MEDIA RELEASE

The University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine graduated 63 new doctors this weekend, including two from the Big Island.

Class highlights:

Parents of UH students earn less than parents of students at any other medical school in the country. (Median family income: $85,000.) In-state tuition for 2011-2012 is $29,184 per year. Out of state tuition for 2011-2012 is $61,464.

Ninety percent of MD students are in-state residents. Seven are Native Hawaiians.

The newest MDs include 28 students whose hometown is Honolulu. Six are from Kaneohe, two from Aiea, three from Waipahu, two from Mililani, one from Wahiawa, one from Kahaluu, three from Kailua and one from Pearl City.

From the Neighbor Islands, new MDs include one each from Kula, Haiku, Kapaa, Hilo and Holualoa.

Among the Class of 2011 are:

* Erin Alice Kaailau Kalua
Hilo, Hawaii
Family Medicine

* James Christian Pitts
Holualoa, Hawaii
Transitional / Ophthalmology

Two students are from California, one from New York, one from Washington, one from Illinois, two from Canada, one born in Vietnam, two from Guam and one from Palau.

A study completed just last year found that because of retirements and increasing demands from an aging population, there is a need for about 150 new doctors per year.

JABSOM is currently graduating less than half of that amount, yet the data show the students who attend JABSOM are the most likely to remain and practice here – more than 50 percent of the practicing physicians in Hawaii have received some or all of their training at JABSOM or serve on its faculty.

Overall, JABSOM will confer 66 additional (non-MD) degrees this year – including 10 PhDs in biomedical sciences, three Doctors of Public Health, 31 Masters of Public Health, three Masters of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders, 13 Bachelors of Science in Communication Sciences Disorders and six Bachelors of Science in Medical Technology.

The John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), named for a visionary governor, was established in 1965 and has trained more than 4,500 medical doctors through its MD or residency program.

JABSOM also trains bioscience, public health, communication sciences and medical technology professionals.

For 2012, three of JABSOM’s programs are ranked among the“Best in the U.S.” by US News and World Report, including Geriatric Medicine at NO. 13 in the nation.

For more information about JABSOM, visit http://jabsom.hawaii.edu