A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa nursing professor is helping shape how the next generation of health care providers learns about reproductive health.
Molly Altman, associate professor and PhD Program director at the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene (SONDH), is the lead editor of the fifth edition of Gynecologic Health Care: With an Introduction to Prenatal and Postpartum Care, a widely used textbook for nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners and other health care professionals.
The new edition adds expanded coverage of abortion, early pregnancy loss, trauma-informed care (prioritizes patient safety and support) and reproductive justice (the right to control one’s own reproductive health decisions). It also examines the history of nursing and midwifery and how inequities in health care have shaped patient experiences.
Altman brings more than 20 years of experience as a certified nurse-midwife and more than a decade of teaching experience. Her research focuses on reducing inequities in reproductive health care, including racism and bias in clinical settings.
She joined UH Mānoa in 2024 and has continued her work to strengthen nursing education and research. She recently helped relaunch SONDH‘s PhD program, which prepares nurse scientists to address health challenges in Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Altman edited the new edition with Ellen Solis, associate professor and Nurse Midwifery DNP Program director at the University of Washington. The textbook is published by Jones & Bartlett Learning.
