Big Island students entering the John A. Burns School of Medicine. (Photo courtesy of UH)

MEDIA RELEASE

Members of the entering class at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) are undertaking the study of medicine this year with i-Pads firmly in hand.

This is the first class at the University of Hawaii’s medical school to be able to access the school’s full curriculum via the Apple i-Pad.

That’s exciting for members of the class, including Chadwick Council, a first-year medical student who recently worked as a network engineer for a Hawaii financial institution.

“I am kind of a ‘tech nerd’ and anything and everything technical I like. And it’s like Dr. Smerz said, there’s so much information out there. Say like if I’m reading a doctor’s forum or whatever, we can collect all our information on our i-Pads,” Council said. “Then if I go to a coffee shop or something I don’t have to lug all (that) with me. I was super-excited about that.”

The entering class, made up of 40 women and 26 men, will study this year alongside the 200 other students (second-, third- and fourth-year students) pursuing their MD degrees at JABSOM.

There is a strong neighbor island presence in the class, with eleven students from Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai, regions where a physician shortage make it challenging to receive timely primary health care.

Big Island students include:

* Charles A. Peebles (Konawaena HS)
* Scarlett C. Johnson (Hawaii Preparatory Academy)
* Karra S. H. Imoto (Kamehameha Schools)
* Tara M. Reed (Waiakea HS)
* Brian C. Imada (Honokaa HS)
* Liang Wang (Waiakea HS)
* Chih Wei Chang, (St. Joseph HS)
* Casey Yamashita, (Waiakea HS)

Eight of our students graduated from high schools in Montana, Oregon, California, Utah, Canada and Guam, although the colleges the MD Class of 2016 attended before medical school are all over the map.

They include: University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University, Amherst College, Boston University, Brigham Young University at Provo, Creighton University, University of Pennsylvania, Scripps College, Swarthmore College, Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, Lewis and Clark College, Harvard University, Carlton College, Gonzaga University, Yale University, University of Oregon, Boston University, UCLA, UC-Davis, -Berkeley, -Irvine, -Santa Clara, -San Diego and -Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, University of Denver, University of Nevada, University of Southern California, University of Redlands, Pacific University, Pepperdine University, University of Puget Sound, University of Washington, Carleton College, Northwestern University, Pomona College, University of San Francisco, McMaster University and the University of Western Ontario.

In addition to training medical students, JABSOM also oversees the post-MD medical training of another 250 physicians being supervised during their intern and residency years at Hawaii’s major medical centers. Many of them are also using i-Pads at their patients’ bedsides these days.

JABSOM is the overwhelming source of doctors treating patients in the state. About half of the practicing physicians in Hawaii are graduates of JABSOM, its residency program and/or are on the faculty.

Members of the entering class at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) are undertaking the study of medicine just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act destined to change the way physicians practice medicine and how Americans access health care.

Chosen from more than 1,600 applicants who sought to study at the University of Hawaii’s medical school, the 66 aspiring doctors received the hip-length white coats that mark them as medical students during a ceremony earlier this month.

The students also recited the Oath of Hippocrates, sacred to their profession, as they begin their journey to become healers.

— Find out more:
http://blog.hawaii.edu/uhmednow