Service Learning Reflection

Service Learning is a social commitment to service those in the community that are of the vulnerable, underserved, and diverse population groups.  In my previous service learning experience I chose to commit my service learning time to the underserved children of the Head Start population.  While I am still providing health screenings to children, this time it is a different age group.  This semester the sports physical population ranged from ages 8-18, and the Senior Center population ranged from age 50 and over.   Providing health promotion and prevention screenings is one of my favorite activities to do in the community as it gives those receiving the services an opportunity to ask questions and get information they need.  I am very grateful to work for an FQHC that believes in a mission of serving the underserved and underinsured.  For many of the pediatric population, the sports physical is the only time they ever see a health care provider in a year.  This is a time for them, and their parents, to ask any and all questions that they want answers to.  I do take my time with each person that I encounter in each setting.  I do my best to be mindful of the situation and ask if they have any questions or concerns.  I want the patient to feel as comfortable as possible.  I also find that during these screenings, whether it is for an adolescent or with the geriatric population, it is perfect opportunity for health promotion and prevention in the particular age group.  I always bring along brochures and handout.  For example; during the sports physical screenings I have multiple adolescent females want to discuss birth control options.  Of course this isn’t the time to treat for that, but I do have handouts on various types and I teach promotion and prevention.  With the geriatric population I do a lot of teaching on low salt and diabetic diets.  I will have handouts for those who want to read them.

As far as the worst thing that happened during my service learning experience I honestly don’t have an answer for that.  I will say that it may have been more of a worst experience for a couple of the male patients who were having sports physical screenings for the first time.  This can be a very anxiety provoking exam for many young males, especially when it comes to the dreaded hernia exam.  I did have a couple of younger males get very anxious, but just explaining why a hernia exam is done, and making them feel as comfortable as I could did relieve their anxiety.  The best part was hearing “That wasn’t that bad” after the hernia exam was completed.  Just knowing that I did relieve their anxiety and they felt more comfortable with the entire exam process is a win for me.  Another best experience is when the parent thanks me for providing the exam at no cost, otherwise this would have been a financial burden on the family.  That makes outreach services worth the entire effort. 

 

Health Care Advocate

As an individual provider I will continue to participate in offering outreach services to my community.  I believe in the mission, values and goals of this organization and want to assist in all ways to continue to promote health care for all in the community.  I will continue to be a voice for those in my community, advocating for needs of the population.  Collaboration is the key to sustainability and success of this organization in its’ ability to continue to offer these free services. 

 

 

 

The DNP Role

 

In rural communities and providing health care services to the underserved populations, those leaders who are skilled and trained with the DNP degree are prepared to meet the needs of this population through leadership in community health centers, serving on interdisciplinary teams, advocating for the patient and for directing future policy initiatives.  With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, health care model saw a transformation to preventative health care and primary health care (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014).  These evolving changes increased the need for APRNs and DNPs in all aspects of health care (Lathrop & Hodnicki, 2014).  As I complete each course I find myself more prepared to utilize my expertise knowledge and skills in both clinical practice and research to improve both patient and health care outcomes.  I possess improved clinical, leadership, organizational and economic skills and knowledge to have a positive impact on health care outcomes.  I am able to effectively work side by side with other health care professionals as a change agent in a continuously evolving health care environment.  I believe that I will only continue to improve upon my knowledge and skills the more that I am exposed to and work with an organization that is so compassionate about rural health care and providing quality health care to the medically underserved.  I believe that with my advanced knowledge and skill set that I will be able assist in the sustainability of this mission and contribute to positive outcomes.

Reference

Lathrop, B., & Hodnicki, D. R. (2014). The affordable care act: primary care and the doctor of nursing practice nurse. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(2).

Why is My Service Learning Experience Unique?

I chose to complete my service learning through the clinic where I am employed for one very important reason…My clinic’s mission is to increase access and quality of health care to the medically underserved.  This is who we are and what we do on a daily basis.  This community health clinic has a varied population of patients; neonates to elderly, acute to chronic care, fully insured to self-pay.  We provide multiple outreach services to 3 counties including primary care screenings, dental services, haircuts, mental health screenings, SNAP/EBT Enrollment, and Affordable Care Act/Medicare/Medicaid assistance, among others.

A little bit about the organization…The Health Care Coalition (HCC) of Lafayette County, dba Health Care Collaborative of Rural Missouri is a Missouri-based rural health network and a Federally Qualified Health Center located in Waverly, Missouri and is the umbrella organization for the Live Well Community Health Centers located in Lafayette, Carroll and Eastern Jackson County of Missouri.

The HCC has a mission to “Cultivate partnerships and deliver quality health care to strengthen rural communities”. The HCC is a rural health network, committed to improving the health status of underserved populations in its service area. The HCC was formally established in 2006, following a three-year period of the Network partners informally working together to address area health care needs, specifically to ensure that the health care needs of all citizens in our service area are met, particularly the needs of the under- and uninsured. The focus is to develop and implement programs that are responsive to documented health needs of county residents, with specific health status indicators as benchmarks for progress on addressing those needs. Since its inception, the HCC has developed into a comprehensive rural health network, with a wide variety of health, social services and community partners that provide health and wellness prevention and treatment programs for all citizens in our service area, and focused on the health care needs of low-income, under- and uninsured residents. The HCC’s strength lies in developing collaborative relationships, utilizing the strengths of individual organizations to develop programs and services that are larger than any one organization.

The mission, values and goals of HCC align with my professional goals as a rural health care provider.  I find that offering my time and services, outside of clinic time, is essential to improving the health care quality of my community.  Providing leadership within this organization to assist in collaboration efforts to ensure that services are provided to meet the needs of the community are imperative for health care promotion and prevention.  Providing free sport physicals at 4 clinic locations, among others, and going to the community Senior Center to provide glucose and blood pressure screening is one way that myself and the organization can strive to meet our mission.