Abstract

Background: The latter half of the 1990s witnessed the introduction of volunteer activities in primary and secondary school; such efforts were reportedly also taking place in nursing schools. Limited study has focused on the knowledge gained by nursing students through their experience as health volunteers in different fields within the community and the significance of this knowledge. This study investigated the knowledge gained from and the significance of the experiences of nursing students who worked as health volunteers for child rearing women, people with early-onset dementia, and their families.
Methods: The study employed a qualitative research design, conducting in-depth interviews. Content analysis was applied to analyze data derived from the statements of 10 nursing university graduates who served as volunteers.
Results: Three themes consisting of 6 categories and 13 subcategories were correlated with the knowledge that the nursing students gained through their experiences as health volunteers. The three themes were (1) understanding the clients, (2) understanding the basics of healthcare practices, and (3) envisioning the future.
Conclusions: The nursing students learned the value of understanding their clients’ characteristics, including their clients’ family members, and gave care through their experiences accordingly; further, this gave them insight into their own profession and helped them see themselves in the future as nurses and productive members of society/the community. The results of this study will be used as basic materials for linking and integrating regional services and programs offered by university students into curricula through various ways.