Promoting Healthy Behaviors in Children: Applying Ignatian Values in Schools

• Published in: Journal of Catholic higher education Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 283 - 298
• Main Authors: Schwartz, Misty, Lauglin, Ann, Connelly, Susan, Potthoff, Meghan, Synowiecki, Barbara, Yager, Amy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities 2013
• Subjects: Catholic Schools; Clinical Experience; College School Cooperation; Community Health Services; Health Behavior; Health Education; Health Promotion; Nebraska; Nursing Students; Parochial Schools; Partnerships in Education; Prevention; Service Learning; Values Education; Nebraska
• ISSN: 1948-5891

An innovative partnership between a college of nursing and local parochial schools provided opportunities for nursing students to offer basic health promotion and disease prevention services, provide health education, and participate in a service-learning, research endeavor. This partnership provided the nursing school with the ability to incorporate Catholic Social Teaching into the curriculum and actively live out the university and Catholic mission of service to others. This clinical experience has gone beyond the boundaries of traditional clinical education and provided students the opportunity to contemplate and put into practice Ignatian values. These values serve as the educational foundation for lifelong reflection and service. This article shows how the close alignment of Ignatian values and professional expectations and standards for nursing have been integrated in the clinical setting while promoting the health of children in various schools throughout a community.