UH Med Now - Native Hawaiian

Our colleague, mentor, friend and physician leader, Emmett Aluli, was a kanaka oʻiwi to the core and as we remember all the facets of his life and the contributions he left to everyone, we would like to remember Emmett through the lens of what he meant to our kauka (medical doctors) and to the institution […]

*This tribute to Dr. Thomas J. Whelan was written by Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli and originally published in the Hawaii Medical Journal, November 1999, Volume 57. No. 11 special memorial issue. Ha ʻalele koa wa ʻa, i koa kanaka he koa canoe has departed leaving the warriors behind E ho ‘opiha i ka makalua i […]

The Aluli ʻohana statement: “He pioneered a distinctively Native Hawaiian approach to health care in rural Hawaiian communities that he modeled for medical students who shadowed him. He believed that each patient’s health and well-being needed to be understood in the context of their ʻohana, their genealogy, their lifestyle, and their ʻāina. He shared the […]

“As a Native Hawaiian, it’s so easy to feel like you don’t belong in the field of medicine,” Bree Kaneakua, a fourth-year medical student at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, said. “It’s such an intimidating field for anyone. It’s challenging. So to feel like you don’t belong in 99% of the rooms you’re […]

John A. Burns was Hawaiʻi’s second elected governor, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s School of Medicine bears his name. “Of all the buildings to place his name on, he wanted to affix his name on this school because he believed that greatness came from Hawaiʻi,” says Dr. Naleen Andrade. “If we just gave […]

September is Hawaiian History month, and JABSOM has partnered with the Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī Coalition to produce a vessel for education about Hawai’i’s history and culture that offers a vivid spectrum of programs to celebrate Native Hawaiian history. One week is traditionally dedicated to health. “If you’re talking about the Hawaiian community, and where we were […]