A foot care clinic for the homeless: Creation of a transformational learning activity for public health nursing Students

Participation in service learning activities assists nursing students to apply theoretical concepts and develop competencies in public health nursing while providing a valuable community service. A foot care clinic at a homeless shelter, developed by faculty and nursing students in 2004, provides an ongoing transformational learning activity for traditional baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate nursing students from 2 different universities. The foot care clinic started with a community assessment project, was developed using holistic nursing interventions, and has continued to thrive and grow over the last 5 years. A second university now collaborates in providing the foot care clinics so that clinics are offered 10 months of the year. Students gain an understanding of population-based practice and the plight of the homeless by working with a vulnerable and underserved population group using a social justice framework. In this synthesis experience nursing students provide nursing assessment and holistic interventions such as foot soaks with essential oils, therapeutic presence and therapeutic listening. Students also use 10 public health nursing interventions from the Minnesota Public Health Nursing Intervention Wheel: outreach; screening; case finding; health teaching; counseling; referral and follow-up; consultation; collaboration; advocacy; and case management. A sustainable service-learning experience with a community partner has been established; this model has been used to launch another foot care clinic at a second homeless shelter by a third university.