6 Maui, 2 Moloka’i Students Enter UH Medical School

By Wendy Osher

Six Maui students and two Moloka’i students are among the newest class entering the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine.  The 66-member Class of 2015 is the largest to date and represents an expansion to address an ongoing physician shortage in the state.

The Maui students include the following:

• Mychael Lagbas, a graduate of Lahainaluna
• Mark Mayeda, Seabury Hall
• Cole Nishikawa, King Kekaulike High
• Alexander Taylor, Seabury Hall
• Aimi Watanabe, Seabury Hall
• Steven Gonsalves, Maui High School

Pictured left to right are Imi Ho’ola graduates Kyle Watanabe, Kaimana Chow, Aldrich Ricalde, Emmanuel de Jesus, Genia Taitano and Steven Gonsalves. Photo courtesy JABSOM.

The Moloka’i men are:

• Kaimana Chow: Kaimana graduated from Kamehameha Schools and is a recent graduate of the UH Imi Ho’ola Post-Baccalaureate Program, a year-long intensive study for students from culturally, socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. When they successfully complete the program, they earn a spot in the entering MD Class.
• Dayton Wong: attended Molokai High Intermediate School before college.

The new class was selected from more than 1,600 applicants.  In addition to the Hawai’i students, there are eight non-resident students, including one each from Beijing, Japan and Canada.

The new medical students receive their short white coats today, a symbolic step signifying their role as physicians in training.

Dr. Alson Inaba, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Department Physician at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children, will deliver the keynote address at today’s event. He is known nationally for inspiring the use of the disco tune, Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gee’s to help medical students learn the proper rhythm for chest compressions while performing CPR.

The John A. Burns School of Medicine trains an estimated 250 students in its MD program annually, as well as an additional 250 post-MD trainees.