The question I will address is can a 9 Health Fair provide the community with a quality successful Health Fair, meeting the needs of those less fortunate who do not have healthcare benefits or services available to them? The Service Learning I am doing this semester is helping to organize a 9 Health Fair. A 9 Health Fair provides free screenings to the public, including PAPs, breast exams, prostate exams, and blood pressure checks. The public can also choose to pay a minimal fee for a chemistry profile. With today’s economy and the cost of healthcare, the 9 Health Fair plays a key role in providing health screenings for those who cannot afford to pay for the services. Location for the Health Fair is off a main street which has bus service. An anticipated number for the Fair is approximately 300 people which will run from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m. A nurse practitioner owned and operated clinic is the facility where the Fair will be held. All providers and staff are donated hours. Recently, I spent time with the practitioner at her clinic, conceptualizing and diagraming the layout of each screening station. Next, we put together the beginning of a volunteer list. I will reach out to other healthcare professionals to elicit help for the day of the 9 Health Fair. A training will occur two days before the Fair, which I will help design and present. There are many tasks requiring time before the Health Fair. I will be canvasing the businesses in the area for food and snacks for the public and the volunteers. Not only is the time volunteered but so is the food and other services provided. The project plan is quickly evolving.
What do you envision being the shortcomings and strength of your service learning commitment?
One of the shortcomings is not having enough time. I want to be able to help make the 9 Health Fair at the clinical site a great success and that takes time. Time is of an essence presently especially with trying to complete my capstone project. Thank goodness for the computer and e-mail, this is a great way to communicate with others, especially trying to recruit volunteers. Having enough volunteers could feasibly be a shortcoming, since traffic will need to be directed besides making sure all goes well on the day of the Health Fair. The different schools of nursing have committed students which will be a wonderful learning experience for the students. Strengths of the service learning are the healthcare service provided to the community. According to Ash and Clayton (2009), civil learning and personal growth are both applied learning pedagogies. The clinic site is off a major bus line making the site accessible to many. The many volunteers coming forward, the community help, and the businesses in the area is an excellent example of collaboration.
Ash, S. L, & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1, 25-48.
