Nursing service-learning program based at UW

“Partners in Caring and Community: Service Learning in Nursing Education,” a new project directed from the UW, is accepting proposals from which 10 teams of nursing faculty, students and community partners across the country will be selected for support.

Dr. Sarena Seifer, UW acting assistant professor of medical education and of health services, is the principal investigator for the national program, which is sponsored by Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) and supported by the Helene Fuld Health Trust. CCPH is a non-profit organization that works nationally to foster health-promoting partnerships between communities and higher education institutions. It is based at the Center for the Health Professions, at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Rheba de Tornyay, dean emeritus of the UW School of Nursing, is a member of the national advisory committee for the nursing education project.

Service learning projects considered for support will link students with community partners such as health centers, social service agencies, schools, clinics and managed care organizations. One of the goals of service learning projects is to find ways to balance services provided to the community and learning opportunities for students involved in the program.

Teams from the 10 projects selected for support will attend an intensive three-day workshop planned in June at Leavenworth, Wash. Mini-grants will also be available to support integrating the service-learning projects into existing curriculum.

For more information on the project, call Seifer at 616-4305 or visit the Website at http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/ccph.html