The service learning experience (SLE) I am engaged in for this program is a longitudinal service experience that will span the entire DNP program. Since my Capstone Project is also my SLE, I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve the disadvantaged segment of my community that is affected by childhood overweight and obesity.
For this project, I am closely working with the registered dietician (RD) at the health center to develop an evidence-based protocol to prevent childhood obesity. I have spent some time observing some nutrition counseling sessions she had with her clients. On one session, she had a Hispanic female client who had diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity. To top this off, she was just laid off from her job as a care taker for an elderly woman because she needed to take care of her own mother who has been in and out of the ICU for complications of diabetes and heart disease. Obviously, she was having some financial strain having no job while she was taking care of her ill mother.
When the RD started talking to her about how her diet and exercise plans have been going, she said she had to stop for a while because of what had happened to her recently. She sad that she has been eating out with her family to McDonald or What-A-Burger because it was so much easier to buy and eat out than to go to the grocery to pick out what to cook.
After a while, she made a commitment to start eating good home-cooked food again. When the RD asked about her plans to start going back to her routine exercise, she said she'll start the week after because she still wanted to rest for a few days. She asked if it was OK to count cleaning the house as her exercise for the day and she was told no; that it had to be a real exercise that will speed up her heart rate and with her weight, she was advised to do at least 30 minutes of brisk walking every day. At that point, she was no longer working and she had all the time she needs to exercise, but she finds this very hard to do. This is the lifestyle she is used to.
Obesity is indeed a multi-faceted issue that cannot be tackled head-on without a theoretical framework that will address the cultural barriers that impede the success of any program and intervention geared towards its prevention. A big part of the issue is behavioral in nature; therefore, it needs a holistic approach that will will tap into the dynamics of family and individual behaviors.
With this SLE/Capstone Project, I hope there will be a better understanding and commitment from the staff and the providers to take this issue seriously; that they are the ones who can empower these individuals and families to change their eating and lifestyle habits not just for cosmetic purposes, but for their overall health and quality of life. This cannot be possible without a collaborative and holistic approach between and among the health care professionals and the staff.
The greatest challenge for me is the element of time. I find myself always rushing with the limited amount of time I have. Nonetheless, all of these are not in vain. As I reflect upon what I have learned in the classroom and in the field, I find myself questioning and searching for answers to understand better the complexities and dynamics of health, illness, and humanity. It makes me pause to think about what I can do to make things better and how I can do it. This is nursing praxis that leads to emancipatory knowing. My nursing paradigm continues to evolve from individual-focused care to population-focused care. I realized that I need to shift my focus on preventive care because if the rate of childhood obesity if curtailed, millions of lives and billions of dollars will be saved.
I plan to continue working on this Capstone Project as my SLE throughout the program. When time is not longer an issue (that is after this program), I will continue doing volunteer services in any capacity that I can. Through the service-oriented program of Regis University that underpins the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, service has become embedded in me that what I have learned from the mind has moved to the heart, and is now made manifest in the workings of the hand.
