HCC fund promotes
immigrant nurses
An endowment program is being established at Honolulu Community College to help Filipinos and other immigrants prepare for Hawaii's registered nurses licensing exam.
It is called the Connie and H.H. "Hunky" Chun, M.D., Education Endowment Fund.
Connie Chun is establishing the program in honor of her late husband, Dr. H.H. Chun.
He felt many qualified practical nurses and nurse's aides could do work at the registered nurse level but could not pass the exam for a license because of language problems, she said.
The noncredit training program will be administered by HCC but will be accessible at designated sites throughout the University of Hawaii community colleges.
A memorandum of understanding was formalized during a brief ceremony Friday attended by Chun, some nurses, a Kapiolani Community College representative and HCC Provost Ramsey Pedersen.
The program will be designed with advice from a project task group representing HCC, the KCC Nursing Department, University of Hawaii School of Nursing, Filipino Nurses Organization of Hawaii and Nursing Advocates and Mentors Inc.
Activities may range from classroom and laboratory content review to test-taking practices and clinical experiences supervised by a qualified registered nurse.
Recipients will be selected by a committee appointed by the HCC provost based on recommendations of the task group and its members.
Candidates must have lived in Hawaii for at least one year before application and be nursing school graduates who have or will apply to take the registered or practical nurse license exams within the next calendar year.
Preference may be given to Filipino students who meet eligibility criteria.