap. Once the children woke up, we went upstairs to do an
assessment on them. We did this a little bit different by the nursing students standing in a line
and the children going from one person to the next. After we were done assessing the children we
made balloon gloves for them to keep them entertained until it was time for us to go.
Volunteering benefited this community by providing free checks to the children to ensure
they were in good health. Since we only discovered that one child had lice, we must have caught
it fairly soon. Typically, when lice hits this type of environment it spreads very quickly.
This child received treatment right away and it will hopefully not spread to any other children.
Like the daycare we had visited the previous day, we gave the workers a break by entertaining
the children. Many thought that the health checks were a fun game and then tried to repeat what
we did to them to us.
A goal that I set for this day was to thoroughly check the children and not to miss
anything. When I had extra time after I completed the assessment of posture, I would also listen
to the childrens heart and lungs. The children loved this and also wanted to check my heart and
lungs. They would take the stethoscope from me and wonder around with it like they were
nurses. This taught the children not to be afraid of medical instruments and that they would not
hurt them.
The School of Nursing Program Goal that I was able to meet with this activity was
Generalist Nursing Practice. It was determined that the healthcare needs of these children was an
assessment. They do not go to the doctors on a regular basis and certain aspects of their health
can be easily missed. It was our job to take time to do a full assessment and determine the needs
of the children.