Recovery After the Storm -Lessons Learned from a Service Learning Clinical Assignment
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Due to the amount of clinical time lost as a result of Hurricane Florence, those of us in the School of Nursing had to be creative in designing assignments that would count as make-up. I have several components of nursing that I stress throughout the semester which include patient advocacy, compassion/empathy, and putting the patient ahead of their (student) personal needs. I decided to create an assignment around disaster relief so that the students could truly see the ramifications of this disaster on the lives of those around us and to give back to the community. The assignment was to read three articles relevant to disaster relief that were provided, complete 6 hours of disaster relief (they could choose the venue), and then complete a critical reflective journal with prompts supplied by the instructor. The result has been a powerful learning exercise for the students as their journals are coming in and being reviewed by instructors. In fact, the journals not only served as a learning platform but provided the students with a voice to state not only how this event impacted them personally, but also how the volunteering made them feel and how it will impact their future and their profession. The responses have been so compelling that two of the instructors plan to write an article describing the experience and the impact on the students. Description for students:
Wilmington and a large portion of N.C. and S.C. recently experienced an unprecedented disaster when Hurricane Florence made landfall on Sept. 14, 2018 as a category 1 storm. The time leading up to the arrival of the storm provided adequate time for evacuation but also exposed everyone to the inundation of a constant barrage of media and forecasts. There has been extensive damage and a great loss of homes and personal belongings, lifestyle, security, financial stability, power loss, food and water shortages, school time, and many other disturbances. During the time that classes were cancelled, there was great uncertainty and stress as to how we would recoup the 4 weeks of our semester. Also during this time, many individuals donated their time and efforts to the recovery of our community. I would like you to take a little time to reflect on your experience and how this relates to your chosen profession and how disaster relief contributes to your community and the alleviation of human suffering.
