Nursing Grant Publishes Video Workshop Series for Faculty to Better Support Student Veterans
The Veterans to Nurses grant, a program of University of Hawaii at Manoa Nursing, launched a 5-part video workshop series titled “What You Need to Know About Student Veterans” aimed to increase faculty member awareness of student veteran’s unique needs and to provide tools to create veteran-friendly classrooms. Faculty members from all departments, campus-wide and nationwide, will gain insight into understanding student veterans and building culturally-safe learning environments. The videos are meant for faculty viewing but can also be used in curriculum to facilitate discussion about the veteran population.
Ten percent of the U.S. population over 18 years old, or more than 22 million men and women, are veterans. In the next five years, more than one million service members will separate from the military. While serving our country, members of the military develop discipline, team focus, and specialized skills; however, veterans experience barriers to educational and employment opportunities when they transition to the civilian sector.
Principal Investigator and retired Lieutenant Colonel with the U.S. Army, Dr. Debra D. Mark spearheaded this grant because of her personal experiences transitioning from the military into academia. “As a veteran myself, I saw a need to better support our young veterans entering academia. I saw an opportunity to create lasting change while promoting the nursing profession. My hope is that we are able to enroll veterans and fast track them to a career in nursing.”
Student veterans contend with a myriad of barriers to enrollment, retention, and graduation. It is estimated that veterans are using only 17 of 36 months of their educational benefits, and only 6% have used the entire benefit. Despite military training and experiences, veteran academic success is in jeopardy because of the disconnect between student veteran needs and campus programs and services. As a result of their military affiliation, these students differ from their civilian counterparts and possess characteristics similar to nontraditional students; their unique experiences align them with disadvantaged student populations.
The video workshop series fulfills one of the grant’s many priorities – faculty development. Training faculty in supporting veterans for academic success and learning is an important aspect of transitioning veterans to the academic environment and increases the likelihood they will stay in school. Faculty development is also important for identifying and addressing physical and mental health issues that may interfere with learning.
The “What You Need to Know About Student Veterans” series is modularized in 5 parts:
- Military in Hawaii (8:32)
- Overview of the U.S. Military (5:36)
- Reintegration into Civilian Life and Workforce (6:41)
- Reintegration into an Academic Setting (7:01)
- The Faculty’s Role in Veteran Student Success (6:02)
The workshop videos are broken down into short, easy to watch segments. There is also a full-length video with all 5 modules that runs back to back.
View all videos on our Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/channels/uhmnursingvbsn.
The Veterans to Nurses grant is designed to facilitate veteran student success in the nursing program from admission to graduation and beyond. The grant aims to increase the number of BS prepared nurses in Hawaii, improve employment opportunities for veterans, and provide support services. Veteran students participating in the Veterans to Nurses grant 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.
“UH Manoa Nursing is committed to supporting veterans and has found an innovative way to streamline veterans with medical military experience into the nursing profession” said Mary G. Boland, DrPH, RN, FAAN, dean of UH Manoa Nursing. “The Veterans to Nurses grant is able to provide academic credit to veterans while ensuring their success during and after 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 Grant no. UF1HP26981. For more information about the Veterans to Nurses program visit www.nursing.hawaii.edu/vetstonurses or contact Principal Investigator, Dr. Debra D. Mark, PhD, RN, FAAN at debramar@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-5297.
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About UH Manoa Nursing
UH Manoa Nursing, the Nursing Capitol of the Pacific, is the leader in nursing education and research in Hawaii with outreach to Asia and the Pacific Basin. We support the mission of the University of Hawaii at Manoa: to provide an innovative, caring and multicultural environment in which faculty, students and staff work together to generate and transmit knowledge, wisdom, and values to promote quality of life and health for present and future generations. The school offers the BS, master’s, and doctoral programs. To reflect Hawaii’s unique cultural diversity and heritage, UH Manoa Nursing is committed to increasing the representation of Native Hawaiian and other underserved people in all nursing programs. Visit us at www.nursing.hawaii.edu.
Contact
Desiree Uyeda, Marketing Manager
UH Manoa Nursing
dlyamamo@hawaii.edu
(808) 956-2904