UHM Nursing Faculty Highlights – Spring 2016
N421 Queen’s Internship Course, Summer 2016
The Queen’s Medical Center and UH Manoa Nursing worked together to launch a new course, N421 Queen’s Internship. This non-paid summer internship provided valuable opportunities to UHM Nursing students.
Interested students applied for the internship and went through a formal interview selection process. Upon selection, students were placed in areas matching with their career goals. The students selected for the internship demonstrated professionalism, eagerness to learn, and expressed their passion for nursing.
For information about the N421 Queen’s Internship, contact the Nursing department chair Dr. Alice Tse at atse@hawaii.edu.
Interprofessional Education – Community Health in Primary Care Settings
Two students in N450 Community, Public and Global Health Nursing participated in The Pacific Islands Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program Grant, a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded grant. The mission of the three-year grant is to provide interprofessional collaboration amongst healthcare professionals directing patient-centered care in the primary care centers that enriches the health outcomes of Hawaii’s seniors with a focus on rural and underserved populations.
The collaborative team consists of Project Director Dr. Aida Wen, (JABSOM); Associate Director Dr. Kamal Masaki, (JABSOM); Dr. Cheynie Nakano, (JABSOM); Dr. Lauren Okamoto, (JABSOM); Dr. Lovedhi Aggarawal, (JABSOM); Michele Bray (UHNAWSON); Bun Jung Kim, (MBTSSW); Kathryn Braun, (OPHS); Valerie Yontz, (OPHS); Camlyn Masuda (DKICP) and students from each discipline. The initial primary care site is The Physician Center at Mililani.
5th semester nursing students Sheila Doucette and Kelsea Uratsuka, under the direction of UHM Nursing faculty Michele Bray, provided insights to the collaborative team by addressing the medical concerns, family situational support, quality of life and wellness of the patients seen in the clinic. The student’s utilize components of community based population health by providing preventive health screenings, referrals to services, and planning intervention that would enhance the patient’s quality of life and healthy aging. Nursing recommendations are added to the overall treatment plan of care.
“The training and exposure to the interprofessional team taught me the significant importance that each member’s role is essential to the improvement of a patient’s healthcare,” said Sheila Douchette, one of the student participants. “The pure essence of giving medical and holistic personal care allows the health care professional greater insight in not only delivering quality care for the individual patient, but also addressing the needs of our community. This experience was well worth the time and effort I was able to contribute and believe that it has been vital in my education and foundation that will benefit me in my future nursing career.”
For more information about the Pacific Islands Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program Grant, contact Michele Bray at mbray@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-7641.
A Community- Based Wound Care Project
The Community Health Outreach Work to Prevent AIDS (CHOW) was founded in 1993 and was the first in the nation to offer statewide syringe exchange services. Currently, CHOW is seeking to expand services for their participants, including offering community-based wound care; given the high frequency of wounds associated with injection drug use. The goal is to provide basic wound care, client education, and access to resources to enable clients to help care for their wounds, and to reduce the frequency and associated costs of Emergency Department (ED) utilization.
The community-based wound care program is a multidisciplinary team in partnership with CHOW and the Department of Health. This program utilizes an evidence-based practice approach and members currently include registered nurses, UH Manoa Nursing faculty and student volunteers. The core wound care team includes Christina M.B. Wang, MPH, RN (current UH Manoa Doctor of Nursing Practice student), Penny Morrison MN, RN (UH Manoa Nursing faculty) and Jessica Ignaitis, RN.
CHOW is proud to work in partnership with other community organizations to ensure that an often marginalized population in society has appropriate access to resources and the health care needed. For more information about CHOW, visit www.chowproject.org. If faculty are interested in having CHOW provide guest lecture on substance abuse and harm reduction or if students are interested in getting involved, contact Penny Morrison at pennym@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-5523.