Reflective Practice: St.

Charbel Church
Christina Jakji
810120063
Humber College-North
NURS 153

Reflective Paper: St. Charbel Church

In this paper I will describe the place of volunteer, what the volunteer job consists
of, and how it relates to the practical setting. I will be using two determinants of health
and two community resources to help explain how my volunteer work relates to the
clinical setting.
The community service organization that I have chosen is my Church. My church
is the St. Charbel Catholic Arabic church located in Mississauga. Our church is such a
close community where everyone knows each other and helps each other in many ways.
Our church has both men and women and people from every age group. One of the ways
that I am involved in the church is that I am part of the Youth group. The youth group is
responsible for helping out for any events the church has. I have volunteered with other
members to teach catechism in our Saturday school to grade one and grade two children.
Teaching the kids had taught me some lessons that would apply to the hospital setting in
the future. I have learned to be patient and to learn to explain tasks they must do. They
understand what those tasks consist of and why they must do them. In the same way, it is
important to be patient with patients for many reasons such as language barriers or lack
of communication. Making sure you can communicate procedures or plans is important
for the client needs to fully understand what they are consenting to always. Another
lesson I have learned is taking instructions the priest will give me, and learning how to
prioritize those tasks. In the clinical setting, especially in the morning shift, there are
many things to do from vitals to meds and breakfast and it is important to prioritize which
is most important.
What I have learned from teaching Saturday school was more of a learning
experience of myself. I have learned that I can be independent in doing a task while also

Reflective Paper: St. Charbel Church

being responsible for the kids. I had never before been in an independent job such as that
before. Experiencing that has taught me that with each new obstacle I over come is
something new Ive learned. In the nursing setting I may come across many new
experiences, but Ive learned that everyone began as a student and has had to do many
firsts to learn.
The first determinant of health that I have chosen is Healthy Child Development.
This determinant of health was the first I have chosen because it relates to the volunteer
work that I have done so far. Health is determined by early development from 0-6 years
of age. In the text in Potter & Perry, Three conditions for healthy child development are
adequate and equitable income, effective parents and families, and supportive community
environments (CIHI, 2004; Stroick & Jenson, 1999). My church is more than a
supportive community as we always have events or programs those children and older
youth can be part of. Being part of this school every Saturday and teaching them
catechism is teaching them that they are part of a spiritual community that supports them.
In the article Social Determinants of Health and Nursing, under the determinant of health
social support it states that, Social support helps give people the emotional and practical
resources they need to get through life(Canadian Nurses Association,4). Knowing that
there is a religious community the kids can depend on and having older youth read out to
them helps them to communicate issues they are having in life more effectively. The
more they feel they can lean on the church for support, the more they will be mentally
and spiritually healthy; which will also prevent unhealthy habits from forming.
The second determinant of health I chose was social support. Growing up with
many different social groups influencing your thoughts and decisions can be tough for a

Reflective Paper: St. Charbel Church

young person. In the first chapter in Potter and Perry we learn that, Healthy social
environments include freedom from discrimination and prejudice(Elsevier, 9). In our
church we are able to talk about all issues controversial or not and discuss them without
any judgment. Having open discussion with our priest about topics and issues that
concern us teach us how to discuss our views and hears others views in a healthy
manner. Learning how to deal with these sensitive topics is important as the children we
work with are young and still growing and learning so it is important to teach them how
to be open to anything they might face. Teaching young people who are learning that
prejudice is wrong and explaining examples of that will be key in their developmental
process, as that will shape how they think in the future.
The first community resource that I have chosen is the YMCA. The YMCA is
related to the organization I am currently working for because they also deal with
children. Children who are involved in the program are diverse in the sense that they
come from all different walks of life; such as financially or culturally. This Community
resource meets the need of the children in the same way that my volunteer does. Children
will be learning how to be social without discrimination, thus reducing negative and
violent behavior. This promoted the second determinant of health I have chosen, social
support, by immersing them into an environment where they can interact socially with
other children and learn proper morals while also learning to be free from discrimination.
The second community resource that I have chosen that relates to my volunteer is
the Tim Horton summer camps. These summer camps are paid for from the money raised
selling their products. Kids from similar community are brought together to be involved
in the summer camp. Kids that attend this camp are usually from families that cannot

Reflective Paper: St. Charbel Church

afford as much as other families, and therefore the community will help send them to
camp. This relates to the first determinant of health because of the fact that child
development relies partially on the support of the community. It also relates to the
volunteering that I am currently involved in because as such a close community as the
church, we are all working to better each others lives by contributing whatever we can.

Reflective Paper: St. Charbel Church

Reference:
Canadian Nurses Association (2014). Social Determinants of Health and
Nursing: A Summary of
Issues. Retrieved May 10, 2014, from http://www.cnaaiic.ca/~/media/cna/page
%20content/pdf
%20en/2013/07/26/10/38/bg8_social_determinants_e.pdf

Potter& Perry (2010). Strategies to Influence Health Determinants. Retrieved on:

May 8, 2014. Toronto.