Service-Learning is a hot topic in higher education today, but the importance of streamlining processes for community service will never go out of style. Generally, universities, faculty, communities, and students value the concept of civic engagement. However, it is challenging for educators to provide meaningful service, which offers valuable learning opportunities, while trying to meet academic expectations of rigor and research. The Partnership Model for Service- Learning provides a visual framework for organizing sustainable programs and leads to collective impact. It is a model that “ties it all together”, seamlessly connecting teaching, scholarship, and service. In addition to a step-by-step framework for constructing a service-learning program, this article presents case examples to illustrate the differences between “project-based” and “program-based” pedagogical approaches. Finally, student-perceived impacts of service-learning are quantified, via Likert scale, in the associated areas (Callister and Hobbins-Garbett, 2000), of personal satisfaction, impact on professional development, critical thinking, awareness of unmet community needs, and feelings of preparedness for practice, for both the project-based and program-based case examples.

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Objectives The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted overall nursing education program requirements, classroom delivery of theory hours, as well as clinical and laboratory learning opportunities for students. The aims of this study were to explore the impacts of COVID 19 on the students’ perceptions of readiness for practice and their preparation for the NCLEX exam and initial clinical practice. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on senior BSN students’ preparation for NCLEX and future careers. The Casey-Fink Readiness for Practice Survey was used to investigate the perceptions of the BSN students’ clinical confidence and readiness for practice. Results Students reported substantial impacts of COVID-19 on their clinical experiences, their ability to practice skills and procedures, their preparations for NCLEX exam, and their nursing career. The most significant confidence concerns noted from this study seemed to center on handling multiple patient assignments, calling the physician, responding to a change in patient condition, and treating a dying patient. Conclusions Healthcare experts expect that the impact of COVID-19 may last until 2022. More research is needed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on nursing education and transition to nursing practice. While clinical confidence and readiness for practice are essential topics, more research is needed to investigate the psychological and physiological impacts of COVID-19 on nurses, nursing students, nursing preceptors, and faculty members.

This chapter discusses a three‐tiered undergraduate service‐learning program as a collaborative leadership structure, incorporating high‐impact practices.

The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (AmericanAssociation of Colleges of Nursing, 2008) seek to communicate standards that will prepare graduates to function within a complex healthcare system. The document highlights concepts from patient-centered care to evidence-based practice (Commission on CollegiateNursing Education). A service-learning experience was facilitated for junior-levelnursing students and they were asked to reflect on their learning outcomes using the nine essentials as a guiding framework. Themes were identified within the nine sub-categories and through overall analysis. By using standardized disciplinary outcomes to develop a sense of the bigger picture for students, it is possible to help them make connections between theory and practice.