Nursing was founded on the ideas of care and compassion. Research has shown that nursing students have the potential to struggle with the concept of compassion or rather maintain this compassion throughout their careers. The compassion and excitement that many students begin nursing programs with can quickly be dissolved with the high demands of nursing curriculum. With teaching strategies afforded through service learning activities such as international medical trips, compassion can be reignited and demonstrated in ways that are more evident since this is not a typical clinical setting. It is vital that nursing education utilize any available resources in order to demonstrate and model compassionate behaviors in order for students to not lose sight of what compassion means for the profession and calling of nursing.
Keywords: caring; compassion; international medical trips; service learning.