Spring 2015 Highlights
ICN LEADERSHIP FOR CHANGE PROGRAM GRADUATES FIRST 17 LEADERS
Seventeen senior leaders from nine US-Affiliated Pacific Island countries and territories (USAPIs) graduated from the first ever ICN Leadership for Change Programme™ (ICN LFC) conducted in the USA. This ICN LFC Programme was a collaborative partnership with the International Council of Nurses (ICN), University of Hawaii at Manoa Nursing (UHMN), Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) and the American Pacific Nursing Leaders Council (APNLC). The graduation ceremony took place on January 27, 2015 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Composed of 15 women and 2 men, these dynamic participants included chief nursing officers, human resource executives, and finance officials of various health ministries from the following US PICTs: American Samoa; the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas; the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Pohnpei Yap and Kosrae); Guam; Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Majuro and Ebeye). Financial support was provided by PIHOA’s CDC National Public Health Improvement Initiative and CDC Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Leadership Development funds, UHMN, and the Ministries/Departments of Health from the US PICTs. The funds supported all of the costs and supplied the required resources for the three-part programme, which included workshops, monitoring and evaluation activities and participation in the ICN LFC Training of Trainers (TOT) Programme. The Monitoring and Evaluation Meeting, Graduation Ceremony and TOT Workshop was held between January 26 – 30, 2015.
ICN has been a pioneer in leadership, management and negotiation skill development for nurses for more than 20 years through its highly successful leadership programmes: Leadership for Change™, Leadership in Negotiation, and the Global Nursing Leadership Institute. For more information about the program, contact Dr. Kristine Qureshi, director of the Global Public Health Program at kqureshi@hawaii.edu.
FOUR HAWAII NURSES RECEIVE AWARD FUNDING TO FURTHER LOCAL RESEARCH
On March 26, 2015, the Okura Foundation awarded four Hawaii nurses $1,200 scholarships to support their educational and research endeavors. Award recipients were recognized at the Asian American Pacific Islander Nursing Association (AAPINA) 12th Annual Conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over a 12-month period, each recipient will work closely with an AAPINA faculty mentor to accomplish and meet research goals designated on their scholarship application.
The 2015 Hawaii Okura Psych-Mental Health Fellow Scholarship Award recipients are:
Nafanua Braginsky, PhD, NP-C
UH Manoa Nursing, DNP student
Research project: Psychological Problems of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
Marife Aczon-Armstrong, PhD, MSN, RN
UH Manoa Nursing Alumni, PhD ’10, MSN ’97
Research project: Screening of Depression in Asian Population
Yvonne Yokono, BA
UH Manoa Nursing, GEPN to DNP student
Research project: Cultural Competence and Mental Health Issues in the Native Hawaiian Population
Johnelle Chock, MS, BS
UH Manoa Public Health Nursing, PhD in nursing student
Research Project: Preventing Falls in Older Adults; Empowering Them by Using CBPR
The mission of the Okura Foundation is to foster and promote education, research, and services in the areas of mental health and human services. It also aims to foster and promote leadership by providing fellowships, scholarships, stipends, and grants for promising Asian Pacific American professionals, students and relevant and related organizations. In 2014, Okura Foundation awarded a 3-year grant to the Asian American Pacific Islander Nursing Association, which provided the 2015 awardees with funding. Other award recipients were from New York, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
For more information about the Okura Foundation and the Asian American Pacific Islander Nursing Association, contact Dr. Merle Kataoka-Yahiro at merle@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-5329.
1,500 HAWAII HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ATTENDED THE 2015 MANOA EXPERIENCE
On Saturday, April 11, 2015, the Manoa campus was buzzing with more than 1,500 prospective students and family members participating in the UH Manoa’s University Preview Day. The School showcased the High School Direct Entry to Nursing Program. In 2012, the School began admitting students directly from high school to the nursing program. We recognized that the traditional model of applying to nursing after completing prerequisites was delaying graduation for many students. With direct high school entry, the student applies to Manoa and nursing at the same time. The accepted student is guaranteed a place in nursing after completing the freshman year pre-requisite courses and is on track to complete the program in 4 years. For more information visit www.nursing.hawaii.edu/bachelor/hsden
Visitors had the opportunity to “talk story” with faculty and current nursing students and obtain information about the academic and application requirements for the Direct High School Entry Program. The tours of the UH Translational Health Science Simulation Center were a crowd pleaser that filled up quickly. Youth from across the State including Dole Middle School, Farrington High School, Kaimuki High School, and Waipahu Intermediate and High Schools received a glimpse of the nursing student’s hands on learning experience in a state-of-the-art, realistic simulated environment.
UH Manoa Nursing sends a big mahalo to all of the student, faculty, and staff volunteers who participated in welcoming future UHM students to the campus and our school.
For information about the High School Direct Entry Nursing Program contact Brian Akiyama at bsnurs@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-3794 or visit www.nursing.hawaii.edu/bachelor/hsden.To take a virtual tour of the UH Translational Health Science Simulation Center visit http://thssc.nursing.hawaii.edu/.
UH MANOA NURSING HOSTS INFORMATION SESSION ON MINI-GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
On January 22, 2015, Dr. Robert Langer, MD, MPH, the principal investigator for the Mountain West IDeA Clinical and Translational Research – Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN), visited UH Manoa and spoke at an informational research seminar. Hosted by UH Manoa Nursing, faculty from across UH Manoa were invited to learn about research funding opportunities.
The Mountain West Clinical and Translational Research-Infrastructure Network (MS CTR-IN) identifies and facilitates the development of researchers who will make new discoveries through bench-to-bedside research, in-clinic studies, studies of populations, and tests of community interventions. MW CTR-IN will help scientist and research-minded health professionals to acquire the skills and experiences to become successful at the highest levels of grant support from the National Institute of Health and other top-tier sponsors of research. The University of Hawaii is a sub-recipient of the University of Nevada Las Vegas CTR-IN grant supported by award number 5U54GM104944 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Health.
Dr. Langer provided valuable information about grant opportunities offered by the Mountain West IDeA Clinical and Translational Research – Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN). His visit was well received by UH Manoa faculty spanning multiple disciplines from public health, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, social work, psychology, Center on Family, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and Human Nutrition and Food and Animal Sciences. Following the informational session, several faculty scheduled individual appointments with Dr. Langer.
Dr. Merle Kataoka-Yahiro, CTR-IN Co-Director – Education and UH Manoa Nursing Associate Professor led the informational session at UH Manoa Nursing. Additionally, Dr. Angela Sy, who is a 2014 CTR-IN Visiting Scholar’s Awardee, shared her experience with the UHM faculty. On a separate day, Dr. Bruce Shiramizu, CTR-IN Co-Director – Mentoring and UH Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine Professor hosted an informational session at UHM JABSOM located in Kakaako.
For more information about the MW CTR-IN pilot grants, visiting scholars, mini-sabbaticals, and mini-grant opportunities contact Dr. Merle Kataoka-Yahiro at (808) 956-5329 or merle@hawaii.edu or visit ctrin.unlv.edu.
MORE THAN 100 NURSING STUDENTS ATTEND THE 2015 CAREER FAIR
On Monday, April 20, 2015, UH Manoa Nursing hosted the Spring 2015 Career Fair on the 2nd floor of Webster Hall. Employers from around the state were represented and provided students with an opportunity to learn more about each agency, ask questions to the recruiters, share their resumes, and practice their interview skills.
The spring 2015 career fair was the largest ever, with representatives from the following agencies in attendance: Castle Medical Center, CVS MinuteClinic, Hawaii Pacific Health, Hawaii State Public Health, Healthways Hawaii, Islands Hospice, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, Right at Home, The Queen’s Medical Center, UH Manoa Nursing Graduate Programs, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System, and Wilson Care.
The event was well attended with undergraduate students from every nursing semester, as well as GEPN students, master’s students, a PhD student, and even nursing alumni. More than 100 nursing students participated. Special thanks to our Student Ambassadors and the Office of Student Services who volunteered during the event. For more information about the Career Fair, contact Stephanie Marshall, Director for Community Partnerships at smarshal@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-5421.