Pictured: Medical students who have survived the demanding ‘Imi medical student preparatory program.
By Tina Shelton , UH Med Now
When University of Hawai’i students talk about medical school, they inevitably mention that their third year is the most grueling. It’s when they leave the intellectual safe-space of the classroom or lab, and venture out to the hectic, busy wards of more than eight different community-based hospitals — some miles from each other. The hospitals are where the working physicians on the UH faculty (quite a few of them volunteers, will test the students’ clinical skills in ways they never imagined. Every few weeks, the students will shift to another hospital, another medical specialty, until they’ve virtually done it all: helped to delivered babies, absorbed lessons in surgery, watched children, adults and the elderly receive care, and been introduced into the medicine of the mind.
But as difficult a learning curve as that enormous change to third year is, some veterans of the transition say it’s nothing compared to completing the intensive, one-year preparatory program for aspiring medical students, the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post Baccalaureate Program.
But let’s let the latest successful graduates of ʻImi Hoʻōla (“Those who seek to heal”), tell you themselves. Meet the three newest members of the incoming MD Class of 2021—who earned their admission the hard — but tremendously fulfilling way — through ʻImi.
ʻImi Grads '17-HD 1080p from UHMed on Vimeo.
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About ʻImi
The ʻImi Hoʻōla (which means “Those who seek to heal”) Post-Baccalaureate Program invests in aspiring physicians who show great promise, but who will have a better chance of successfully navigating medical school through a one-year preparatory program. ʻImi was founded more than four decades ago, to offer opportunities to students from historically underprivileged or disadvantaged backgrounds. It is an enormous success, with more than 240 physicians having successfully completed ʻImi and medical school. Most of them are practicing medicine here in the islands, giving back to underserved communities.
Related Story:
ʻImi grads describe how the program helped them become successful medical students
Newest ʻImi land in the MD Class of 2020