Running head: SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT

Service Learning Project Heidi J. Phillips NURS 320 April 1, 2013

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT Abstract This paper will serve as a more thorough explanation of my service learning project. It will define the agency and its role in the community, my volunteer role, my achievement goals toward the BSN program objectives, description of my activities planned and an evaluation of the success of my plan.

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT As part of my completion of the BSN program through Ferris State University (FSU) I will complete a service learning project. This project will be community based and will be volunteer hours of service. The purpose of a service learning project is to complete work or services for others outside of my employment that will benefit them as well as enhance my professional development. Providing services on a voluntary basis to the community will allow me to develop my professional accountability and enhance my nursing practice. I will be selfdirected to provide activities that contribute to the health related field for my personal growth and development as I work towards my professional goals and advancement in my nursing career. Agency Description I plan to volunteer with the local St. Joseph County Girls on the Run Program (GOTR). This program is a not for profit program found in 1996 by Molly Barker of North Carolina. She was simply looking for a purpose in life and a way to make an impact. She started with a small group of local girls that quickly spread the word. The program is designed for girls ages eight through thirteen to help these young ladies develop life skills through a dynamic of conversation based lessons and physical fitness. The GOTR program takes pride in their vision statement, Empowerment, Responsibility, Intentionality, Diversity, Connectedness, Joy, Optimism, Gratitude, Nurturing, Healthy, Open-hearted, Compassion. (GOTR, 2013) The program honors its vision by ensuring incorporation of these core values into each of their lessons. The program teaches the young girls to take charge of their lives and build self-confidence. Volunteer Role I will assist in the nutritional and physiological education to young girls that are participating in the Girls on the Run Program (GOTR). I currently have two contacts, one in St.

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT Joseph County and the second in the Kalamazoo County areas. I hope to expand the areas that I can impact as word spreads of my volunteer services. I personally have coached and ran with a GOTR team but I will be serving in a totally different role this time around. I hope to bring more information and education to the young girls regarding nutrition and how it impacts the physiology of their bodies as they grow and mature. I will be the tail end of each practice and provide the pep talk that boosts self-confidence and provides knowledge about their bodies and the impact of physical activity and healthy eating. I will also provide the healthy snack at each practice. I plan to run during the practices, so that the girls can gain become comfortable with who I am allowing me to develop a better rapport. In the end, I will also run each of the races to support the girls. I feel that I will have a deep impact on this group of young girls as I lead by example. I eat clean and healthy and I run. I think if I am able to be a positive role model and also be an educated professional without links of having a daughter on the team, hopefully the girls will also realize I am invested for them and not for other reasons. I want to develop a strong rapport with the girls so that they feel comfortable asking questions and voicing their concerns. Achievement of Program Objectives While working with the GOTR program, I will be able to develop and successfully complete many of the FSU BSN program outcomes. I will be able to utilize and sharpen my skills in collaborative leadership, while integrating many nursing theories that I will use to put together appropriate education for this particular audience. This population of young adolescent girls is naturally diverse within its own nature. I will need to focus on their learning needs in order to be successful while incorporating current, up to date evidence based nursing information

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT that will allow me to bring value in this material and education that will stick with these young girls and make a positive impact for their futures. Participating in GOTR will allow me to pursue an educational role as a nurse in the community with the young adolescent population. I have always loved to teach but have never had the opportunity to make the nurse educator a focused role for myself. This will allow me to truly focus on the education impact. I also believe that because children are so impressionable at this time in their lives, that it is education and information that will stick with them as they grow and mature as provided by a positive role model. Hopefully teaching early in their lives will empower the girls to make positive choices and build their self-confidence in the choices that they make. The rise in childhood obesity, eating disorders, depression, bullying and suicides of the young adolescent age is scary and sad. If these young girls can develop positive relationships with the GOTR coaches and volunteer staff, perhaps we can impact the future for these girls and decrease the risk of developing issues and encounters with the above mentioned epidemics by instilling them with courage and confidence; empowerment. Description of Activities I hope to attend as many full sessions as possible. I would like to participate in the full practice, including the physical aspect with a goal of developing a deeper rapport with the young girls. At the end of each practice I will have the last 20-30 minutes to educate the young girls on nutrition, physical activity and its impact on their bodies and to provide a healthy snack. I see the challenge of teaching myself how to teach the young adolescent group of girls. I have a plan that I am sure will need to be tweaked session by session. Initially I plan to teach in segments starting with physiology of the normal young adolescent girls body. I will then build

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT on this and add in the physical and nutritional components as the girls show readiness to expound on their learning. At every practice I will end with a healthy snack and have the girls validate their knowledge of the food pyramid, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. This crowd is much more impressionable. I believe children live what they learn so it is important to provide a strong and positive role model. I plan to pursue my MSN and this is a great opportunity to trial the nurse educator aspect of the profession. I assume that I will attain a take away experience of how to teach the younger adolescence and how to structure their learning toward their needs. I am choosing to focus on the younger generation not only because it is a new experience for me, but also because I feel the impact may possibly decrease the rise in childhood obesity, depression, childhood Diabetes II and child suicides. Decreasing childhood obesity alone, would directly impact the overall obesity factor of our population which would then impact so many other disease processes. For example, hypertension, heart failure, adult onset Diabetes II, high cholesterol, risk of stroke just to name a few. Evaluation of my Plan I plan to evaluate the success of my plan from two different views. The first one through the perspective of the young girls via survey or questionnaire evaluating my education provided. This will be produced at the third grade level for the girls to complete. It will be based upon meeting their learning needs. I will also assess their knowledge periodically with pop quizzes after practices to monitor what the girls are retaining and their readiness to expound on their learning. The second way I will evaluate my success is on a personal level. I will assess whether or not I have met my personal goals and the BSN outcomes. It will be difficult to see the greater impact on the community as it is a long term goal. This type of education will need to be

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT continued with the young children in the community and reinforced at home in order to see long term effects on the community as a whole. What we could see sooner is the adolescent impacts such as body empowerment, positive attitudes, positive self-images, confidence boost, enthusiasm and pride of taking care of themselves, joy, compassion for others, responsibility and accountability for themselves and health.

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT References Ferris State University (January, 2011). BSN program outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/colleges/alliedhe/Nursing/BSN-program-outcomes.htm Ferris State University (June, 2010). Service learning project policy. School of Nursing; BSN undergraduate program. Retrieved from Nursing 320 learning module at http://www.ferris.edu Girls on the Run Program (GOTR, n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.girlsontherun.com

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT Appendix Girls on the Run Program Name: Jennifer Stewart Title: St. Joseph County coach Phone: 1-574-320-5987 (cell) Street Address: 63771 Norton Road Jones, Michigan (St. Joseph County) 49061 Constantine Public Schools Email: stewartgal@hotmail.com Description of Agency and Type of Service Student will be engaged in: Heidi will be serving with young adolescent girls assisting with training physically for Girls on the Run and focusing on the educational piece of nutrition and its importance. (See page 10 for scanned document with agency representatives signature)

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