UH Manoa health program celebrates summer experience

Building the next generation of health-care professionals

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Jun 29, 2009


The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) will mark the end of its 10-day summer enrichment experience on Tuesday, June 30, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Twenty-six public high school sophomores and juniors from the program will present their ho‘ike or final presentation to their families, faculty, staff and alumni at the Imin Conference Center at Jefferson Hall.

Throughout the 10-day program, high school students from the Leeward Coast, urban Honolulu and Kauaʻi participated in problem-based learning classes, similar to those taught at the UH Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine. Between classes, they will also visited area health clinics, went hiking, and participated in a service learning project on Mokauea Island.

"Through HCOP, I learned about emergency medical technicians and how they depend on each to get the job done," said a program participant from Nanakuli High School. "I admire how hard they work, and now I‘m considering a career in the EMT field."

Program participants were also exposed to a variety of health professionals from various careers in medicine, nursing, bio-medical research, public health, and social work.

"These students are the next generation of health-care professionals. The demand for health-care professionals in our state is growing, and we need to prepare them for the workforce," said Agnes Malate, director of HCOP. "This summer enrichment program provides an opportunity for students to meet and speak directly with professionals in the field."

HCOP was first established in 2000 as a grant from the Health Resources andServices Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of HealthCareers Diversity. It became a UH Mānoa program under the Student Equity, Excellence & Diversity (SEED) office in 2008, with funding from the Hawaiʻi State Legislature.

SEED oversees programs that recruit and provide support and retention services for underrepresented students in higher education. Its programs touch the lives of students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, as well as undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs.