LIHU‘E — The first cohort of JABSOM’s first-year medical students recently wrapped up their first year on Kaua‘i from March through May through the Kaua‘i Medical Training Track.
From here, the six students — Dylan Lawton, Kirra Borrello, Brent Fujimoto, Ivana Yoon, Erin Evangelista, and Jamie Emoto — will return to O‘ahu for their final exams before returning to Kaua‘i from January to March 2024 as second-year medical students.
While here in the students’ first year, the students spent time taking classes and shadowing Wilcox Medical Center physicians, including Dr. Erica Noel, Wilcox’s pediatrician and director of JABSOM’s Kaua‘i Medical Training Track.
“Working with the first cohort of students in the Kaua‘i Medical Training Track is such an honor,” Noel said. “They are all intelligent and passionate individuals who are committed to serving Kaua‘i. These students, and future colleagues, love Kaua‘i as much as I do. I could not have asked for more.”
Funded by a six-year $10 million commitment from Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg made in March, 2022 to the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa’s John A Burns School of Medicine (referred to as JABSOM), the gift supports the multi-pronged training track program on Kaua‘i to help address the physician shortage and improve access to health care services.
“We are tremendously grateful to Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg for their generous gift and commitment to our Islands’ community health,” said University of Hawai‘i President David Lassner. “This gift will have a lasting ripple effect that will directly improve the health and wellness of Kaua‘i’s families today, and in the future.”
According to information from JABSOM and the University of Hawai‘i’s 2021 Annual Report for the Hawai‘i Legislature, Kaua‘i needs more than 61 doctors to meet the local community’s current health care needs.
Kaua‘i health indicators note the Garden Island has more uninsured people, more strokes and hypertension, and more adults with cancer than the rest of the state. The physician shortage was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and poses serious challenges for all residents, especially for those struggling with chronic illness and preventable diseases, JABSOM said.
“We are very fortunate to have the Medical Training Track Program on Kaua‘i to help build a pipeline of future physicians to serve our community,” said Jen Chahanovich, the Wilcox Medical Center President and CEO and CEO of Kaua‘i Medical Clinic.
Following completion of medical school at no cost, the JABSOM students complete residency in the location of their choice in their selected specialty. This can take anywhere from three to more than seven years to accomplish. Following residency, they return to Kaua‘i for a minimum of four years to practice medicine.
Following their first year in the JABSOM cohort, Hawai‘i Pacific Health said the students mostly spoke about how kind the people are at Wilcox Medical Center, Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, and the island in general. They are also enthusiastic about returning.
Following completion of their second year, the students return to Kaua‘i during their third year for five months to see and treat patients, and in their fourth year, the cohort will be in Wilcox’s emergency department and seeing geriatric patients for one month each. They will also spend two additional months of their choosing working in a specialty of their choice.
Under terms of the Kaua‘i Medical Training Track, a new cohort of first-year students will add to the track each year.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
