FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING POLICY SERVICE LEARNING REQUIREMENT UNDERGRADUATE (BSN) PROGRAMS POLICY: Service Learning is a form of practical experience that enhances learning in all areas of a nursing program, and the experience of service learning reinforces the moral and civic values inherent in serving others. The faculty view Service Learning as an important component of the professional nursing program and, as such, they require that these activities be completed prior to graduation. SERVICE LEARNING DEFINITION: The nursing faculty at Ferris State University defines Service Learning as work done, or help provided, for another or others by faculty, staff, and students. Such activities for the professional nursing student will include documented service occurring outside assigned program activities and those not required by their employer. This activity may involve service to the community, University, or a health care institution or the nursing profession. Such activity is expected to enhance their professional development and should be related to health care. SERVICE LEARNING GOALS: 1. To develop a plan for volunteer service to take place over the course of the professional education program. 2. To provide a health-related service to a community of need. 3. To work closely with the faculty advisor and the course faculty to implement this plan for volunteer service. 4. To successfully complete a capstone assignment which identifies what significant personal and professional insights have occurred as a result of this service activity. RATIONALE: One of the primary objectives of the Ferris Professional Nursing Program is that students will demonstrate personal and professional accountability in nursing practice by identifying and planning activities that contribute to growth and self-development in relation to professional goals and advancement of the profession of nursing. The purpose of this requirement is to provide the professional nursing student with a means to meet this program goal through a Service Learning project that is ongoing during the professional program. Revised 6/
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING PROCEDURE SERVICE LEARNING EXPERIENCE RN TO BSN COMPLETION PROGRAM The Nursing faculty has identified the following plan / guidelines for professional nursing students to meet their service requirements. It is expected that the professional nursing student will: 1. In NURS 320, Professional Nursing Skills Development, the student will be given Service Learning Guidelines for RN to BSN at Ferris State and formulate a plan for volunteer involvement with a community agency that they will work with over the course of the program. The student will write a proposal for their selected service learning project. The proposal will be added to their portfolio. Part of the proposal will include the Service Learning Agency Contact Form containing the contact information. The form will be attached as an appendix (see Appendix A).This proposal will be submitted to the course instructor and will be a graded assignment for this course. If a student re-enters the program after a period of inactivity, they will be required to resubmit a Service Learning proposal to the program coordinator for approval at the time of program re-entry. The student is still responsible for completion of the service learning project as a program requirement. 2. The instructor (NURS 320) may elect to call the contact person identified by the student and discuss the proposal made by the student in order to verify whether or not this would be considered a viable activity for the agency and for the student. 3. During the course of the RN to BSN completion program, the student will complete a minimum of 20 hours of service within the agency. These hours can be completed in any pattern the student feels is appropriate. There will be no minimum number of hours per semester. 4. The student will log these hours on the Service Log Form and will obtain a signature of verification of the time served by the agency contact person. This form will be available on the School of Nursing website and will be submitted in NURS 450 see # 5 for capstone assignment. 5. In NURS 450, Nursing Capstone, the student will complete the final graded assignment for this activity. This assignment will be the capstone activity for this experience where the student will have the opportunity to give clearly described and verifiable examples of the learning experience, and to critically examine how this service has impacted their career process. The written guidelines, presentation format, and time frame for this assignment will be defined by the course expectations for NURS 450 which will include a portfolio review and synthesis of service learning paper and presentation. (See Appendix F) Revised 6/
Appendix A RN to BSN Track SERVICE LEARNING AGENCY CONTACT FORM Agency Name: Contact Person: Contact Phone: Contact Email: Contact Address: Description of Agency and Type of Service Learning Student will be engaged in: Signature of Agency Representative (Agreeing to student volunteer): Printed or typed name Signature Revised 6/
Appendix B SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL RN to BSN and Traditional BSN Tracks STUDENT NAME SITE DATE SUBMITTED PROPOSAL COMPONENT INTRODUCTION: Introduce assignment/state purpose of paper. Explain role of service learning in professional education. AGENCY DESCRIPTION: What is name and role of agency you will serve? Their info should be referenced. VOLUNTEER ROLE: What will your role be for this agency? ACHIEVEMENT OF PROGRAM OBJECTIVES: How does your planned service help you achieve the RN-BSN Program objectives? DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES: Describe your planned activities in detail. Also describe 1) what you hope to learn/how you will benefit and 2) how your service will benefit the community. EVALUATION PLAN: How will you evaluate your own learning and the effects of your activities on the community? REFERENCES: At a minimum, you need to include references for the agency information and the role of service learning in professional education. APPENDIX: Signed contact form included as appendix and contains all pertinent information (Name, title, phone, street address, email) POINTS POSSIBLE TOTAL CONTENT POINTS 0 APA format including: Title page w/ running head, Abstract, Margins, Headers, (30) Headings, References, Sentence Structure, Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, clarity of ideas. TOTAL POINTS TO BE DEDUCTED FOR APA ERRORS -30 15 20 15 POINTS EARNED TOTAL POINTS OVERALL 0 COMMENTS: Revised 6/
Appendix C Service Learning Log RN to BSN Track AGENCY: DATE HOURS and ACTIVITY STUDENT SIGNATURE: AGENCY SIGNATURE: AGENCY PRINTED NAME: DATE: Revised 6/