Pictured: Michael Brigoli studying at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Amanda Shell photo.
By Tina Shelton, JABSOM Communications Director.
University of Hawai’i medical student Michael Brigoli is one of only seven future physicians selected by the American Association of Medical Colleges to appear on its “Anatomy of an Applicant – Demonstrating Core Competencies” website.
Brigoli, 43, is a nontraditional student whose path to medical school was one that required resilience and courage.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army after leaving college without a degree. He was trained as a medic and after his military commitment he became Hawai’i County firefighter.
It was there, as a paramedic in the rural community where he grew up, that Brigoli resolved to become a doctor.
“After a while I just thought, we need to do something.”
“I would arrive at emergency scenes (as a paramedic) and ask a patient who their doctor was, and they would tell me the name of the emergency room physician. They didn’t have their own doctor. Hawai’i Island has the least amount of physicians taking care of our population,” said Brigoli. “After a while I just thought, ‘we need to do something.’”
Doing something took audacity. With the support of his wife and two sons, Brigoli sold the family’s Big Island home and moved everyone to O’ahu. There, he completed his college degree at the University of Hawai’i West O’ahu, and in 2015 was accepted into the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa (UHM) John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
Brigoli found choosing to attend JABSOM simple. He was impressed by JABSOM’s strong commitment to Native Hawaiian Health and to training and graduating Native Hawaiian physicians.
“When I was growing up I didn’t think that being a physician was something that I could do. I didn’t know any Native Hawaiian physicians.”
“I didn’t know anybody from my background”, Brigoli said, “having attended three different public high schools, (Pāhoa High School, Castle High School and Waipahu High School). There weren’t a lot of people from my demographic that went on to become physicians.”
