ʻImi Hoʻola Post-Baccalaureate Program Ceremony at UH medical school

June 14, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Medical Education Building John A. Burns School of Medicine in KakaÊ»ako Add to Calendar

It is always a thrill to see our ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program students complete their dream–admission to medical school.

The completion ceremony is a time for celebration! Each of these promising aspiring doctors was chosen because of the extraordinary person they are — and the potential they demonstrated to earn the right to succeed in medical school.

Each is from a disadvantaged background and/or is someone whose community is currently under-represented in medicine. By completing a rigorous, one-year program, the successful ʻImi graduates become the first new MD students accepted into the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) MD Class of 2020.

During the intensive year of medical school preparation study, the students are supported by stipends from The Queenʻs Health Systems (QHS). QHS has invested $10 million to our University of Hawaiʻi Native Hawaiian Health programs since 2002. The QHS support has allowed JABSOM to leverage state and federal funds and establish a nationally-recognized research division focused on reducing the disproportionately high levels of illness suffered by Native Hawaiians.

More than 200 MDs have earned their degrees through a start in the ʻImi program.• 40% of Native Hawaiians who graduated from JABSOM enrolled in medical school after completing the challenging year-long preparatory course offered by ‘Imi Hoʻōla. And boy, do they give back.

Once in medical school at JABSOM, 98% of the former ʻImi students are successfully enrolled or have graduated as MDs.

30% of ʻImi students are of Native Hawaiian ancestry

34% are of other Pacific Island heritage

Nearly a quarter of the students are from neighbor islands

63% of the graduates choose to specialize in primary care, the front line of health care, in fields where they are most needed.

Next stop for the newest ʻImi is the July White Coat Ceremony and four wonderful years (at least) on their way to careers in medicine. They earn their way into medical school and back into the communities where they are needed the most as MDs!


Event Sponsor
John A. Burns School of Medicine at KakaÊ»ako, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Director, Winona Lee, MD, 692-1030, imihoola@hawaii.edu, http://jabsom.hawaii.edu

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