Evaluation of service learning in a school of nursing: primary care in a community setting

The evolving system of health care delivery, emphasizing prevention and early intervention, presents challenges to schools that educate health care professionals. Nursing faculty in a rural mid-Atlantic state initiated a service-learning project, relating education and service through primary care in the surrounding community. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the project outcomes. The 45 students involved in the project responded to Beliefs Related to Professional Nursing Competencies, a quantitative measure (Cronbach's alpha = .84), based on the Pew Health Commission's "Competencies Needed by Practitioners for 2005," and to a second measure, Qualitative Questions for Students in Service Learning. Results of quantitative analysis revealed subjects' acceptance of the competencies as nursing responsibilities. Qualitative analysis revealed that students were involved in increasing consumer access to community-based primary care; curricula relating learning to existing problems and rewarding critical thinking was evident; and students were receiving preparation for a health care environment that will rely on their ability to respond to its changing needs.