Nursing students' experiences with service learning: A qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis

Objective: The aim of this review was to synthesize qualitative evidence on nursing students' experiences with service learning (SL).

Design: A systematic review.

Data sources: Comprehensive searches were performed using databases including PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINHAL (EBSCO), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Web of Science, Wangfang (Chinese), CNKI (Chinese), Google Scholar, and Baidu Scholar (Chinese).

Review methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. We conducted a meta-aggregation to synthesize the findings of the included studies. The Confidence in the Output of Qualitative Research Synthesis (ConQual) approach was used to assess confidence in the synthesized findings.

Results: Forty-two studies were identified, and 39 studies were included in the meta-aggregation. One hundred and sixty-seven findings, 16 categories, and 6 synthesized findings were identified. The six synthesized findings identified from the 39 studies concerned the following topics: adaption and emotion shifting, knowledge translation and skills development, leadership and collaboration in multidisciplinary teams, cultural sensitivity, discovery of nursing roles and professional growth, and overall appraisal and suggestions.

Conclusions: We recommend empowering nursing students by developing their self-confidence in their leadership abilities and their identities before they participate in SL programs. During SL, educators should provide sufficient space for students and should not become involved in students' teams to avoid decreasing their self-confidence in their leadership abilities. After SL programs, maintaining long-term relationships between the university and the community is a prerequisite for students working smoothly in the community and is a key factor for program sustainability.