Bee Kooker
Professor
School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene
University of Hawaii at Manoa
2528 McCarthy Mall, Webster Hall
Honolulu, HI 96822
Ph: 808-585-5175, Fax: 808-956-5296
Email: kooker@hawaii.edu
BS, University of Hawaii, 1968; MS, University of Hawaii Manoa, 1980; MPH University of Hawaii Manoa, 1980; DrPH, University of Hawaii Manoa, 1989.
Clinical Area of Focus: maternal-child, informatics
For the past 10 years, my work has focused on nursing workforce studies. I was involved in the original Colleagues in Caring: Regional Collaboratives for Nursing Workforce Development funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from which grew the Hawaii State Center for Nursing, established by Hawaii statute in 2003. The studies, done in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2005, focused on demographic characteristics and intentionality for continued workforce involvement of the current supply of registered nurses residing in the Hawaii. From these study findings, the magnitude of the nursing shortage in Hawaii was quantified.
More recently, my focus on workforce has taken me to the clinical setting. I am currently the Director of the Queen Emma Nursing Institute. The purpose of this endeavor is to promote excellence in patient care and patient outcomes by focusing on excellence in nursing care and the nursing workforce at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In July 2006, I was awarded a grant for $1.15 million dollars to improve nurse retention and enhance patient care at The Queen’s Medical Center over the next 5 years. The major activities are the development of a New Nurse Fellowship Program and the establishment of Magnet Pilot Units and staff nurse exchanges with other Magnet facilities, such as Mayo Clinics and Johns Hopkins.
Teaching Topics: Nursing Informatics, Nursing Administration
Recent Awards and Publications: American Association of Colleges of Nursing and Helene Fuld Health Trust, Academic Leadership Fellow, 2003-2004, Colleagues in Caring, Leadership in Nursing Workforce Development, 2002.
Kooker, B., Shoultz, J., and Codier, E. Identifying emotional intelligence in professional practice. Journal of Professional Nursing. In press.
Kooker, B., Winters-Moorhead, C., Acosta, M., and Hobbs, S. (2003). Nursing workforce supply data trends in Hawaii. Hawaii Medical Journal 62(9):193-197.
Kooker, B. (2003). Emerging opportunities for nursing in the 21st century. Japanese Journal of Nursing Education 44 (6), 474-477.