The 66 members of the medical doctor class of 2016 have begun orientation at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). In the days before they arrived, it seemed as though even the robotic baby patient in the Sim Tiki Center couldn’t wait for them to arrive.
Students, you have just begun four years in your life that neither you — nor all of us at JABSOM — will ever forget. Our students are the pride of our School — for many, many reasons.
Exceptional students
Dean Hedges teaching students simulation. Photo by Ron Paik.
JABSOM’s students are the best and the brightest of Hawai`i. The often-used phrase is backed up by solid facts. Ninety percent of our MD students are residents of Hawai`i, and for seven straight years, they have collectively out-scored the national average in their first medical licensing exams, known as the USMLE-Step 1. Each year during that time, our over-the-average scores have risen. We believe our caring, dedicated faculty, led by Dean Jerris Hedges, M.D., and our innovative, hands-on “Problem-Based Learning” combine to produce such exceptional results.
Producing excellent physicians for Hawai`i
Students dressing up for surgery. Arnold Kameda photo.
We also are very proud that nearly half of the practicing physicians in the state of Hawai`i are graduates or alumni of the University of Hawai`i medical school or its post-MD training partner, “The Hawai`i Residency Programs, Incorporated.” This year, more than two-thirds of the physicians named the “Best Doctors” of Hawai`i were JABSOM grads and/or faculty.
World-famous research
The world’s first transgenic mice. JABSOM Institute for Biogenesis Research photo.
Our research efforts are significant, too. We are the home of the Institute for Biogenesis Research, which cloned the first mouse and created the world’s first “transgenetic glowing green mice”. We are home of the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence, the Hawai`i Center for AIDS, the Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research, the University of Hawai`i-Queen’s Medical Center Magnetic Research Center, the Center for Cardiovascular Research, and we are developing future centers of excellence in neuroscience and diabetes and obesity. By the way, our medical students contribute to scientific research, too, even before they earn their MD degrees. In 2010, 27 of our students were published in scientific journals, with 15 of them acting as “first authors” (the ones doing most of the research). One student even first-authored a chapter in a book.
Practicing injection techniques. Arnold Kameda photo.
Our ALOHA mission
So you see, we are excited to have you on campus — we know you’ll get “under our skin” in no time. We anticipate that you will continue a legacy of excellent community service at a medical school which is the most diverse in the United States. We look forward to you joining us in our mission to “Attain Lasting Optimal Health for All”, or — for short — “ALOHA”.
Welcome to JABSOM!
By Tina Shelton
