My school requires all seniors to pass standards for advanced writing, and for senior nursing students this means writing a major research paper. My goal was to find a topic that was interesting to me in order to improve my motivation to write a high quality paper (and learn something along the way). As a part of the Research Challenge, I want to share an article on one of the topics I am considering.
[If you are new to my blog, you should know that this choice is motivated by my own experience with international service learning.]
Article: "The impact of service-learning on cultural competence"
Amerson, R. (2010). The impact of service-learning on cultural competence. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(1), 18-22. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
There were many limitations to the study, including a smaller sample size (of 60 nursing students), but the article provides a basis for the development of further studies on the role of service-learning in nursing education.
The study used a tool to measure "self-perceived cultural competence" in nursing students before and after local and international service-learning clinical experiences during a community health course.
It is helpful to read this article in order to understand how service-learning is defined in nursing and to realize the dynamic aspects of cultural competence. Based on my research, primarily through CINAHL, I have found that there are few studies on the effect of service learning on cultural competence in nurses and/or nursing students. My future nursing career may have to consist of research on the topic!
Essential quote and conclusion to the article:
"The hope exists that this awareness, and the knowledge and skills attained through encounters with different cultures, will lead to an increased desire to provide culturally congruent care as new graduates begin their roles as nurses of the future."
I fully support the author's conclusion, as I have greatly benefited from both local and international service-learning experiences in this last year of my nursing education!
[Don't forget this is part 3 of the challenge! In case you missed my other posts, catch up on part one and part two.]
