Nursing faculty at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing (NAWSON) have had a long history of producing cutting-edge nursing research that has been implemented in nursing schools, hospitals, and other care settings across the globe. This past August 2024, the school welcomed two additional faculty members, Dr. Molly Altman and Dr. Katie Azama. Together, they bring with them decades of practice, research, and teaching experience. Get to know them both, starting with Dr. Altman: 

Molly Altman, PhD, CNM, MPH,FACNM, PhD Program Director and Associate Professor

Q: Tell me about your background before coming to NAWSON.  

A: I’m originally from Massachusetts and moved to Washington State to become a midwife in 2003. After completing my Masters in Nursing (Nurse-Midwifery) and a Master of Public health degree at the University of Washington (UW), I practiced for several years in the hospital setting. In 2012, I started teaching at UW and decided to go back for my PhD at Washington State University. I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at University of California San Francisco and then returned to UW for a tenure-track faculty position. After six years at UW, I transitioned to NAWSON. 

Q: What led you to the field of nursing?

A: I was actually pre-med in my undergraduate degree. Then, I transferred into a BSN program so that I could be in health care and have a profession that could financially support me moving forward on my career trajectory. What I didn’t expect was that nursing, and specifically nurse-midwifery, would be my calling. After witnessing my first birth as a student, I was hooked. I decided on midwifery as my profession. 

 

After witnessing my first birth as a student, I was hooked.”

 

Q: What led you to the specific subject areas in which you conduct research?

A: My research centers on experiences of reproductive care, particularly what occurs within the patient-provider interaction. My postdoctoral fellowship immersed me in a deep understanding of how racism and bias plays a significant role in both experiences and outcomes of care, and that all people deserve respectful care during pregnancy and birth. This led to my program of research, which looks at how people who are minoritized within society experience care and how we can fix that through training new providers to be change agents within the health care system. 

Q: Tell me about the grants you are bringing with you to NAWSON. 

A: I have a couple grants that are continuing with my transition to NAWSON. I am a co-investigator on a NIH [National Institutes of Health] study testing an online tool supporting sexual health education for trans and non-binary youth, to better support self-efficacy and knowledge on sexual health care and practices. 

I am also co-investigator and mentor on a grant from the Skyline Foundation exploring how we may be able to bridge the divide between types of midwives in the United States and find paths forward in healing historical harms within the midwifery profession. I have two other projects that I’m leading that are ongoing: the Midwifery Re-Envisioning Project, which is a community-based participatory project setting priorities for re-envisioning midwifery education, and the Birth Include Us project, a community-based participatory project capturing experiences of pregnancy care of queer and trans families across the U.S. and Canada. These projects are finishing up, and I’ll be submitting continuation grants in the next year. 

Q: Any new grants or awards? Please tell me more about them. 

A: I was recently awarded a grant from the Society of Family Planning to explore safety and efficacy of medication abortion provision by advanced practice clinicians, including midwives and nurse practitioners. This is a collaborative project through NAWSON, JABSOM [John A. Burns School of Medicine], Planned Parenthood, and Cedar River Clinics. I will be analyzing data from Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington. We are excited to get this project going. 

 

The ability to raise our child on the ʻāina, with education centered in Hawaiian culture has been a priority for us, and we are grateful to have the opportunity. 

 

Q: What brought you to NAWSON? (What attracted you to the school, the location, etc.)

A: My wife and 7-year-old daughter are Native Hawaiian, and we have family on Hawaii Island. It’s always been in our plans to move back home and be closer to my wife’s family. When the opportunity to join the NAWSON ohana presented itself, we decided to make the move. The ability to raise our child on the aina, with education centered in Hawaiian culture has been a priority for us, and we are grateful to have the opportunity. 

Q: How are you liking it so far?

A: I have loved being here so far. Everyone has been so supportive and welcoming, and I feel like part of the community. I look forward to having time to get to know everyone better over the next year. 

Q: What are your hopes for your time here? 

A: My hope is to help support an environment where nursing research can flourish at NAWSON. I’m the incoming PhD program director and will be dedicating time to rebuilding the PhD program. I hope that my knowledge and experiences thus far can help support the existing faculty and help grow more nurse scientists that hold Native Hawaiian ways of knowing as the lens by which they do their work.  

Q: What do you like to do outside of work? 

A: I’ve been immersed in Hawaiian culture through outrigger canoe paddling since 2004, and my wife and I met paddling in 2010. About two years ago we brought our daughter into it, and we are very excited to find our paddling ohana on the islands. I also love running, being outside, and gardening. 

Q: What would you like for others to know about you?

A: I am a lifelong learner. In health care, we need to perpetually be learning and growing to keep our practice relevant and evidence-based. In research, we need to be always on the cutting edge to keep pushing knowledge creation into action and change. This philosophy has led me to be willing to make mistakes and be novice at things, which I have learned to embrace over time. I look forward to learning from others and continuing to learn and grow as I work at NAWSON. 

Katie Azama, PhD, APRN-Rx, FNP-C, APHN, Assistant Professor

 

Q: Tell me about your background before coming to NAWSON. 

 

A: Prior to NAWSON, I worked at The Queen’s Medical Center as a Manager of Advanced Practice Provider Education and Programs and as a Nurse Practitioner in an outpatient diabetes clinic and in the Employee Health clinic. As a manager, some of my duties included developing an APRN Fellowship program, writing grants to support APP education, and working with the Queen Emma Nursing Institute to develop a culture of evidence-based practice (EBP) and support nurses in their EBP initiatives. 

Q: What led you to the field of nursing?

A: My previous academic background was in English studies and when I graduated with my masters degree, I felt that I wanted to move theory into practice. My mother and brother are both pediatric nurses, and I felt that nursing would be the perfect field for me to merge both the humanities and sciences to help individuals in need. 

Q: What led you to the specific subject areas in which you conduct research?

A: I worked as a nurse practitioner in Employee Health and so the hospital and clinic employees were my patients. I observed that most of them loved what they did and enjoyed their role in providing care to patients. However, working in health care sometimes came at a cost to their health and well-being. As a result, I became interested in workforce research such as burnout, wellness, and self-efficacy. I am also interested in developing new knowledge to address health disparities that exist in our local communities. 

Q: Tell me about the grants you are bringing with you to NAWSON. 

A: I come to NAWSON with a PIKO [Center for Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities] grant, in which I am investigating burnout in Native Hawaiian and Filipino physician and nurse practitioners (NPs). This is a mixed-methods study in which I will analyze physician and NP responses to the Maslach’s Burnout Index and conduct focus groups in hopes to develop culturally appropriate interventions.

 

I am a proud graduate of NAWSON, and it has always been my dream to return here to teach and research.

 

Q: What brought you to NAWSON? 

A: I am a proud graduate of NAWSON, and it has always been my dream to return here to teach and research. I feel so fortunate for the knowledge, training, and skills that I received. Becoming an NP is the best career decision that I have ever made, and I want to be able to guide students in their nursing journeys and develop new knowledge that will help to inform and support the health care workforce and communities. 

Q: How are you liking it so far?

A: I am really enjoying engaging with the faculty and students and working on the PIKO grant. It is challenging, but I am fortunate to have the best colleagues and mentors to guide me when needed.

 

My hope is to contribute to the academy of nursing by creating new knowledge that will guide nursing practice and nursing education.

 

Q: What are your hopes for your time here? 

A: My hope is to contribute to the academy of nursing by creating new knowledge that will guide nursing practice and nursing education. I also hope to guide and support nurses and NP students in their professional journeys.

Q: What do you like to do outside of work? 

A: Outside of work I enjoy reading, exercising, and spending time with my husband and two children. Hobbies of mine include spending time with my friends and watching, playing, and coaching baseball and softball. My husband and I, along with our friends, coach our daughter’s softball team.

Q: What would you like for others to know about you?

Haha, not sure about this one. Hmm…I enjoy spicy food and musical theater. Lol! I am also a big-time Los Angeles Dodgers fan!