Overview
The UH Hilo (UH Hilo) SON offers a unique approach to caring for and serving the rural community of Waianae, on the island of Oʻahu, with a satellite cohort of 10 students as an extension of our Hilo cohort of 30 students.
In 2013, the UH Hilo SON began a partnership with the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) on Oʻahu to produce an extension of our Hilo cohort with 10 BSN students located in our Waianae location. The WCCHC has been a steadfast primary care provider on the Waianae Coast of Oʻahu for over 50 years and now serves over 35,000 patients in the federally-designated, medically underserved community of Waianae and adjacent communities in rural West Oʻahu. The UHH SON and WCCHC partnership was developed through a Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nursing Workforce Grant. This grant supported education for Native Hawaiian students living on the Leeward coast of Oʻahu to allow opportunities for these students to receive a nursing education and BSN degree. The grant extended from 2013 through 2017. Since the grant's expiration, the partnership between the UH Hilo SON and the WCCHC has continued and cohorts have been admitted each year since (except for a one-year delay during the start of the pandemic), open to any SON applicant. The WCCHC has continued to supply the space (lab, classrooms), IT support, and supplies) for the 10-student BSN cohort. The SON model is to “grow our own” for our rural communities, and the UH Hilo and WCCHC partnership continues to help us do just that.
Admission into the program is very competitive and is based on student performance in the Natural Science (NS) courses (CHEM 141 , NURS 348 , NURS 203 , BIOL 243-243L , BIOL 244-244L , BIOL 275-275L ) and TEAS scores. NS courses may be taken a maximum of 2 times. The ‘BSN Recommended Class Scheduling’ in the menu to the right maps out the courses that are required during the first 2 years, and the final 2 years while in the program.
We strongly recommend that students keep in contact with their advisor to receive the latest information on the admissions process.
The UH Hilo Waianae Distance BSN Program offers
- A curriculum developed with input from a highly qualified community advisory board.
- A unique transcultural thread throughout its curriculum emphasizing respect for multi-ethnic populations.
- An emphasis on facilitating learning pathways for RN's.
- An emphasis on research, practice and education in the nursing professions.
- Students have an opportunity to engage in health-related projects in the community (i.e. health teaching in the elementary schools, blood pressure and diabetic screening activities).
- A learning lab with low and high fidelity manikins in a simulated hospital environment
Cohorts offered at UH Hilo
- UH Hilo BSN program admits 30 students every fall semester to the Hilo campus cohort.
UH Hilo Waianae BSN program (Distance) admits 10 students to the Waianae campus cohort.
Admission and program entry requirements are the same for the UH Hilo BSN & Waianae programs. Students may apply to UH Hilo, Waianae, or both cohorts. Application deadline is Nov 1st of each year.