Abstract
Undergraduate nursing programs are moving towards a service learning model in teaching nursing student cultural awareness. In this article, we discuss the nursing student experience in a university elective which immerses students in rural and remote Indigenous communities resulting in cultural consciousness. This service learning experience that students encountered promoted growth in nursing praxis, and fostered positive curriculum growth and community partnerships between the College and the Indigenous communities in which they visited. Students gained cultural consciousness and increased awareness, which is beneficial in their future nursing careers as they grow into better culturally competent care providers. Also discussed is the history and background of these Indigenous communities, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the First Nations Principles of OCAP (ownership, control, access and possession). These topics are discussed in detail throughout the student experience as they respond to nurses’ professional standards, development of cultural competency and integrating calls to action in truth and reconciliation.
Highlights
Recent literature provides evidence of the value of immersion in rural Indigenous communities in its ability to promote cultural awareness and cultural safety (Amerson & Livingston, 2014; Alexander-Ruff & Kinion, 2018). Integrating this kind of cultural learning is valuable in nursing curriculums to enable cultural awareness and to educate culturally competent healthcare providers (Alexander-Ruff & Kinion, 2018; Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN, 2010)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) programs have begun to incorporate rural and remote experiences into their curricula in order to enhance experiential learning to promote success for young nurses to excel in these unique work settings (Bennett, Jones, Brown & Barlow, 2013) The purpose of this article is to disseminate the positive learning experiences and cultural consciousness, gained by undergraduate nursing students, as a result of the service learning experience via different teaching and learning models in rural and remote Indigenous communities
Piaget’s Model of Learning and Cognitive development encompasses the dimensions of experience and concepts, reflection and action through the process of development from infancy to adulthood where cognition moves from a concrete view of the world to an abstract constructivist view
Summary
Recent literature provides evidence of the value of immersion in rural Indigenous communities in its ability to promote cultural awareness and cultural safety (Amerson & Livingston, 2014; Alexander-Ruff & Kinion, 2018). Piaget’s Model of Learning and Cognitive development encompasses the dimensions of experience and concepts, reflection and action through the process of development from infancy to adulthood where cognition moves from a concrete view of the world to an abstract constructivist view. He states that the learning process develops over cycles of interactions between individuals and their environment (Kolb, 1984; Alexander-Ruff, 2016). ELT’s overall approach demonstrates the power of amalgamating empirical and theoretical ideologies in teaching and learning (Kolb, 1984; Miettinen, 2000; Alexander-Ruff, 2016)
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