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ABSTRACT
This article addresses the effect of a nursing care center on student learning. Associate degree nursing students spend clinical days at a nursing care center that was created in collaboration with an inner-city clinic serving individuals who are uninsured and under-insured. The nursing students learn cultural sensitivity, teaching strategies, and interdisciplinary skills. The service-learning experience benefits the nursing students, the nursing department of the college, the patients who visit the nursing care center, the clinic, and the community. This article describes the development of the nursing care center, examples of teachinglearning opportunities, and evidence of student learning. This successful collaboration between a community college and an inner-city clinic can be replicated by other nursing programs.
Associate degree nursing programs are mandated by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) (2004) to provide a teaching and learning environment that is conducive to student academic achievement. One of the criteria for accreditation is that "practice learning environments are selected and monitored by faculty and provide opportunities for a variety of learning options appropriate for contemporary nursing" (NLNAC, 2004, p 127). The Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) Nursing Care Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, provides this teaching and learning environment in the community for first-level and second-level nursing students. The nursing care center is located at the SouthEast Lancaster Health Services (SELHS) clinic in the city of Lancaster. The clinic is a nonprofit, federally funded community health center providing primary medical and dental care to individuals who are underserved, uninsured, and under-insured. Eighty percent of the patients who visit the HACC Nursing Care Center are Hispanic, and approximately 43% require Spanish translation.
Literature Review
Community clinical sites for students enrolled in baccalaureate programs are described frequently in the literature (Bitner, Giefer, Schiefelbein, & Sheverbush, 2003; Ellenbecker, O'Brien, & Byrne, 2002; Matteson, 2000; Neil-Urban, LaSaIa, & Todd, 2002; Shimmons-Torres, Drew-Gates, Johnson, & Overbeek, 2002; Snyder & Weyer, 2002). However, there is a scarcity of literature regarding the use of community clinical sites by associate degree nursing programs. Connolly et al. (2004) described the development of the Medical Education Campus as a collaborative effort of Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), George Mason University, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Springfield, Virginia. Associate degree nursing students from NVCC work with...