UH nursing consortium agrees to establish a statewide undergraduate nursing curriculum by Fall 2008
University of Hawaiʻi"As the only publicly supported nursing education institution in the state, we recognize our responsibility and are optimistic that the public sector will work with us to provide the resources required for nursing workforce development," said Mary Boland, Dean of Nursing at UH Mānoa.
This initiative will enable campuses to offer an education program that is designed to better meet the health needs of Hawaiʻi's citizens, provide students on all the islands with flexible pathways, and address the state‘s current nursing shortage by allowing more students to enroll.
"The consortium agreed that a statewide curriculum is much needed and will prepare students with the competencies to address the rapidly changing health care needs of our population," said Lois Magnussen, Interim Associate Dean of the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene at UH Mānoa. "It is an exciting effort that will involve moving from traditional teaching to student-centered and simulated learning approaches."
Currently, the university offers an associate degree in nursing at four community colleges and a baccalaureate degree in nursing at UH Mānoa and UH Hilo. Nursing students who graduate from the community colleges and decide to attain further education normally have to reapply at either of the upper-division campuses and continue with their studies. With the proposed curriculum, all students will take standard pre-requisite courses during their first year. The second year of the curriculum will be the same at all campuses. The third year of study marks a decision point for students in the program when they will be given the option to exit with an associate degree, or to complete a bachelor‘s degree with a fourth year of study.