New MD students begin journey to becoming physicians

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Tina M Shelton, (808) 692-0897
Director of Communications, Office of Dean of Medicine
Posted: Jul 21, 2014

MD Student Michael Murayama of Kaimuki receives his White Coat.
MD Student Michael Murayama of Kaimuki receives his White Coat.

Selected from 2,225 applicants, the 66 members of the MD Class of 2018 at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) were welcomed during a “White Coat Ceremony” on Friday, July 18 at the Roosevelt High School George Carter Auditorium.

During the ceremony, the members of the incoming class were cloaked with the shorter-length white coats which identify them as medical students. They were also led in a recitation of the physician’s creed, the Hippocratic Oath.

"You are not just among the first of our 2018 class to arrive on campus (the Fall Semester at Mānoa starts next month)," said UH Mānoa Chancellor Tom Apple, "But you are also among our very best."

JABSOM is extremely well regarded both in this community, and among its peers, Apple said. For more than a decade now, 2nd year JABSOM students at have scored above the national average in the first-step U.S. medical licensing exam. "It is a stunning achievement that speaks well of both our students and our faculty—which by the way--includes more than 1,200 volunteers from our Hawai`i medical community," said Apple. 

Many of JABSOM's volunteer faculty attended the UH medical school and are giving back by helping to nuture the next generation of doctors and serving the people of Hawai`i in the midst of a growing physician shortage in our State.  

“The excellent academic performance of students at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) has contributed to ever-rising numbers of applicants,” said Dr. Jerris Hedges, JABSOM Dean. "I am proud to call you 'multipliers of good,' because of the positive impact you have throughout our State as healers." 

The Class of 2018 includes 37 men and 29 women, who range in age from 18 to 39. They graduated from 49 different universities and colleges across the country -- including 19 from our own University of Hawai`i system. Eight of the students are from out-of-state.  

The Class of 2018 includes graduates of 22 Hawai`i public high schools, including Baldwin (Maui), Castle, Farrington, Kahuku, Kaiser, Kalaheo, Kalani, Kaua`i (Kaua'i), McKinley, Mililani, Moanalua, Pearl City, Roosevelt, Waialua and Waiākea (Hawai`i Island). Private school graduates include those from Hawai`i Baptist Academy, `Iolani, Kamehameha, Maryknoll, and Makua Lani Christian School (Hawai`i Island), Mid Pacific Institute, and Punahou.'

JABSOM has about 600 total students annually, including 266 medical students, 230 MDs training in specialty fields, graduate students in biomedical sciences, Communication Sciences and Disorders (Speech Pathology) and Medical Technology. Annually, nearly 80% of the physicians selected as Hawai`i’s “Best Doctors” either received their training at JABSOM or serve on its faculty. The school’s primary care program is ranked in the Top 60 of medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

 

 

 

For more information, visit: http://jabsom.hawaii.edu