REFLECTION: “Community Immersion”

According to Megan Turnage, Community Immersion is more than just being visible, it is
being present, engaged, and actively involved in the residential and campus community. it is
allowing opportunities to interact with students in multiple arenas, creating conversations that
happen organically and develop deep, meaningful relationships. “Experience gives us the tests
first and the lessons later.” Since our last immersion in our third year, I have always thought that
immersions are windows to get out of our comfort zones. This wonderful experience taught us a
lot lessons, not only clinically and academically but most importantly, it taught us the real
essence of immersion, ‘Pakikisama’. Ever since I was a little girl, my father enlightened me
about ‘Pakikisama’ he would always remind me that ‘Pakikisama’ is very important in achieving
success. Understanding the community is good but living in and with the community first hand is
significantly essential. It is very important for the nurses especially the community nurses
because they have to be aware on how the community is doing and what is the status of the
community.

Our community immersion experiences help us a lot as become the thomasian nurse we
aspire to be. It exposed us to the field wherein we strengthen and enhanced our skills that we
ought to need in order to become an effective patient advocate later on. It also broadened our
understanding regarding concerns and issues that arises in the society. In that way we will be
aware on how we handle and help solve such problems in the society. I am well aware that our
profession does not confine within the four corners of the hospital, but every nurse is fluid which
means that we can adapt to the environment as long as we have the heart to do our vocation, to
nurse a sick, to promote wellness and to prevent diseases. In our four-day stay in the community,
we have been very humbled to be accommodated by their hospitable people. We were able to
interview families and hear their concerns about their living conditions. As we tour around the
community we observed that people living there as well as the barangay officials are very
helpful, they accommodate us in the nicest way. We admired their oneness in the community.
Though we struggled with their water supply, the gratefulness of the people we have imparted
knowledge to were immeasurable and totally worth it. We had so much fun and learnings. This
made me grow into a more socially competent, culturally sensitive, theoretically armed and
practically equipped with insights and perspectives. It was actually a learning experience that
enabled us to embrace the typical process of community engagement. This enabled us to rise
from complex process in Community Organizing and Development. It is my hope that our stay
with the people and the case study that we produced empower them and encourage them to rise
up from their struggles that challenged their individual and social consciousness to become a
better community of individuals with a common purpose. It is amazing how you can gain more
knowledge, ideas, insight and background in choosing what profession and passion to chase
down. This experience helped me on how to be a responsible, a better person and a successful
professional someday.

SALAZAR, Nica Sharmaine C.

4NUR-8.4
Ma’am Lisette Navarro