Incorporating Service Learning Within A Professional Nursing Curriculum Toward the Development of Leadership Skills

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the significance of incorporating service learning into a nursing curriculum to teach students self-awareness as an essential component to the development of good leadership skills. Students who begin the Nursing curriculum directly after high school commonly have little work experience prior to starting their course of study. Service learning at the beginning of their program allows them to interact with individuals who are different from the communities that they came from. Service learning or the act of providing students the opportunity to serve their community assists students to understand, vulnerable populations, diversity, community, social justice, and become more self-aware of their own attitudes and beliefs. These are lessons that become the core of their nursing curriculum as students focus on relationship based care. As students become more aware of themselves, they can then become aware of the attributes of a successful leader, in particular the transformational leader. The transformational leader is a visionary; recognizing the strengths and talents of their followers and motivating and encouraging them to work to their full potential. In order to carry out such a position, nurses must first be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses which are frequently realized through service learning.