Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2010 — ʻIke Ao Pono surpasses milestone: 100 NURSING GRADUATES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻIke Ao Pono surpasses milestone: 100 NURSING GRADUATES

lncluded are first Hawaiian nurses to earn Ph.D.s By Francine Murray KaWai Ola Leading the way as a workforee role model, Nalani Minton founded 'Ike Ao Pono, in 2001, when she realized about a quarter of the state's population is Hawaiian but less than 5 pereent of Hawai'i's nurses are Native Hawaiian. With the daunting task ahead, the primary mission of the program was threefold: first to improve the heahh and heahh care of the state with appropriate and culturally sensitive care, second to increase the number of Native Hawaiian and Paeihe Islander nurses in Hawai'i, and third to provide young Hawaiians with positive Native Hawaiian role models. With many of its students from at-risk, under-represented and underserved communities, the 'Ike Ao Pono program at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa and its nursing students have made history with more Native Hawaiian nurses graduating from the program than in the entire 80-year history of UH's School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene. "We are achieving many firsts at the UH Mānoa," said Minton. "In only six years we have graduated 107 Native Hawaiian and Paeihe Islander nurses with both RN (registered nurse) and advanced degrees." Among these successful students are the first Native Hawaiian and Samoan nurses with doctorates and 13 graduates with master's degrees in nursing. In the real world, seconds ean make the critical difference between life and death, and at UH "the 'Ike Ao Pono program is critical to the success of Native Hawaiian and Paeihe

Islander students and to shaping the future nursing workforce," said Dr. Mary G. Boland, Dean of the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene. "I am delighted that the students feel welcomed and at home." The program inspires and encourages its members to succeed by providing learning strategies, survival skills and tutoring, study groups, cultural experiences, hnaneial aid and scholarship assistance. They have hands-on training through Native Hawaiian elinieal co-ops with Queen's Medical Center and they benefit from recruitment partnerships and special programs with Kamehameha Schools, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Papa Ola Lōkahi. "The students enrich the school by their presence, by increasing the opportunities for cultures to intersect and by connecting us to our host culture," said Boland. "Many 'Ike Ao Pono students are achieving

graduate degrees in advanced puhlie heahh, community heahh, family and nurse practitioner fields. Their contributions will help promote heahh and improve heahh care in Hawai'i." More than just academia, 'Ike Ao Pono is a Hawaiian wellness program. "The 'Ike Ao Pono 'ohana of more than 100 native nurses represents the whole journey of us all," said Minton. "It's not an individual, but rather a kākou event - a landmark that we have reached because of a collective vision being manifested by all involved." "Our (graduation) celebration was held in beautiful Waimea Valley and the OHA staff there were gracious and hospitable - from the opening 'oli and ho'okupu at Hale 'o Lono to the gathering of students, faculty, administration, family and friends in such a spectacularly beautiful valley," she added. "The lele ua (wind-blown rain) blessed us all

with a eool rainbow mist in the midst of bright sunshine. Our ho'okupu was given in loving memory of Hiko'ula Hanapi, beloved friend, Native Hawaiian artist, botanist and Director of the Keomailani Foundation." The program's success hasn't gone unnoticed. On the floor of the U.S. Sen. on May 6, Hawai'i Sen. Daniel Inouye commemorated the graduation of the first 100 Native Hawaiian and Paeihe Islander nurses from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. "As a proud supporter of the nursing profession, I am pleased to recognize 'Ike Ao Pono, the Workforce Diversity Program for Native Hawaiian and Paeihe Islander nursing students at the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene," he said. Besides Inouye's declaration, the program has received proclamations from the governor and mayor, a koa plaque by the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene and a pahu (drum) from Papa Ola Lōkahi for its achievements on the path to addressing heahh disparities and inequities in the Hawaiian community. In the UH system, programs are organized into Native Hawaiian councils on eaeh campus to increase the number of Native Hawaiian students and faculty, creating a Hawaiian plaee of learning and to fulfill the vision of UH President M.R.C. Greenwood and UHM Chancellor Virginia S. Hinshaw in becoming the premier indigenousserving university and a global destination for indigenous studies. "We are one of 20 social justice and eeonomie recovery programs in the Kuali'i and Pūko'a councils and I would like to mention their support," said Minton. The councils provided both funding and permanent positions for the 'Ike Ao Pono program. Currently 88 'Ike Ao Pono students are enrolled for the fall semester in both undergraduate and graduate programs. And new students are weleome in the spring. To learn more about 'Ike Ao Pono, email Nalani Minton at bminton@ hawaii.edu. For information about the nursing program, visit www. nursing.hawaii.edu or eall 808-956-8522. ■

NATIVE HAWAIIAN NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS WWW.Otia.Qrg/kWO kwo@OHA.org ^ — '

CelebraTing the graduation of 1 00 Native Hawaiian and Pacific lslander nurses at Waimea on O'ahu are the Dean of the William S. Richardson School of Law Aviam Soifer, Nalani Minton the Director of 'lka Ao Pono and Mary G. Boland the Dean of the School of Nursing & Dental Hygiene. All are with the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. - Photo: School ofNursing

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