As one of our Community Health Practicum projects, we were to teach to a “community group”. Through the help of our Mental Health instructor, Ma. Rose, and through proper coordination with the St. Joe’s Behavioral Health administration, our group was permitted to teach to a small group of patients in the Cognitive Behavioral Unit (CBU) about self-care. The topic and audience were decided based on the perceived needs of the community, with mental health emerging as the highest priority need. In our presentation, we discussed ways on how to be maintain physical and mental fitness. To gauge effectiveness of the teaching, we handed out questionnaires before and after that evaluated their level of commitment to certain health practices that we promoted in our presentation. To protect the identity of the audience, we only filmed the presenters and held the Q&A portion until after the lecture, so the recording did not capture their voices. Despite the small attendance turnout, the teaching was a success because of the audience’s active participation and interest.
This simple assignment was an eye-opener for me as It was the first that I have seen in-person areas where the homeless and poor were very concentrated. I drove through the southern community of Stockton, and compared with the areas in the north, the social and economic differences between the 2 communities are almost blatant. The survey helped me identify factors that may contribute to the health disparities among the residents of Stockton. It was particularly interesting for me because I am not from this town and I was also able to compare my town’s homeless condition and the resources available to help them.
In this project, I interviewed a friend from El Salvador and learned about their beliefs and way of life. For me, the US culture has evolved to become more of a “mixed salad” rather than a “melting pot”, as people become more aware of and open to understanding cultures that are different from their own. This project also gave me an opportunity to examine my biases Understanding and acceptance are concepts that are especially important for us nurses and healthcare professionals to integrate into our practice so we can provide holistic care and stay true to being advocates for our patients.