The Asian American/Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA) has named Yu (Philip) Xu, PhD, RN, as its 2010 president-elect. Dr. Xu, who holds the positions of professor and PhD program coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Nursing, will assume the role of president-elect on January 1 and will take office as president in January 2012—making him the first man to lead AAPINA since the association’s founding in 1992.
Dr. Xu, who is a also a certified nurse educator (CNE) and a certified transcultural nurse (CTN), is one of only a few researchers in the nation to study how foreign-educated nurses adjust to working in the American health care environment. He is regularly called upon by medical and educational institutions throughout the nation to consult on the transition, adaptation and integration of Asian-trained nurses into the U.S. nursing workforce.
In 2008, Dr. Xu and a team of UNLV researchers developed Speak for Success, a comprehensive language and communication training program for newly hired foreign-educated nurses. The innovative program, funded through a multi-year grant from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, includes linguistics training and a series of interactive communication workshops. In addition, Dr. Xu has conducted research on cultural competence, international nursing education, international nursing students and other topics and he has consulted on nurse training in the People’s Republic of China.
Also on January 1, Oisaeng Hong, PhD, RN, will become AAPINA’s new 2010-12 president, succeeding outgoing president Jillian Inouye, PhD, RN. Dr. Hong is an associate professor in the Department of Community Health Systems at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing and she is also director of the occupational and environmental health nursing program at the university’s Northern California Center for Occupational and Environmental Health.
As an occupational health nursing educator and researcher, Dr. Hong’s research interests focus on health and safety in working populations (including vulnerable populations, such as underserved immigrant workers), noise exposure and hearing loss, community/worksite-based health and safety outreach programs, and global networks in occupational and environmental health. Her work has earned her awards from many organizations, including the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, the Aviation Nurses’ Society of the Aerospace Medical Association, the American Board of Occupational Health Nursing and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation.
In addition to her active involvement in AAPINA, Dr. Hong is a member of the Association of American Occupational Health Nurses, the American Public Health Association, the Global Korean Nursing Foundation, the International Commission on Occupational Health and the National Hearing Conservation Association.
For more information about the Asian American/Pacific Islander Nurses Association, which is holding its 7th Annual Conference on February 19-20, 2010 in Chapel Hill, N.C., visit www.aapina.org.