A central theme in nursing is the ability to engage in reflexive and relational practice you patients to see the person as an individual but also through the context of their social situation. As a teacher I strive to challenge students to view their position as a nurse and health care provider as one who can identify and challenge the determinants that impact one’s ability to seek and receive care. For the purposes of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project, I would like to ask the question; Do educational activities encouraging the active investigation of social determinants of health in clinical experiences help students identify and challenge equity in health care?
Over a series of 2 classes student will be engaged in discussions and activities identifying the social determinants of health and the impact of these determinants on health inequities. This research will take place in the classroom and students will have an assignment to complete during their weekly clinical experiences. During clinical, students will be encouraged to identify patient inequities and barriers to seeking and receiving care. The will then be asked to write a 1-page reflection on those experiences and potential factors they believe would need to be addressed (both those that can be changed and others that require social/political interventions). They will present their experiences in the second classroom discussion.
Students will be invited to attend a 1-2 focus group session 3-4 months after the course has ended to discuss how the exercise may or may not have changed their ways of things and ability to identify health inequities. They will also be able to complete a survey containing open ended questions related to how this exercise impacted their practice.
The results of this project will be presented in a scholarly paper as well as a presentation in the Certificate of Teaching and Learning Program.
I think the findings of this project are important to and will be helpful in supportive in determining which types of exercises and educational experiences will help facilitate integration of these concepts into the student’s professional practice.