Vision

The University of Hawaiʻi, John A. Burns School of Medicine (UH JABSOM), Department of Psychiatry will be a leading organization for outstanding psychiatric services, education, and scholarship in Hawaiʻi and to contribute to the overall UH JABSOM vision of ALOHA*.

*ALOHA: Attain Lasting Optimal Health for All.

Mission

The University of Hawaiʻi, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry will provide leadership in high-quality services, outreach, education, training, scholarship, and workforce development for mental health and substance use by following our, guiding principles, values, and priorities.

Guiding Principle

The University of Hawaiʻi, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry is committed to promoting knowledge, improving practice, providing care, and fostering wellness within a cultural, biological, psychological, and social framework in partnership with health systems and community organizations..

Dr. Walter Chair (Chair from 1965-1969; front row, center); Dr. John F. McDermott, Jr. (Chair from 1969-1995; back row, center); Dr. Naleen N. Andrade (Chair from 1995-2012, back row, left); and Dr. Anthony Guerrero, Chair from 2013-present)

Dr. Walter Chair (Chair from 1965-1969; front row, center); Dr. John F. McDermott, Jr. (Chair from 1969-1995; back row, center); Dr. Naleen N. Andrade (Chair from 1995-2012, back row, left); and Dr. Anthony Guerrero, Chair from 2013-present)[/caption]

A Message from the Department Chair

Over the past 50 years, Department leaders, chairs, faculty, and residents have augmented modest University resources with their individual and collective innovations and talents, to build nationally recognized programs in education and training, clinical care, and research. Through these programs the Department strives to eliminate health disparities among Indigenous Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Island nations populations, as well as address the public mental health needs of severely mentally ill, rural and remote populations within our Pacific Island home. We continue to build a framework of rigorous multidisciplinary investigation that will continue to sharpen our clinical and training programs. Hawai‘i creates a unique training and research opportunity for those interested in the cultural aspects of human behavior, psychopathology and psychiatric practice.

Our Core Values

Aloha is a selfless giving without expectation of reciprocity. It is the ability to empathize with others and treat colleagues and those served with the sensitivity and respect that brings out their best qualities and strengths. Lokahi is the ability to be servant-leaders who strive to establish a set of working relationships that build a team or an 'ohana. These relationships seek to achieve balance or harmony. Maika'i loa is excellence in work done as individuals and as 'ohana. 'Ohana is a family or team bonded by continuous thread of history, culture and/or aims.

Aloha

The self-less giving without the expectation of reciprocity…the ability for us to empathize with others and treat our colleagues and those we serve with the sensitivity and respect that brings out their (and our) best qualities and strengths to define, then complete our tasks with excellence.

Lōkahi

The ability for us to be Servant-Leaders who strive to establish a set of working relationships that build a team or an ‘ohana…These relationships seek to achieve balance or harmony within ourselves and with others…It is balancing the needs of the individual with the needs of those we serve.

‘Ohana 

A family or team bonded by a continuous thread of history, culture and/or aims…While the environment can alter the shape and operations of our Department, as an ‘Ohana, these changes will not sever the fundamental historical and strategic threads that define who we are and how we will respond in an unknown future. Our ‘Ohana faces adversity together, coalescing the sum of our diverse talents to create something new – to become something more than when we began. And, we savor and celebrate (without gloating or becoming complacent) our achievements.

Maika’i Loa 

Excellence in all we do as individuals and as members of our ‘ohana.

Priorities

The University of Hawai‘i, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry is Hawaii’s leading academic unit in mental health services, education/training, and research.

  1. High Quality and Accessible Mental Health and Substance Use Clinical and Community Services – Our department is the largest provider of psychiatric services in Hawai‘i. We provide the majority of psychiatric team care coverage and service line leadership for The Queen’s Medical Center, as well as key psychiatric services for the other major healthcare systems in the State including Kapi‘olani Medical Center/Hawai‘i Pacific Health, the Hawai‘i Department of Health, and the Veteran’s Administration. Our spectrum of services also extends into the community. In this role, our faculty, residents and fellows often care for the most vulnerable patients and populations in Hawaiʻi.
  2. Excellent and Innovative Psychiatric Education and Training – The majority of psychiatrists in Hawaiʻi have some affiliation with our department. Our medical student, residents, and fellows are diverse, and through successful collaborations, are able to rotate through a wide variety of placements and experiences.
  3. Diverse, Community-Focused Research, Scholarship and Quality Improvement– Our faculty and staff conduct research and quality improvement to evaluate evidence- and practice-based treatment modalities and frameworks in local settings, cultural psychiatry /mental health, and suicide prevention. With a focus on local applicability, the Department of Psychiatry strives to integrate our scholarly work into clinical and community services and ensure sustainability. Research and QI approaches are accomplished through a lens of healing systems of care and wellness using relational design.
  4. Operational Excellence-The Department creates opportunities for workforce development, employee involvement, leadership engagement, and strategy deployment. It also pursues ways to enhance performance management and organizational structure.