Match Day 2011: More than half will pursue primary care Date: March 17, 2011
Match Day Smiles
Imagine being handed an envelope that contained details of what your life would be like for the next few years. What kind of nervous anticipation might you experience?
Sixty-one students at the John A. Burns School of Medicine can tell you exactly what that feels like. Today they were handed envelopes bearing the news about where they will spend their next few years of post-graduate training.
Today’s envelope ceremony marked Match Day, observed simultaneously at every medical school across the country. At the UH Kakaako medical complex, the envelopes were opened at 7:30 a.m., triggering hugs, handshakes and even tears of joy, as students shared the news with family, friends and each other.
Koah Vierkoetter, who will receive her MD degree in May, came to the ceremony with her husband Reiner and their seven month-old son Niko in tow. They were thrilled to learn that she was accepted into a post-graduate program in Hawai’i to train in obstetrics/gynecology.
"It will be my pleasure to be able to go back to my home island of Kaua’i and serve as an OB-GYN," said Vierkoetter, who said she is proud to have graduated from Kapaa High School."We badly need doctors of all specialties in Hawai’i."
Members of this class competed with 1,900 applicants to get into the medical school.Women
make up 66 percent of the class, a record.
A computer actually matches the students all across the country with training programs--
including those affiliated with the medical school in Hawaii--where the young MD’s will work in Island hospitals, while continuing to train under supervision in their specialty area.
The largest group of UH students receiving envelopes today (26) chose to stay in Hawaii for
the next step in their careers.Others will train in programs in 18 other states, stretching from
California to Florida.
UH Medicine is among nation's Top 100 Medical Schools in Three Categories Date: March 15, 2011
U.S. News & World Report has ranked three programs at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) among the country’s Top 100, in its annual listing of the Best Graduate Schools.
U.S. News & World Report assessed medical schools across the country for both the quality of their research training and primary-care training. In the 2012 rankings, JABSOM’s Geriatric Medicine program ranked 13th, the Primary Care program ranked #58 and JABSOM’s research program ranked #87.
"It's a great honor to receive this national recognition for our program. I really appreciate the hard work of our faculty, fellows and staff, and the strong support of our community partners. Everything we do is a team effort and we are proud of our education, research, clinical and community service geriatrics programs," said Kamal Masaki, acting chair of JABSOM’s geriatrics department.
"Primary care has been a longstanding priority at JABSOM and we are pleased to be listed in the top 100 medical schools in three categories nationwide," said Dr. Jerris R. Hedges, dean of JABSOM. "However, our work has just begun. To address the shortage of primary care physicians in our state and particularly on the neighbor islands, we will need to expand the class, add residency opportunities, and improve the practice climate for all physicians."
Medical Students Present Powerful Anti-Smoking Message Date: March 14, 2011
A child's eyes are fixed on the pig lungs
The children couldn't avert their eyes. The image of two sets of pig's lungs--one pink and healthy, the other black from tobacco--was just too compelling.
And that's the point. Students from the John A. Burns School of Medicine set up a booth at the Honolulu Festival March 13.
"We had a lot of people check our booth out," said fourth-year medical student Brandon Au. "Hopefully we made a positive impact on all of our visitors."
The impact is sought at demonstrations the medical students put on all over O'ahu year-round. They educate people, especially children about the health hazards of tobacco. And taking one long look at the lungs contaminated by tobacco smoke appears to have a powerful impact on the keiki.
NOVA Profiles work of UH Medical School's Angel Yanagihara Date: March 03, 2011
The John A. Burns School of Medicine is proud to share the news that the prestigious PBS program "NOVA" featured a segment on the work of our Dr. Angel Yanagihara.
The program originally aired in Hawaii last week on PBS..but you may now catch it for viewing ON LINE. Dr. Yanagihara's segment appears at about 26:00 in, in case you are afraid of snakes or spiders, who precede her jellyfish in the program.
"The King's Speech" took the top award at the Academy Awards last night, and the buzz is extending all the way to the islands.
The movie about a British king's stutter is raising awareness of the work of speech therapists.
Speech impediments can take away one of the most important aspects of being human: communication.
"And therefore if you have impaired communication it can be a real hold back to your career," said Speech-Language Pathologist, Dorothy Craven.
Oscar winning film, "The King's Speech," is shedding light on the field of speech-language pathology and its importance.
The movie is the story of King George VI as he struggles with a stutter. He gains confidence with the help of a speech therapist.
"I must say I was surprised the degree to which my friends suddenly all started calling me up saying, 'Have you seen the movie? Have you seen the movie?" Craven said.
UH Medical School Helping Recruit and Retain Rural Docs Date: March 01, 2011
By Sheri Porter, American Academy of Family Physicians, AFP News Now
The legendary surfer's paradise known as the Banzai Pipeline is located on the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. However, a very different kind of pipeline is the topic of the day -- every day -- at the Hawaii AFP.
Hawaii desperately needs to expand its primary care pipeline so that the state can provide medical care to its residents, says family physician Allen Hixon, M.D., an ardent supporter of the Hawaii AFP's efforts to address the state's physician shortage.
A past president of the Hawaii chapter, Hixon currently is an associate professor and vice chair of the department of family medicine and community health at the University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu.
"We're an island state, and so we have populations that live on seven islands," he told AAFP News Now. "Those island populations range from 400 to 850,000 people. The primary care shortage on the neighbor islands is quite extreme."
According to Hixon, who also serves on the AAFP Commission on Education, the health care challenges in Hawaii, particularly in rural parts of the various islands, are very different from the rural health challenges in the rest of the United States. "Distances to care may be great (on the mainland) but you can get in a car and drive to get the services you need. That just doesn't exist here," said Hixon. "Geography is really a very defining issue for our health system."
