707 - Thinking Beyond the Hospital Walls: Non-Traditional and Innovative Approaches to Pediatric Clinicals

Due to lack of pediatric clinical opportunities in a rural setting, the school of nursing developed community events for children and families in the area. The events center on growth and development, but also incorporate specialized activities to celebrate neuro-diversity. We now have established events in the fall and spring semesters to serve the community and meet the clinical expectations for pediatric nursing experiences. This presentation will focus on the importance of community outreach with service learning in an underserved area and the benefits to student learning. We will also discuss the application of theory to practice by interacting with children who are neuro-diverse and neuro-typical. Lastly, the audience will get an opportunity to share their thoughts on this approach, as well as offer ideas to expand upon these events.

In recent years, there has been a marked interest in investigating ways of teaching other than traditional face-to-face. It is increasingly difficult to provide clinical opportunities for nursing specialties such as pediatrics. This problem is even more prevalent in rural areas, where there is limited access to pediatric health care providers. Nursing students receive information and aim to develop an understanding of the developmental periods throughout the periods from infancy to adolescence. Added to traditional lectures and reading content, active learning strategies are necessary to gain understanding regarding development across the lifespan. Lack of clinical sites for pediatric rotations makes application of theory to practice difficult for many students, especially kinesthetic learners. State Boards of Nursing provide guidelines on appropriate clinic experiences and how much alternative learning experience can be utilized in nursing courses. While simulation is ideal for many nursing schools, States limit the amount of hours that can be devoted to each course. It became imperative to create innovative, pediatric-focused interventions to make the most of resources while ensuring sustainability. To better equip our students for success in pediatrics, we created student-led events to improve comfort levels and communication used with pediatric clinical experiences.

In the spring semester of 2018, the first pediatric community event was created. The Extra-Special Egg-Stravaganza is a specialized egg hunt celebrating neuro-diversity. The event takes place on the college campus, and conference rooms are transformed into specialized hunts for various neurological abilities. The rooms focus on: ambulation, vision, hearing, sensory overresponsivity, and sensory underresponsivity. There are also rooms designated as general population for siblings or children who are neuro-typical. There are also additional activities, such as face painting, bounce house activities, and a petting zoo. This free event also provides complimentary snacks and beverages, as well as live music. Every child is entered into the raffles and takes home a tangible prize. This event relies on donations from business partners in the community and from the staff at the college. Beginning in fall semester 2022, another event was added to the pediatric curriculum. The Not-So-Scary Trick-or Treat event was developed to aid students in learning growth and development. The conference rooms were transformed into themed areas covering infancy, toddler, preschool, school-age and adolescence. The students were to provide activities and/or trick-or-treat items based on the developmental level of their assigned room. There was also an allergy-free room that taught cultural diversity to the participants involved. This event also relied on donations from business partners, since this entire event is also free.