University Tower, Queen’s Medical Center
1356 Lusitana Street, 7th Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Tel: (808) 586-2910
Fax: (877) 720-5711
Web: uhmed.org

Faculty

S. K. Kuwada, MD Chair)—gastroenterolgy
J. Acoba, MD—hematology, medical oncology
S. Azuma, MD—cardiology
D. Banerjee, MD—cardiology
E. F. Bello, MD—infectious disease
B. Berg, MD—pulmonary critical care
W. Boisvert, PhD—cardiovascular research
S. Brown, MD—neurology
C. Chong, MD—general internal medicine, hospitalist
D. Chow, MD—general internal medicine, meds/peds
E. Daoud, MD—critical care
G. Devendra, MD—internal medicine, pulmonary disease, critical care medicine
S. Gallacher, MD—critical care
E. Ganitano, MD—critical care
A. Hoo, MD—general internal medicine
R. Ikeda, MD—critical care, pulmonary medicine
C. Izutsu—nephrology
F. Kan, MD—internal medicine
A. Kemble Luo, MD—cardiology
Z. Khan, MD—cardiology
M. Kiyokawa, MD—general internal medicine
F. Koehler, MD—general internal medicine
J. Kot, MD—critical care
D. Kurohara, MD—internal medicine
M. Koenig, MD—neurology
N. Leong, MD—internal medicine
K. Lian, MD—hospitalist
T. Maglinao, MD—general internal medicine
B. Matsuda, MD—critical care, pulmonary medicine
F. Mercado, MD—general internal medicine
J. Miles, MD—neurology
N. Morgan, MD—internal medicine
K. Nakagawa, MD—neurology
R. Nakasone, MD—internal medicine, hematology, medical oncology
C. Rettenmeier, PhD—neuroscience, mri research
T. Seto, MD—cardiology
R. Shimamoto, MD—general internal medicine
R. Shohet, MD—cardiology
D. Singh, MD—cardiology
V. Stenger, PhD—neuroscience, mri research
K. Sumida, MD—hematology
B. Takase, MD—general internal medicine
M. Tallquist, PhD—cardiovascular medicine
S. Tatsuno, MD—internal medicine
T. Watai—internal medicine
J. Yess, MD—general internal medicine

Degree Offered: MD

The Academic Program

Internal medicine is the medical discipline that specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of illnesses in adults. The Department of Medicine contributes to the general education of medical students, and provides post-MD and continuing medical education in the discipline of internal medicine and its sub-specialties. Faculty also maintain active, funded research programs in HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), cardiology, diabetes, neurology, respiratory diseases, and other medical conditions, in addition to patientoriented, community-based, or medical education research. Faculty also provide direct patient care and medical services in hospital and outpatient settings, particularly to the under-served or under-insured. In delivering medical education, conducting research, and providing patient care, the department helps Hawai‘i meet its health care needs, develop vital work force, and advance our understanding of health disparities in the context of Hawai‘i’s unique ethnic and environmental diversity.

Education

The department provides education for medical students, interns and residents (post-MD students), faculty, and practitioners. In the first two years of medical student education, departmental faculty hold key leadership and teaching roles in Problem-Based Learning, Colloquia, Basic Science Correlations, Clinical Skills Preceptorship, and many BIOM courses. In these early years, the curriculum integrates humanities, social sciences, and the physical and biological sciences. The curriculum also promotes skills in hypothesis formulation, data acquisition and evaluation, clinical problem-solving, and effective communication with patients, their families, and other members of the health team.

For third year students, the department coordinates required clerkships that provide students supervised, formative experiences in the evaluation and management of patients in hospital and outpatient settings. For fourth year medical students, faculty in general medicine and internal medicine sub-specialties also offer required and elective learning opportunities that focus on particular aspects of internal medicine. In brief, the department helps the learner achieve graduation objectives and helps assure accreditation of the school by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

The department also provides the faculty and the educational oversight for interns and residents in the UH Mānoa Internal Medicine Residency Program (UHIMRP), which is accredited by the American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Each year, nearly 20 post-MD students complete the 3-year Categorical program. Faculty develop and deliver curricula that address fundamental concepts in general medicine and in each of the internal medicine sub-specialties: allergy and immunology, cardiology, critical care medicine, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, hematology, infectious diseases, nephrology, neurology, oncology, pulmonary diseases, and rheumatology. The curricula are delivered in inpatient and outpatient sites that provide opportunities for supervised direct patient care and that embody the practical experiences for which the internist must be prepared. They prepare the resident for certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Increasing emphasis on medical education and scholarship help assure that residents will learn and teach well beyond their graduation from the residency. Indeed, post-doctoral residents are integral to the education of our medical students.

As part of the departmental commitment to post-graduate training, the department also educates up to 6 preliminary residents who complete a year of internal medicine before focusing in neurology, dermatology, and other specialties. It shares in the education of as many as 9 transitional residents who complete a year of medical and surgical training before focusing in programs such as anesthesiology, ophthalmology, or radiology. Our faculty supervises rotations for residents in other disciplines, as required by their respective accrediting Boards. These include family practice and community medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry.

The department is also accredited by the American Consortium in Continuing Medical Education to provide weekly seminars and special learning activities in topics pertinent to the practicing internist. Through its regular evaluation and discourse with practicing physicians as well as academic researchers, the department shares scientific advances with the community and gains practical insights that help shape the education of our future physicians.

Research

Faculty are principal investigators of and contributors to federally funded research programs. Many ongoing translational and clinical research projects help address racial disparities in prevalence, detection, and management of illnesses.

Reflecting the collaboration with basic scientists, several faculty also have adjunct appointments in basic science departments and the UH Cancer Center. Collaborations also exist with medical centers such as the Queen’s Health Systems and Hawai‘i Pacific Health. Research in bioethics, medical education, public health, community outreach, and community-based participatory research promote teaching and learning approaches, and advance the health literacy of the medical and public communities. The diverse scientific and scholarly activities provide rich learning opportunities for UH Mānoa undergraduates, JABSOM medical students, UHIMRP residents, and practitioners.

Service

In addition to supporting department, school, and university needs, faculty also provide clinical services in settings that benefit under-served communities and that enhance medical student and post-doctoral learning. The faculty practice provides a continuum in the prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, and management of illness. Complex cases that result from interactions between genetics, environment, and culture benefit from multi-disciplinary inquiry and collegial discussion fostered by the medical school and its faculty.