| Course | NUR 303 Service Learning and Civic Engagement |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Structured reflection journal (DEAL model) |
| Length | About 490 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Journal entry with APA 7 citations |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | RN to BSN |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 303 Module 6
Module Six Reflection Journal
The Reading I Could Not Walk Away From: A DEAL Reflection on the Second Wash Day
Describe
At the second wash-day health table, a man I will call Mr. B., who looked to be in his mid-fifties, stopped by while his laundry dried. His first reading was 186/114 and his second, a minute later, was 182/110. He had no chest pain, headache, shortness of breath or weakness, and said he felt fine. He had been prescribed a blood pressure pill two years ago but stopped it when the bottle ran out. Following our escalation plan, I advised him to go to the emergency department that day. He refused politely. He was due at a warehouse shift at noon and would lose the day's pay, and he said he would call the health center on Monday.
Examine
Personally, I felt torn. Our plan said emergency department, and part of me wanted to keep insisting. But I also recognized that Mr. B. was making a decision about risk that I could not make for him, based on costs I do not carry. Civically, the moment showed me a gap our project had not planned for. Our referral card listed the health center's hours, but for someone who cannot miss work, a card is not access. The health center, as the community assessment showed, is closed on weekends. Academically, the service-learning literature treats partnership as a process of shared learning in which community partners help define the problem (Israel et al., 1998). Mr. B. had just defined our problem for us more clearly than my plan had.
Articulate Learning
Ash and Clayton (2009) describe articulated learning as answering four questions: what I learned, how I learned it, why it matters and what I will do in light of it. I learned that an escalation plan that ends with telling someone where to go is incomplete if the person cannot get there. I learned it by watching a man choose his paycheck over my advice, for reasons that made sense. It matters because the neighbors this project serves are exactly the people for whom weekday care is hardest to reach. What I did next was call the health center's nurse manager the following Monday. She agreed to hold two same-week appointment slots for referrals from the table, and she gave us a number I can call on Saturday to leave a message that is picked up first thing Monday. At the third session, I used it for two people. I also gave Mr. B.'s situation, without his name, to the outreach coordinator, who knew him from the food pantry and called him on Monday. He kept the appointment.
As a nurse, I have always seen advocacy as speaking up for a patient to someone with power. This week it also meant changing a system I had helped design, which the profession's code treats as part of the same obligation (American Nurses Association, 2025).
References
American Nurses Association. (2025). Code of ethics for nurses. https://codeofethics.ana.org/
Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1, 25-48. https://doi.org/10.57186/jalhe_2009_v1a2p25-48
Israel, B. A., Schulz, A. J., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (1998). Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19, 173-202. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.19.1.173
What the NUR 303 Module 6 instructions ask for
The Module 6 reflection in NUR 303 is typically a structured journal written partway through your service-learning project. Many sections name the DEAL model, which asks you to describe an experience, examine it through personal, civic and academic lenses and articulate what you learned and what you will do about it. Others use Gibbs' cycle or give specific questions. The journal usually runs one to two pages and focuses on a single significant moment rather than a summary of everything you have done so far. Instructors often expect at least one source connected to the examination and a clear statement of how the experience will change your project or practice.
How this NUR 303 Module 6 reflection journal example is built
This journal uses the three DEAL headings. The description reports one encounter at the second session of a laundromat health table, including two blood pressure readings, the man's reasons for declining emergency care and the plan the nurse followed. The examination looks at the moment through personal, civic and academic lenses, using a review of community partnership principles to reframe the man's refusal as information about a gap in the project. The articulated learning section answers the model's four questions, reports the change the nurse arranged with the health center and ends with a sentence on advocacy linked to the professional code. The encounter is a composite, while all three sources cited are real.
Where the NUR 303 Module 6 rubric puts the points
Reflection rubrics in NUR 303 usually score description, depth of examination, articulation of learning, connection to course concepts and writing quality. Examination carries the most weight. Papers that describe events and then state that the experience was valuable rarely score well; papers that analyze why something happened, from more than one angle, do. The articulation criterion rewards a specific lesson and a specific action. You can meet the course-concepts criterion by using a service-learning source to interpret the moment. Graders also check that personal information about community members is protected and that the writing stays professional even when it is personal. A reflection that names its model and follows it closely is easier to grade well.
NUR 303 Module 6 help: the mistakes that cost points
The most common mistake in the Module 6 reflection is spending most of the page on description, which leaves little room for analysis. A second is choosing a moment where everything went well, which gives the writer little to examine. Some reflections examine only the writer's feelings and never reach the civic or academic lens. Others end with a lesson so general, such as the importance of patience, that it could come from any experience. Pick a moment that surprised or troubled you, keep the description to a paragraph, look at it from all three lenses and finish with one change you actually made or will make.
Get NUR 303 Module 6 written to your instructions
Describe the moment from your service project that you want to reflect on and paste the Module 6 prompt with the model your section uses. Within 24 to 48 hours you get a structured reflection in your voice, and there is no charge for the first one. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
More NUR 303 papers and related RN to BSN samples
- NUR 303 Module 1 Journal: What a Nurse Owes Beyond the Shift
- NUR 303 Module 2 Community Partner Proposal: A Wash-Day Health Table in a Laundromat
- NUR 303 Module 3 Community Assessment Short Paper: Mapping the Blocks Around a Laundromat
- NUR 303 Module 4 Project One Service-Learning Plan: Objectives, Scope and Measures for the Health Table
- NUR 303 Module 5 Advocacy Letter: Medicaid Payment for Community Health Workers
- NUR 303 Module 7 Project Two Project Report: Six Wash Days, Counted and Judged
- NUR 303 Module 8 Final Reflection Paper: A Citizen With a License
- NUR 499 Module 7 Project Two: Advocacy Presentation
- NUR 300 Module 3 Short Paper
- NUR 302 Module 3 Cultural Assessment Short Paper: A Bosnian American Woman With New Hypertension
- NUR 490 Module 6 Capstone Presentation
NUR 303 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 303 Module 6 reflection journal sample?
This page carries the full journal free to read: a DEAL-model reflection on a very high blood pressure reading at a laundromat health table, with description, examination, articulated learning, margin notes and three references. Reflections on your own project can be written to order.
What does DEAL stand for in NUR 303?
Describe, examine and articulate learning. The model comes from Ash and Clayton's work on critical reflection and asks you to look at an experience through personal, civic and academic lenses before stating what you learned and what you will do.
Can my NUR 303 reflection be about something that went wrong?
It should often be. A moment that surprised or troubled you gives you something to examine, and graders reward honest analysis more than a story of success.
How do I protect privacy in a service-learning reflection?
Use a pseudonym or initial, leave out identifying details and keep the account to what the lesson requires. Never include information a community member shared in confidence.
How long is the Module 6 journal?
Usually one to two pages, around 400 to 700 words. Keep the description short so most of the space goes to examination and learning.