Lew wants to build online education and emphasize Hawai’i’s “international level” of expertise

by Vina Cristobal for UH Med Now

It’s been a busy season for Dr. Henry Lew, chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at JABSOM.

A few weeks ago, he and Dr. David X. Cifu, who visited JABSOM in July for a discussion on brain trauma, hosted a joint book signing for the new edition of Braddom’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which released in September. Lew and Cifu both traveled to Boston to hold the book signing event. Cifu was handpicked by Dr. Randall Braddom to be the chief editor of the new book, while Lew acted as associate editor.

[Pictured L-R: Dr. David Cifu and Dr. Henry Lew at their book signing event in early October.]

“One of the highlights of this book is that it is very clinically-oriented,” Lew said of his new book, which would be the third that he’s contributed to. Previously, Lew contributed to Johnson’s Practical Electronomyography, which was translated into Portuguese; he also co-wrote Handbook of Polytrauma Care and Rehabilitation with Cifu.

Cifu and Lew’s new book is a vital reference for professionals and students in the rehabilitation medicine field. Each chapter covers comprehensive treatments for concussions, military amputees, wounded military personnel and more – along with effective solutions to minimize pain.

Although Cifu and Lew lived in different states – Virginia and Hawaiʻi, respectively – the collaboration process was simpler than imagined. They often corresponded via phone calls, Skype, e-mails and Facebook, and would visit each other from time to time to discuss the contents of the book.

Dr. Lew will travel to Beijing on Oct. 27 to meet with Chinese delegates and China’s top rehabilitation medicine doctors. There, he and a team of Chinese scholars will begin translating the new edition of Braddom’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to Chinese. He expects the Chinese edition to release next year.

The Handbook of Polytrauma Care and Rehabilitation, which was released by Cifu and Lew in 2014, was translated into Chinese.

In addition, Lew was appointed chair of the education committee of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) in July. He will serve a two-year term as the committee chair.

“My main goal is online education,” he said. “There are so many remote areas that we cannot physically reach, so online education is the goal for my term.”

Lew’s other goals as chair of ISPRM education committee include conducting international workshops and hosting an international scholarly exchange program with students from other countries.

“My goal is to bring Hawaiʻi to an international level. People think of us as just a tourist location. But I want them to know that JABSOM is also known for its international scholarship. I want to promote education, because [I believe] education is the best vehicle that brings people together.”