Nursing Students and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Abstract

This chapter provides a description of an ongoing service learning initiative and exemplars of reflection on service for nursing students at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The service, health promotion, is provided to the Oglala Lakota, or Lakota, on the reservation through community screenings for adults and health education for the prevention of children’s health issues. Nursing student participants have the unique experience of learning about the Lakota culture, while also offering service via health promotion to a population that experiences ongoing health disparities and inequity. The Lakota and the Pine Ridge Reservation are examined, including the setting, history, culture, and disparities. Students improve their transcultural nursing skills and develop an awareness of their role in working toward social justice and health equity. Students blog daily during the trip and complete a final summative project as their reflection on service. The service learning initiative process is detailed, from choosing students for the experience to pre-travel student preparation to the actual travel. The reflection on service via blogging is discussed, including the evidence on the benefits of using this social media platform. The experience at Pine Ridge is also reviewed focusing on the details of the service learning initiative and cultural activity participation. Lastly, an overview of the final summative project is provided. Throughout the chapter, students’ reflections on service via blog posts are provided as evidence of the transformative quality of this initiative.

Citation

Mattingly, J. (2022), "Nursing Students and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation", Sengupta, E. and Blessinger, P. (Ed.) International Case Studies in Service Learning (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 47), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 135-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120220000047009