Spring & Summer 2017 Highlights

UH Manoa Nursing Climbs the U.S. News & World Report Rankings

Earlier this year, U.S. News and World Reports released its annual rankings for the Best Master’s Nursing School, Best DNP Nursing School and Best Online Graduate Nursing Program. UHM Nursing placed in the top third of all Master’s programs and was ranked #87 out of 292 schools. The UHM Nursing DNP program and the online graduate program were ranked in the top 50 percentile of all programs. UH Manoa Nursing is the only nursing program in Hawaii to be ranked in the U.S. News and World Reports.

For more information about the U.S. News & World Report visit https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/univers…

Taafaki Selected for UH Manoa President’s Emerging Leaders Program

Jane Ta‘afaki, IKE AO PONO Education Specialist, was accepted into the 2017-18 cohort of the President’s Emerging Leader’s Program at the University of Hawaii. The President’s Emerging Leaders Program is a professional development opportunity for highly motivated faculty and staff of the University of Hawaii that identifies and develops future campus and system leaders.

The program will assist participants in establishing a base of knowledge about higher education, and in addition, offer potential leaders a chance to reflect upon their leadership potential and how they might make a difference in our campuses and system. A variety of methods, including discussions, lectures, case studies, simulations, and hands-on exercises, may be used to develop leadership skills and apply those skills in solving real-life issues.

Participants will benefit from the opportunity to assess career and leadership interests, develop knowledge and tools, and examine strategic goals and challenges facing our public higher education system. System and campus leaders and others will take part in facilitating a schedule of topics.

For more information about the program, contact the University of Hawaii System, Office of the President. A full listing of the 2017-18 cohort can be viewed online at https://www.hawaii.edu/ovppp/Leaders/cohorts.php. 

Veterans to BSN Federal Grant Renewed for Another Year

UH Manoa Nursing is pleased to announce that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has provided additional funding for the Veterans to Nurses Program (VBSN) grant. This program provides college credit for veteran’s past medical experience and creates a quicker pathway to professional nursing and employment for service members with skills and experience in health care. The initiative is the first program of its kind in Hawaii and is part of the national effort to address the growing demand for health care services throughout our nation.

The program is designed to facilitate veteran student success in the nursing program from admission to graduation and beyond. The program aims to increase the number of BS prepared nurses in Hawaii, improve employment opportunities for veterans, and provide support services to veteran students. Veteran students participating in the Veterans to Nurses program may enroll in any of the UH Manoa Nursing pathways. Veterans with military medical training and experience may be able to receive academic credit towards completion of a nursing program with the goal to decrease time to graduation.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under UF1HP26981 Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention Veterans’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program for $1,397,888. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

For more information about the Veterans to Nurses program contact Dr. Kristine Qureshi at (808) 956-2638 or kqureshi@hawaii.edu or visit www.nursing.hawaii.edu/vetstonurses. 

Director for Community Partnerships Goes Skydiving with Army ROTC

Dr. Katherine Finn Davis, Director for Community Partnerships was invited by the University of Hawaii at Manoa Army ROTC to attend the Cadet Summer Training and Centers of Influence seminar in Fort Knox, KY in June 2017. Educators and youth program directors from around the country were exposed to the overall mission of the Army ROTC, the training students receive, and career options open to ROTC cadets once they graduate. Dr. Davis represented UH Manoa and attended the event to strengthen our partnership with the UH Army ROTC.

Highlights from the seminar included participating in the Field Leaders Reaction Course (FLRC) to experience how cadets are trained to problem solve as a team in the field, lunch and a panel with current cadets, a Hall of Fame Induction for ROTC members and lunch at Saber & Quill.  Extracurricular activities included rappelling and a once in a lifetime opportunity to tandem skydive with the Army Golden Knights.

For more information about the UH Army ROTC program, contact William Roach, recruiting operations officer at (808) 956-7766 or William.a.roach.civ@mail.mil.

Supporting Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses

The 14th Annual Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA) National Conference, “East Meets West in Global Health Nursing Research, Practice, and Leadership” was held on March 24 – 26, 2017 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Campus Center.

There were approximately 200 nurse scientists, clinicians, leaders, and educators and guests representing the U.S., New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Guam, and India. This was the largest attended conference in the history of the organization with a total of 90 accepted symposiums, and podium and poster presentations.

Symposium session topics were on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) stroke, health intervention technology use, women’s health, and pregnancy. Concurrent research session topics were divided into research and practice sessions. Research topics included AAPI health disparities issues, palliative and end of life care, neuro-mental health, cardiovascular health, diabetes health, and child and family health. Practice concurrent session topics highlighted AAPI issues on safety, nursing practice, workplace and environment, disaster preparedness, safe patient handling, and managing difficult patients.

A special podium session was on education topics related to health and nursing practice from an AAPI international perspective. There were 37 poster presentations displayed during the conference and a pre-conference session on safety in pharmacotherapeutics was offered on the first day along with the 2017 Okura Mental Health Leadership Program meeting. Pre-conference tours of the UH Translational Health Science Simulation Center and walking tours of tropical plants on the UHM campus were also held.

Dr. Eun-OK Im, Ph.D., MPH, RN, CNS, FAAN, Professor of Nursing at Duke University School of Nursing and Dr. Wipada Kunaviktikul, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Professor and the Dean of Chiang Mai University, Thailand were the keynote speakers.

AAPINA serves as the unified voice for the AAPI nurses around the world and strives to positively affect the health and well-being of AAPIs and their communities by supporting AAPI nurses and nursing students around the world through research, practice, and education; facilitating and promoting networking and collaborative partnerships; and influencing health policy through individual and community actions. The objectives of this year’s conference were to discuss global health issues in research, practice, and leadership relevant to nurses living and practicing in different parts of the world and to collaborate on global health issues and to share at the next AAPINA conference.

UH Manoa Nursing faculty served as presenters, volunteers, and or podium moderators. Nursing students participated as conference docents and were able to attend conference sessions and events. The conference was a success thanks to all who attended and participated.

For more information about AAPINA, please contact Dr. Merle Kataoka-Yahiro at merle@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-5329.