One of the most basic competencies those who practice nursing are required to learn is the assessment of individuals, the systems that they are comprised of, and how those systems are affected by behaviors and the interactions with different types of stressors. When we assess the individual, it is the nurse’s obligation, in my opinion, to perform a holistic assessment of the individual that includes considerations of the person’s physical being, psychological self, development, spirituality, and the social aspect of that person. All of these considerations are important and necessary to human life. Because of our biological development we necessarily evolve within social groups from child to adult. From the time of pre-history, social interaction and cooperation has become ingrained in the psyche of every person as a biological imperative, developed and reinforced, in order for mankind to thrive and survive. In my opinion, it is because of this biological imperative that people generally live within some type of community and end up finding identity among others as part of the collective. Because of this evolutionary process, communities have become organic macrocosms of the people who live within them, which also require the maintenance of homeostasis in order to maintain negentropy. It is because of this realization that I believe the practice of community health nursing came about and is just one of the many concepts that I discovered while taking the Community Nursing course. Finally, while the didactic aspect of the Community Nursing class was important as a stepping stone to understanding all of the dynamic considerations involved in community health, I found the most rewarding parts of the class to have been derived from our Service Learning requirements and from our MAP-IT projects.

     Although aspects of our service learning and our MAP-IT project often crossed paths, I think it is necessary to elaborate upon each individually because they had different foci. The service learning aspect of the Community Nursing class took me to several different locations throughout Marion County. One of the first experiences I had was the opportunity to offer myself as a volunteer to hospice. Although I was not allowed to provide direct patient care, the experiences I had at hospice were enlightening and allowed me to ground the idea of what hospice is and does to reality. From sitting at a 7th hour vigil, to providing respite for a caregiver, to rounding with a long-time hospice nurse; the experience I had at hospice was rewarding and educational. Another interesting experience occurred through yet another volunteer opportunity at the Marion County Freedom clinic. The Freedom Clinic serviced hundreds upon hundreds of people in Marion County who were either on the periphery of society or underinsured. It was incredible to witness, and be a part of, a community coming together to offer free medical, vision, and dental care to people who had the need of these services but could not afford to have their needs addressed. Both hospice and the Freedom Clinic provided an opportunity for me to sample what volunteer service is, how gratifying it can be, and how you can find education in places and from people you would not necessarily expect to find it.

     The next part of the Community Nursing journey that changed my perspective on community health was performing the MAP-IT project with a few of my other nursing cohorts. For our project, we chose to focus on local veterans within our community. What we found is that veterans are a unique population with a fair amount of variety at different demographic levels, including: age, gender, race, economic status, marital status, injuries, and residential status, to name a few. In cooperation with a local group called, Vets Helping Vets, we learned how many of our soldiers returning from overseas and the ones who have been home for years, have become marginalized by society creating distrust and paranoia among some and leaving others to die forgotten by those they served. What was really unfortunate about the veterans’ situations was the fact that there are many community resources within our county being underutilized by veterans and their families, simply because they don’t know they exist or don’t know how to access them. It was then part of our plan to implement a community outreach program to help facilitate access of the services available and to follow up as needed to ensure the ongoing success of that intervention.

     In conclusion, I think there was much to be gained from our Community Nursing class. As there are many aspects of the human body to consider when formulating a patient care plan, there are also numerous stressors that can affect a community and that may benefit from nursing assessment and intervention. Perhaps one of the most important things I learned from this class is that offering oneself to the cause of the greater good can make a difference to others - something I discovered from the looks of appreciation and smiles received from those we helped. Furthermore, investing in your community is also investing in yourself and those you love. It is something I think every nurse should experience because the satisfaction of giving oneself freely and without thought of compensation is the heart of altruism and the predecessor to nursing.