Community Service 

Nurs 2300

SNA was founded in 1952 to help students prepare for initial licensure as registered nurses. SNA focuses on the standards, ethics, and skills that students will need as responsible and accountable leaders and members of the profession.  This semester, our service centered on supporting patients undergoing cancer treatment. We prepared and delivered Sunshine Baskets to the local oncology center. These baskets were curated to provide comfort and distraction during long treatment sessions, containing self-care items, blankets, pillows, water bottles, and activities to pass the time, accompanied by a supportive card from our SNA President. Before this semester, I viewed culture as an ethnicity or geography. However, the culture surrounding the oncology center is very different. Their culture surrounds strength and resilience. My attitude changed from feeling bad to feeling proud and inspired by their internal will and strength. Throughout my nursing education, one of the aspects I learned about this semester was the importance of a clean, comfortable environment while healing. During my OB rotation, we would put new sheets, clean up trash, and place new scented stickers around the room to make the environment as pleasant as possible. Through these oncology baskets, I hope we were able to make their environment a tiny bit more pleasant. I'm happy that the oncology sunshine baskets allowed me to apply what I’ve practiced in the clinical setting to the community as a civic student who cares for her neighbors. To organize the baskets, we had to communicate with the oncology center staff to ensure our items met safety and sanitary protocols for immunocompromised patients. The majority of the students were not able to personally deliver the baskets due to a fear of compromising patients who are already immunocompromised. If the SNA leaders had not reached out to the center before delivering the gifts, we would've put the patients' safety at risk. This showed me the importance of active communication. Throughout this project, leaders had to navigate the logistics of fundraising, procurement, and delivery. By working collaboratively with my fellow SNA members and the center’s volunteer coordinators, I saw how organized groups can mobilize resources more effectively than individuals to create a tangible benefit for the public good.