Developing a sustainable foot care clinic in a homeless shelter within an academic-community partnership

Nursing faculty are confronted with the need to design community learning activities with vulnerable populations to prepare students for nursing practice. The creation of sustainable academic-community partnerships with agencies providing care to underserved populations meets this challenge. This article describes the development and implementation of a foot care clinic in a homeless shelter, created through a model of curricular integration, faculty engagement, and a long-term academic-community partnership. A transformative pedagogical approach based on service-learning was used to facilitate student understanding of social justice through activities that promote citizenship, develop advocacy skills, and increase knowledge and skills related to the role of the public health nurse in the community. The process of designing and developing a community clinical learning activity and the essential components for sustainability are discussed. Student outcomes are addressed. Recommendations for implementing a foot care clinic within an academic-community partnership are outlined.