Service Learning in Geriatric Physical Therapist Education

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Higher education has recently experienced a growing movement to utilize community partnerships to strengthen and further its traditional missions of education, research, and service. The partnerships developing between educational institutions and communities lead to health care programs that meet identified community health care needs while providing opportunities for valuable practical experience for students. The purpose of this article is to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a project with older adults within a physical therapist education curriculum. Project Description. Pairs of students meet weekly for 10 weeks in the homes of older adult volunteers identified by various individuals and community agencies. Students administer a battery of functional tests to screen for balance deficits and fall risk, including cognition deficits and depression, which are correlated with falls. Older adults who are identified as at high risk for falls are referred to professionals in the community for further evaluation and intervention. Project Evaluation. Formal student and volunteer feedback over a 5-year period demonstrated multiple benefits of the project. Older adults benefited from the fall prevention program while enjoying social interaction- Student was enhanced, and there was improved perception of and commitment to serving older adults. INTRODUCTION Higher education has recently experienced a growing movement to utilize community partnerships to strengthen and further its traditional missions of education, research, and service.1 Bok2 urged modern universities to become more socially involved and to shift the focus of education and research from the campus into the community. Communities, in turn, provide a rich resource for student education, research, and the development of knowledge.3 Service Learning An educational method called service learning facilitates connectedness between community and classroom and is gaining wider university acceptance.4 Service learning, which links academic objectives with meeting real community needs,5 is characterized by the following: * Specific academic goals and objectives are achieved through community service. *Students are provided time to reflect on their experiences through a mix of writing, reading, speaking, listening, and creating in group and individual work. * Participation in community partnerships fosters the development of intangibles such as empathy, values, self-confidence, social responsibility, and compassion. * The reinforces the while the strengthens the service. * Academic credit is awarded for learning, not hours rendered. A summary of as outlined by Seiler,1 Executive Director of CommunityCampus Partnerships for Health, is provided in Table 1. Seifer1 contrasts the above-mentioned characteristics of to those of traditional clinical education. The primary objective of clinical education is student learning; is a secondary objective, if an objective at all. By contrast, seeks a balance between the two. Even when traditional clinical education takes place in community settings, it is often designed by university-based faculty. Service differs in that it depends on community partnerships for the design, implementation, and evaluation of the curriculum. Traditional clinical education focuses on doing and observing, whereas includes opportunities for critical reflection. Service emphasizes developing citizenship skills and achieving social change.6 In traditional clinical education, the primary goals of having physical therapist students see patients in a skilled nursing facility would be to help them learn how to examine, evaluate, and provide interventions for older adults. …