Chaminade University of Honolulu

Nursing

Finding Your Passion and Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

Brittany Johnson ’24 had a lot of life under her belt when she applied to Chaminade University.

She’d already served in the Air Force, after enrolling right out of high school. She’d earned her first degree—a bachelor’s in Community and Public Health from the University of South Carolina. She’d gone back into military service, joining the Army and shipping off to Hawaii’s Schofield Barracks.

Her experiences helped her grow—and drove her to realize something: she thrived on helping others.

Nursing students

So she decided to turn her talents to Nursing and applied to several universities as she prepared to complete her Army obligations. She was packing up, anticipating she would have to move back to the mainland, when she got word from Chaminade that she’d been accepted. “I ended up at Chaminade, was awarded scholarships to help and never looked back,” she said. “I am so happy that I did.”

In the Nursing program and across campus, Johnson said, she found a community that offered supportive encouragement and a warm atmosphere. They celebrated her unique perspective. And they connected her with a host of opportunities that helped her put her learning into action.

“There was a time in my life when I didn’t know the value of people. I didn’t know how to ask for or receive help,” she said. “But at Chaminade, I’ve always felt like part of the family. I could not have done what I have done without the people around me, my professors and mentors and my peers.”

It was helping hands at Chaminade that got her connected to a cutting-edge internship with the Air Force Research Laboratory, where she pored over research into nanomaterials. She focused on luciferase, a light-producing enzyme found in fireflies that can be used in x-ray machines.

Brittany Johnson's Luciferase poster

The evolving technology could be a safer option, especially for those who require multiple x-rays.

Johnson analyzed the available literature to put together an in-depth poster on the potential opportunities and limitations with the nanomaterial. She then delivered a presentation to the board of directors for the program. The Air Force could now end up pursuing further research into luciferase.

For Johnson, the internship wasn’t just exciting, it was challenging. “Five years ago, I could not have projected I would be doing this kind of work,” Johnson said. “It truly took a team of people to do that.”

She liked the experience so much, she opted to extend it. This fall, she’s interested in researching nanomaterials that could help physicians detect cancer earlier, leading to better patient outcomes.

And that’s not the only internship that’s been keeping Johnson busy.

Chaminade also connected her with an internship for Summer 2022 with the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Hawaii chapter. She jumped at the chance to work closer with patients and their families while helping to raise awareness for a condition that not many people fully understand.

“Over the course of the summer, I did everything from help to plan events to assist with fundraising efforts,” she said. “But the highlight was attending a summer camp for kids with hemophilia. These kids feel ostracized a lot of the time, but at camp with their peers they got to really enjoy themselves.”

Brittany Johnson '24 and friend

Kids with hemophilia often can’t participate in the same activities because their blood doesn’t clot properly, meaning even relatively small injuries can be dangerous. Hearing from families about how they manage the disease, Johnson said, helped her gain important perspective as a nurse in training.

“It was so fulfilling,” she said. “And it helped me put a spotlight on people whose voices we don’t oftentimes hear. I didn’t know these people are right next door to me. They’re in our community.”

As she makes progress toward graduation, Johnson said she is especially grateful to the Career Development team at Chaminade—especially career advisor Diane Yang. Johnson said the internships Yang and her team connected her with have helped her grow as a learner and a leader.

“It’s not easy to get out of your comfort zone,” she said, “but there’s no better way to learn.”

Celebrating the Past and Future: Nursing Pinning and White Coat Ceremonies

The journey to becoming a nurse requires hard work, endurance—and plenty of support along the way.

It’s a lot like a marathon.

Nursing students receiving his stole and pin from her parents during the Nursing Pinning Ceremony

And leading up to the finish line, there are milestone moments aimed at recognizing students’ achievements. That’s exactly what the Pinning and White Coat ceremonies are all about, two time-honored traditions in the field that underscore just how important nurses are to the community, congratulate students on their accomplishments, and help forge a strong nursing fellowship.

This year, Chaminade’s School of Nursing and Health Professions held the ceremonies in-person, welcoming not only nursing students but members of their families and faculty mentors to celebrate.

The Pinning Ceremony for 57 graduating seniors in Nursing was on May 7, and loved ones had the opportunity to do the pinning honors. As Nursing and Health Professions Dean Rhoberta Haley, PhD, explained at the event, the roots of the tradition date to the 1860s when Florence Nightingale—known as the founder of modern nursing—was awarded the Red Cross of St. George for her service.

Pinning ceremonies later grew to mark the beginning of a nurse’s career.

Nursing students receiving his stole and pin from her parents during the Nursing Pinning Ceremony

“A pinning ceremony is a time to welcome newly graduating nurses to the profession,” Haley told attendees. “We gather for this occasion to mark the transition from student nurse to graduate nurse, and to celebrate the start of a professional practice in nursing.” Haley added Chaminade’s unique Nursing pin symbolizes a life dedicated to professional health care and service to others.

“Please wear it proudly,” she told graduates, “and with our very best wishes.”

Leilani Higashi intends to do just that. She said the ceremony was the perfect conclusion to her preparation as a nurse and the perfect beginning to her life as a nurse. “Pinning to me is like the final recognition. There’s no more, ‘Let me check with the nurse.’ We are the nurses,” she said.

Higashi said she went into nursing after growing up taking care of her grandfather.

“I got to meet so many amazing nurses that were part of his care team,” Higashi said. “I wanted to provide that same care and comfort that they did for us to other people. Now I’m looking forward to new adventures and I can’t wait to get out into the workforce and help my community.”

Graduating senior Zane Biscocho was beaming after the ceremony.

“This is a congratulations and a ‘you made it,’” he said, adding that he hopes to serve in Hawaii.

Katelyn Toba also described the Pinning Ceremony as a celebration. She said the four years of nursing school have been difficult, but she has appreciated the support of her loved ones, friends and professors. “Chaminade has that family spirit and it helped me over the years,” she said.

Graduate Taryn Sagapolu said the gathering “felt like an accomplishment after all the hard work.”

Sagapolu attended the ceremony with her parents, both of whom are nurses.

“We know it’s the hardest thing ever,” said her mother, Sharon, after the event. “She saw us both come home exhausted, especially during the COVID pandemic. But she never gave up.” Sagapolu’s father, Kamaki, agreed. “We are so proud of you,” he told his daughter, giving her a big hug.

Nursing student putting on her white coat during the Nursing White Coat Ceremony

A day before the Pinning Ceremony, 122 members of Chaminade’s Nursing junior class and their relatives and friends gathered for the White Coat Ceremony. The event recognizes students’ entry into the health profession as they undertake clinical education. After receiving their white coats, students took the International Council of Nurses pledge to uphold nursing ethics and deliver the best care.

In her address to attendees, Haley pointed out that nursing is the most trusted profession in the country. It is critical to maintain that bond of trust, she added, and for every nursing student to fully understand the duties and obligations of the profession before they ever see their first patient.

“Nursing is both a respected science and a caring art,” Haley said. “Your success will depend on your ability to understand and apply ethical and professional values. Over a lifetime in nursing, you will repeatedly turn to these values, depending on them as the foundation of your practice.”

Among those key values: responsibility, trustworthiness, honesty and respect. “At Chaminade, we believe in these values and are committed to helping you achieve your highest level of performance and providing assistance when needed,” she said. “It is a privilege for Nursing faculty and staff to promote professionalism and share what we know and love about nursing with our students.”

Nursing student putting on his white coat during the Nursing White Coat Ceremony

The White Coat Ceremony is traditionally conducted in students’ sophomore year, but the COVID pandemic meant the event couldn’t be held last year. A ceremony for sophomores will be held this Fall.

Junior Autumn Fairall was moved after getting her white coat.

She said she has wanted to be a nurse since she was 10, when she diagnosed with leukemia and “blessed with a kind and capable medical team. The nurses who took care of me daily inspired me.”

Fairall said that day-to-day, it’s easy to focus on the challenges of nursing school.

But the ceremony reminded her of all that she has overcome and accomplished. “The White Coat Ceremony was a time of celebration, both of the hard work complete and the blessings that will come,” she said. “I am looking forward to working as a nurse and giving back what previous nurses gave me.”

Student Hannah Hovestol said she went into Nursing because she wants to serve her community, especially in the areas of mental health and psychiatric nursing. After receiving her white coat, she said she was proud and humble. “The ceremony was a confirmation and validation of the hard work that I have devoted to my studies and nursing obligations,” she said. “Attending this ceremony also demonstrated the communal nature of the profession, being there with my classmates.”

She said those classmates are like family now.

“It reminded me that even when I graduate and become a nurse, I will never be alone as there is a community in the healthcare team to collaborate with,” she said. “The end of my educational chapter is near, but my future nursing chapter is yet to be written. I am so excited to see what the future holds.”

School of Nursing and Health Professions Launches Parish Health Program

One of the biggest obstacles to health education and prevention screening is access.

And a new Parish Health program at Chaminade University is focused on addressing that.

The program, unique on Oahu, gives Chaminade Nursing students the opportunity to work one-on-one with parishioners after Mass or via telehealth appointments to offer blood pressure, nutritional or other types of screenings, make assessments on determinants of health and connect them with resources.

The students receive critical hands-on experiences with members of the community. And parishioner participants, who are 55 and older, are equipped with tools they can use to improve their wellness.

“We really wanted to develop a Parish Health program to serve the needs of the community with education, health promotion and even healthcare,” said Dr. Pamela Smith, School of Nursing and Health Professions associate dean. “Many of our students enjoy the fellowship and ministry part of school, and this was an opportunity to blend it into nursing-related education and public health-related education.”

Smith said a Marianist Sponsorship Ministries Foundation grant helped cover costs for the program’s launch, including health promotion items for participants like pedometers, blood pressure monitors and gift cards farmers markets. The program was also made possible in part, by Kaiser Permanente through the Catholic Care Coalition.

After conversations with community stakeholders, the program officially kicked off in the Fall Term in partnership with the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Kalihi. Nursing students offered screenings and health education to parishioners at the co-cathedral after each Mass. They also connected with parishioners via telehealth appointments—over the phone and through virtual meetings.

The program was expanded in the Spring to include a focus on exercise—a virtual Walk to Jerusalem that focused on the importance of movement to overall health. Participants signed up for the walk online and then tracked their progress with others along the way.

The next step for the program, Smith said, is growth.

Chaminade nursing student taking a parishioner's blood pressure for the Parish Health Program

There’s hope it can be expanded to more parishes on Oahu and even to the Neighbor Islands. The School of Nursing and Health Professions is also focused on increasing the number of students offering Parish Health services, including through one-on-one telehealth screening appointments.

Nursing student Zane Biscocho was among those who participated in the program. As part of the telehealth rotation, he held 30- to 60-minute screening interviews with parishioners to discuss everything from healthy eating to the importance of taking prescribed medication on time.

“One thing that I enjoyed most about being a part of the Parish Health program was learning how to be adaptable, utilize telehealth and education fairs, and also getting the chance to educate my patients about their appointments and concerns they may have had,” Biscocho said, after completing the experience. “My biggest takeaway is that healthcare expands far beyond the hospital.”

He added that Parish Health is not only making a difference, but adapting to meet participant needs.

That’s what Nursing student Tyler Insillo appreciated the most.

“It is always so important to meet people where they are,” she said. “We have to listen to what the community feels their needs are and address those needs accordingly, with consideration to not only their resources and time but their readiness to learn and accept the education we are sharing.”

As part of the program, Insillo delivered telehealth surveys along with in-person lessons on cardiovascular health. She said working one-on-one with participants was a rewarding experience. “I enjoyed working the community and helping them see the importance of a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

For details on the Parish Health program, click here.

Dr. Lorin Ramocki and Dr. Katelyn Perrault Recognized for their Passion and Innovation in Teaching

Motivated. Innovative. Passionate. A trailblazer.

Those were some of the words used to describe this year’s faculty honorees of the Chaminade Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship awards, which recognize those going above and beyond to ensure student success in the classroom and contribute to their area of study in meaningful ways.

Lorin Ramocki

Dr. Lorin Ramocki, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Health Professions, received the Chaminade’s 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award for her tireless work to create hands-on simulations that promote “learning by doing.”

The simulations—which ranged from a mock homeless camp on campus to a COVID vaccination clinic to an “unfolding case study” into a Hepatitis A outbreak—were especially vital during the pandemic because COVID made some community placements for Nursing students impossible.

“The COVID pandemic created a loss of clinical rotations in both hospitals and community settings and faculty pivoted to simulation on campus as well as supporting COVID vaccination efforts,” said School of Nursing and Health Professions Dean Rhoberta Haley, PhD, who nominated Ramocki for the award.

Haley said Ramocki ensured experiential learning continued for students during the pandemic. “Dr. Ramocki is a truly creative, innovative, motivated, and effective teacher,” Haley said, “who makes Public Health content and clinical experiences come alive for each of our Nursing students.”

Ramocki said she is honored by the recognition and takes joy in using her creativity to develop “engaging learning environments to give students the best experience possible.” She added that her teaching philosophy is rooted in “developing a community within the classroom.”

“My philosophy on teaching students is really embedded in trying to inspire them to find their own interests—and then connect it back to something in public health to help them enhance their understanding and how they can impact the health of their own communities,” she said.

Katelynn Perrault

Meanwhile, the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics’ Dr. Katelynn Perrault was recognized with the 2021 Fr. John F. Bolin Excellence in Scholarship Award for substantial contributions to her field of study. The associate professor of Forensic Sciences and Chemistry was also recently honored with the John B. Phillips Award, which recognizes early career researchers who are making advancements in the field of two-dimensional gas chromatography, which involves separating chemicals present in complex samples.

Perrault is studying odors produced by bacteria associated with decomposing bodies.

Dr. Hans Chun, director of Education Leadership Programs at Chaminade, nominated Perrault for the honor and said she has been a “trailblazer in research” since she arrived at the University. “Kate embodies the concept that teaching and research are not mutually exclusive,” Chun said.

Chun also said her work has helped to “raise Chaminade’s scholarly profile.”

Perrault said receiving the award is a “landmark moment for me” at the University and has driven her to reflect on her work—and on the work of the student researchers she is mentoring. “Seeing their contributions to science recognized gives me great joy as a mentor,” she said. Perrault added that while many people think of research as something that’s done outside of the classroom, she sees it as something central to classroom learning. “Great things can be accomplished within a class when students are set with the task of creating new knowledge on their own accord. There is something about that experience that cannot be learned in any textbook.”

Alum Named Straub Clinic’s Most Valuable Team Player

Michael Ono ‘14 made friends at Chaminade that he “still considers family” today.

It’s those relationships and others that have helped buoy him as he works on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic as a registered nurse at Straub Medical Center’s Kahala Clinic and Urgent Care. “Working as an RN during the pandemic has been challenging,” said Ono, who received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Chaminade. “But I am so happy to have a great team and leadership support.”

Michael Ono '14 named Straub Clinic's Most Valuable Team Player

And they are grateful for him, too.

In fact, Ono was recently recognized as the Straub Clinic Most Valuable Team Player. As part of centennial celebrations for Straub, he was also named a “100 for Straub 100” honoree—one of 100 employees who are continuing Dr. George Straub’s legacy of providing quality care to patients.

Ono was nominated for the Most Valuable Team Player recognition by Straub clinic colleague Sheryl Doropan, who called him a huge blessing. “Coming from an ER background, he knows how to handle the difficult situations that walk in,” she said, in a Straub Facebook post. “He’s a solution seeker and a team player, caring and always energetic. There’s never a dull moment working with him.”

Ono said as a Straub nurse, he sees patients of all ages.

He previously worked in the ER and the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. He said he is so grateful to his mentors at Chaminade and Kapiolani for helping him grow into the registered nurse he is today. “The ability to see their dedication to their patients and the community has helped me set the bar high for myself and keeps me engaged,” he said.

Ono added, “I am still learning so much about outpatient nursing.”

Learning and Growing by Doing

Dr. Lorin Ramocki believes in the power of learning and growing—by doing.

The School of Nursing and Health Professions professor has gotten high praise from her students, colleagues and community stakeholders for her innovative use of simulations—centered around hands-on, project-based learning—that help bring her curriculum to life and underscore its relevancy.

With clinical opportunities limited because of the pandemic, over the last academic year alone:

  • To prepare more than 60 Nursing students for work in COVID vaccination clinics, Ramocki created a mock clinic of her own and handed it over to participants to manage. Students learned about the varying roles at vaccination clinics, along with the patient education and monitoring.
  • Ramocki created a mock homeless camp (complete with volunteer actors) on campus for a simulation that gave Nursing students vital experience “treating” patients who are living on the streets, coordinating care with a treatment team and overcoming barriers to helping them.
  • Ramocki even had students put on their public health detective hats for a fast-paced epidemiology “unfolding case study” that tasked them with working out the source of a simulated Hepatitis A outbreak with 25 mock patients, each with unique back stories.
School of Nursing and Health Professions homeless simulation

Dr. Rhoberta Haley, Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions, said these types of simulations are obviously more engaging than lectures or rote memorization. And engaged students learn more. But their real power, she said, is in their immersive nature. In a simulation, students are embracing their roles as critical thinkers, as leaders and as team-based collaborators.

“Every step of the way in these simulations, Dr. Ramocki is asking her students to apply what they’ve learned and then build on it as they also work with their peers—whether it’s puzzling out a public health problem that impacts an entire community or ensuring that a single patient gets quality care,” Haley said. “Her students emerge from these simulations much more prepared for success.”

Haley added that she is especially impressed with how Ramocki has stressed not only the key foundational elements of her curriculum in the simulations, but important soft skills—like how to work with a patient to understand their unique needs or how to overcome the stigma of homelessness.

School of Nursing and Health Professions students participate in a vaccination clinic simulation

“That’s what learning by doing really means—doing the real work to understand its many facets.”

Dr. Ramocki said that she designed the simulations to engage students and provide critical clinical hours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Placements in the community for Public Health Nursing clinical course students were limited in 2020, with strict health protocols in place, so Ramocki improvised. “I wanted to give students the best experience possible during this time period,” she said, “when we were restricted to providing clinical experiences only on campus.” And so innovation was born out of adversity.

Dr. Ramocki’s simulated homeless camp was especially intricate.

School of Nursing and Health Professions homeless simulation

The realistic camp was built on campus and included eight case studies, with “patients” who had divergent backgrounds, back stories and health issues that were representative of the broader homeless population. In addition to helping students consider the psychosocial, financial and common medical problems among homeless residents, it also sought to help students develop empathy and reduce stigma as they worked comprehensively to serve a unique and high-needs patient population.

Dr. Ramocki also developed a tuberculosis clinic simulation that included modules for contact tracing, screening and testing, precaution protocols and various treatments. Each patient had a back story that students had to sift through in order check them in assessment and triage them to the appropriate service.

She said while the pandemic created the need for these simulations, she’ll continue to use them.

After all, she’s gotten her own hands-on learning in creating the simulations and rolling them out.