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VNR: 糖心视频 Hilo helps grow Hawai驶i鈥檚 nursing workforce
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
The new pathway helps pre-nursing majors secure a spot in 糖心视频 Hilo鈥檚 competitive nursing program.
The program also includes 10 nursing students in Wai驶anae on West O驶ahu.
糖心视频 Hilo junior Dylan Yanazaki is part of the pathway鈥檚 first direct-entry cohort.
Hawai驶i faces a critical shortage of nurses and nursing faculty.
Link to video (details below):
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The is giving Hawai驶i high school graduates a clearer path to careers while expanding enrollment to help address the state’s critical nursing shortage.
A new at 糖心视频 Hilo reserves nursing program seats for qualified Hawai驶i high school graduates, provided they complete prerequisites and maintain required grades.
Students can begin college knowing they have a place in the competitive program, without having to reapply for admission during their sophomore year.
Five new faculty positions funded by the Hawai驶i State Legislature are also helping 糖心视频 Hilo train more nurses. As a result, the incoming class grew from 30 students to 40 this year, and the program plans to admit 50 next year, a 67% increase in two years.
Hawai驶i is facing a critical nursing shortage, and experts said it hits the neighbor islands hardest, including Hawai驶i Island, Maui and Kaua驶i. Pandemic burnout and retirements have added pressure to the nursing workforce.
“The more rural, the more need there is,” said Jeanette Ayers-Kawakami, director of 糖心视频 Hilo’s School of Nursing.
She emphasized how much patients depend on having nurses at their bedside.
“Your nurses are your front line. They’re the ones doing the rounds every hour,” she said.
A clearer path into nursing
The direct-entry pathway supports students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in four years. Students apply to 糖心视频 Hilo and the direct-entry program, then complete prerequisite coursework during their first two years before beginning the nursing sequence in their third year.
To retain their reserved seat, students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA each semester and meet science and other prerequisite requirements.
Their education includes rural clinical learning opportunities, community health projects and practice in a lab that simulates a hospital environment. The curriculum also emphasizes respect for Hawai驶i’s diverse communities.
Inspired to care for home
For Hilo High School graduate Dylan Yanazaki, nursing is personal. Her mother’s severe eye injury required frequent trips to O驶ahu for care, inspiring her career choice.
Now part of the first direct-entry cohort, Yanazaki hopes to stay on Hawai驶i Island and serve local families.
“It would be great to be a part of that solution here,” Yanazaki said.
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Link to video (details below):
VIDEO BROLL: (54 seconds)
Stills from 糖心视频 Hilo nursing class
VO SCRIPT
INTRO
糖心视频 Hilo is opening doors for future nurses as Hawai驶i faces a critical nursing shortage.
VO
A new pathway reserves nursing program seats for qualified Hawai驶i high school graduates.
Students keep their reserved seats by completing required courses and maintaining their grades.
Five new faculty positions funded by the state Legislature are also helping expand enrollment.
The program welcomed forty new nursing students this year, up from thirty.
Next year, it plans to admit fifty.
That’s a sixty-seven percent increase in just two years.