Nursing Workforce Development (NWD) - Project Abstract HRSA-26-095 Nursing Workforce Development | Ho?okele Nursing Success Program Applicant Organization: Chaminade University of Honolulu, School of Nursing and Health Professions Project Title: Ho?okele Nursing Success Program The Ho?okele Nursing Success Program at Chaminade University of Honolulu will increase nursing education opportunities and student success for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project will support prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing students through a coordinated nursing-specific student success model that combines financial assistance, structured academic and social supports, individualized success planning, mentoring, readiness activities, faculty and clinical learning supports, and transition-to-practice preparation. The project addresses barriers that can affect student enrollment, progression, graduation, and entry into the registered nurse workforce, including financial need, academic transition challenges, limited access to structured support, competing work and family responsibilities, and the need for clear navigation through nursing program expectations. Ho?okele will identify eligible students using HRSA trainee eligibility requirements, disadvantaged-background criteria, documented unmet need, and student success indicators. Supported students will receive individualized planning, proactive Navigator check-ins, referral pathways, academic coaching, readiness modules, near-peer mentoring, and allowable participant/trainee support. Ho?okele will also strengthen the nursing education environment by improving faculty, adjunct, and clinical learning consistency. Activities will include standardized adjunct onboarding and training, clinical skills evaluation consistency training, clinical support guides, workforce readiness activities, and engagement with clinical partners and alumni or new graduate registered nurses. These activities are designed to improve student support, strengthen learning environments, and prepare graduates for transition into the nursing workforce. The project will be implemented over four budget periods from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2030. Chaminade University will select and support annual cohorts of HRSA Nursing Success Scholars while also strengthening systems that can benefit the broader nursing student population as capacity allows. The project will use continuous quality improvement to review student characteristics, financial need, support utilization, remediation, progression, retention, graduation, and post-graduation outcomes. Graduate follow-up will collect information for at least one year after graduation, including licensure preparation or status, employment, practice setting, transition-to-practice experiences, and workforce outcomes as allowable. Expected outcomes include increased enrollment, retention, progression, and graduation of nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds; increased use of academic, social, financial, and mentoring supports; stronger faculty and clinical learning support systems; improved transition-to-practice readiness; and a sustainable student success model that can continue beyond the federal funding period.
