Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

NUR 4144: Professional Role Development Servant Leadership

Summative Service-Learning Reflection
Grading Rubric
Student Name: ___Brittney Ellett___________________

Instructions: Reflect upon your personal experience with service-learning activities across your
nursing program, using the following key components. This is a reflection of how service-
learning has shaped your values.
Papers should be between 1000-1500 words.
Points Points
Possible Earned
1. Noticing & Interpreting: 30
What expectations did you have of service-learning from the
beginning of your nursing program? Were these expectations
met or not met (with explanation)?
At the beginning of nursing school, I did not really fully
understand the concept of service-learning. It was an expectation
of mine to have various opportunities where I would implement
and reflect on service learning experiences throughout nursing
school. I believe that I now know what service learning is and
what it means to be a servant leader. I have volunteered and
served with numerous organizations throughout my life even
before nursing school such as with my church, church camp and
my family, but the terminology in nursing school was new to me.
I believe my expectations of service learning have been met
because I have had many opportunities during nursing school
both within and in my personal life to volunteer my time to serve
others and gain valuable knowledge and insight by helping my
community. One of the most valuable service-learning
opportunities as well as eye opening has been my service twice
on the mission trip to Grundy, Virginia to serve with Remote
Area Medical and at the Mountain Mission School. This has
fulfilled the meaning of service learning and being a servant
leader for me.
What strengths and problems did you, personally, see in the
community? What assets/solutions to problems did you see?
Throughout my many volunteer opportunities and experience one
of the biggest overarching problems I have seen is access to
everyday essentials and needs whether it has been because of
poverty, hunger, medical needs, or mental health it is the
overarching issue and something obviously needs to be done
since there are so many people just in our state of Virginia who
lack access to these vital necessities for life. Some solutions I
have seen would be some of the volunteer work I have done and
how they are providing various resources for these people in need
whether it is a place to live, free medical care or free meals. An
overarching strength I have noticed within all of my service-
learning is that the people I have worked with hands on are all so

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 thankful for the care and time I have provided. All of these people
have been so respectful and thankful for my time and presence for
them which is a huge blessing because these people have so little
compared to me, yet can still find things in life to bring them joy
and happiness.
How did your values and experiences as part of a certain
cultural, racial, ethnic, religious group, socioeconomic status
group, or exposure to media or other sources of information
concerning needy communities shape what you saw and
heard throughout your nursing program?
Before nursing school, I believe that I had many stereotypes and
judgement for those who were not as well off as me. I believe I
just never had a true or full understanding of what other people
might be going through until progressing through nursing school.
I also believe that the media heavily shapes this perspective if you
do not know any better. Since being in nursing school and
learning so much about other cultural, ethnicities and religious
groups, I now try to have a non-judgmental attitude when
working with various populations and try to put myself in their
shoes to help have a better understanding of their feelings and
what they are facing and going through. I never realized the
amount of need our local cities and counties of Virginia had until
being exposed to these service-learning opportunities and mission
trips throughout nursing school. I think it is a great chance to help
bring about change to our state and to help those in need even if
is something small like spending some of your time volunteering.
2. Responding: 20
What have you learned about the needs of the surrounding
community?
I have learned that there are many needs in my surrounding
community and other local communities in Virginia. I believe
their needs range from simple things to the everyday necessities
of life. A lot of the peoples needs seem to stem around being
able to afford food as well as having access to medical care.
Those have been the biggest two needs I have seen from my
overall experience with volunteering in nursing school. The
community members I have worked with have all been extremely
grateful and thankful for my service to them and most will
express their needs and they understand what they really do need.
It shows me that I am very fortunate and lucky to be able to live
the way I do and not have to worry about meeting these needs
like so many across the state of Virginia do.
Have you found the service-learning activities to be truly
relevant to the community and your learning experiences?
I believe that all of my service-learning activities have been truly
relevant to our community and have been valuable for everyone
who has been a part of these various experiences both on the
volunteering side and the receiving side. I have been able to take
something away from all of my community experiences and
apply it to the nursing field to have a better impact on my direct
patient care. Until recent years, I have never realized the drastic
need our community and state of Virginia alone has.

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 3. Reflecting on service-learning: 30
Has your service-learning experiences influenced your
perception of your call to serve?
I believe that my service-learning experiences have influenced
my perception of being called to serve. Since I was a child, I had
always wanted to become a nurse because I knew I could help
other people. I began serving and volunteering in my community
at a young age and havent stopped since. I believe that I have
always been driven and had a call to serve, but through the many
opportunities nursing school has given me and being immersed
into different service-learning experiences, I feel that I have a
stronger desire of being called to serve and that I have been able
to gain a bigger picture of the needs we have in the state of
Virginia as well as in my local community. I believe that my call
to serve will continue through my nursing career and with other
volunteer opportunities that I engage in on a yearly basis as well
as finding some new ones to try as well.
Has your concept of service-learning changed since you began
your career as a nursing student?
I believe through nursing school I have learned a better
understanding of service-learning and how I implement this both
through my nursing care as well as volunteering. I do not believe
my outlook or concept has changed that much because I have
always been eager to volunteer and be involved in my community
even before nursing school. I am thankful that I was able to have
some new volunteering experiences in nursing school where I
was able to apply and understand deeper what service-learning
means. It has been interesting to compare different volunteer
opportunities I have had and how I have been able to be a servant
leader. If anything, I believe I am more of a servant leader now
that nursing school is completed than I was before I started. It has
helped to have so many opportunities and reflect on how these
opportunities have enhanced my understanding of service-
learning.
Briefly describe how your past experiences of service-
learning in your nursing courses (NUR 1100, NUR 3113, and
NUR 3114, NUR 4144) helped prepare you for service-
learning.
In nursing 1100, I served at Gayton Baptist Church with Feed
My Starving Children to pack meals to send to starving children
across the world. These meals included bags of nutrients and
vitamins, dehydrated vegetables, soy and rice.
In nursing 3113, I served at St. Josephs Villa with their
afterschool program for children and adolescents that runs from
2-6:30pm. Children that qualify include those who have extreme
difficulties in the community, display constant disruptive
behaviors at school, and are at risk from being removed from
their homes. The program provides structure to make the child
successful in all aspects of their lives and they individualize
programs to meet the needs of the child and the family. While we
were here, we coordinated making valentines crafts with the
younger children, coloring with the older children and afternoon
snack time for them.

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 In nursing 3114, we did our service learning project at Little
Sisters of the Poor. Our group project consisted of making
turkeys with feathers glued on them where they wrote what they
were thankful for. We each teamed up with one of the group
members to assist them in making this craft. Once the craft was
completed, we provided a time of reflection and sharing for each
one of the group members. Most of the people that live there have
Alzheimers/Dementia and some other various mental health
problems.
This semester in nursing 4144 I served with Feed Mores
Community Kitchen to prepare many meals for those facing
hunger and nutritional needs.
These past experiences of service learning throughout nursing
school have prepared me for service learning because I believe I
have become a better servant leader and have taken something
valuable and different away from each situation where I had to
serve during nursing school. Throughout nursing school, I have
still served in various ways within my community and have
gained valuable insight from these local experiences as well. I
think it is important to learn service learning as it will pertain to
my career as a RN and providing care for my patients. As a nurse,
service learning is an important quality to have, understand and
implement. I also know that through some of these organizations
and volunteer opportunities I have had that there are many
resources available, so being able to recommend and refer my
patients to some of these will be helpful in the future.
4. Reflecting on civic engagement: 20
What is civic engagement? (cite any ideas that are not your
own)
I believe civic engagement is being involved in local
communities. I believe being involved through civic engagement
can mean many things and not just as an active volunteer. I
believe this encompasses peoples civic responsibilities as well as
providing for other community members. It means to be an active
participant in what is going on in your community and taking
notice of things that need to be done/things you can help with.
Civic engagement is an umbrella term used to describe the
activities which promote the bridging of communities with
socially conscious thought and action (Ehrlich, 2000). Civic
engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life
of our communities and developing the combination of
knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference
(Ehrlich, 2000). The underlying concept of civic engagement is to
produce meaningful service and experience to all involved
participants (Ehrlich, 2000).
Ehrlich, T. (2000). What is civic engagement? National Louis University. Retrieved
from https://www.nl.edu/studentservices/civicengagement/whatiscec/
How do you plan to stay engaged with the local community
when you graduate?
I plan to stay engaged within my local community when I
graduate like I always have and do every year. Some things I
engage in with my personal life include volunteering
opportunities presented to me through my church, volunteering at

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 Oak Hill Christian Summer Camp for at least a week every
summer as well as staying involved with RAM and Mountain
Mission School. I hope to engage in some new opportunities for
volunteering and service-learning through work, the hospital and
my department in particular and I will continue to serve those
locally and around the United States. Another annual opportunity
that my family participates in is Operation Christmas Child.
Every year my mom, sister, grandmother, aunt and myself all
prepare many shoeboxes together (usually around 50) to take to
the Operation Christmas Child warehouse when we go. We
volunteer in the warehouse in Charlotte, NC or Baltimore, MD
yearly the weekend after thanksgiving as a family and are able to
process, pack, and ship thousands of shoeboxes overseas for
children to receive as Christmas presents. This is a truly inspiring
and amazing opportunity and I love being able to do this with my
family.
Total Personal Summative Reflection Points: 100

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