Preparing for the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa interview

To stand out at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, you’ll need more than a polished résumé. JABSOM’s mission is inseparable from the health needs of Hawaiʻi’s diverse communities—Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, rural, and immigrant populations. Applicants who demonstrate cultural fluency, social humility, and systems thinking will be most competitive because they reflect the school’s commitment to equity, place-based care, and community partnership.

This guide distills what to expect from the JABSOM interview, the state’s distinctive health policy environment, and the social forces shaping health equity in Hawaiʻi. You’ll find interview format details, mission fit guidance, timely issues to research, practice questions, and a focused preparation checklist designed to help you respond with authenticity and precision.

The John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa Interview: Format and Experience

JABSOM conducts a panel-based interview aimed at assessing cultural competency, ethical reasoning, and alignment with Hawaiʻi’s healthcare priorities. The conversation is respectful but probing, with scenarios that ask you to integrate clinical judgment with cultural insight and community realities.

• Format highlights:
  • Panel composition and timing: Expect 2–3 interviewers—commonly a mix of faculty, community leaders (e.g., Native Hawaiian practitioners), and current students—for a 45–60 minute session.
  • Question focus:
    • Cultural competency: “How would you address mistrust of Western medicine in a Native Hawaiian family preferring lāʻau lapaʻau (traditional healing)?”
    • Ethical dilemmas: “A Micronesian migrant avoids prenatal care due to fear of deportation. How do you respond?”
    • Community alignment: “How have your experiences prepared you to serve in rural Oʻahu or neighbor islands?”
  • Cross-cutting themes:
    • Health equity for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (NHPI)
    • Resourcefulness in isolated settings (e.g., adapting telehealth for Molokaʻi)
    • Collaboration with kumu hula (hula teachers) and cultural practitioners in patient care

Panels evaluate how you think as much as what you say. Be intentional about active listening and demonstrate respect by acknowledging perspectives (nodding, mahalo acknowledgments) and grounding your approach in Hawaiian values such as lokahi (balance). Experiences that show hands-on service with Hawaiʻi’s underserved—like organizing diabetes screenings for Filipino seniors in Kalihi through Kokua Kalihi Valley—illustrate genuine alignment.

Insider Tip: Mirror the panel’s community-centered approach. Reference place, people, and partnerships in your answers, and show you can integrate cultural practice and clinical care without hierarchy.

Mission & Culture Fit

JABSOM seeks physicians who advance health equity with humility and partnership. Fit goes beyond academic metrics to how you relate to communities—especially Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, rural, and immigrant populations—and how you integrate cultural knowledge into care. The strongest candidates honor traditional healing modalities, such as lāʻau lapaʻau, and work collaboratively with cultural practitioners (including kumu hula) to build trust and improve outcomes.

Demonstrating lokahi (balance) in your care framework shows you appreciate wellness as a holistic, relationship-centered concept in Hawaiʻi. Speak to experiences where you learned from, not just served, communities—co-designing programs, adapting care plans to family dynamics, or partnering with local organizations. JABSOM also values a systems lens. Expect to discuss how you will contribute to solutions tied to workforce shortages, telehealth expansion, and rural access—particularly on neighbor islands—while staying grounded in community priorities.

Local Healthcare Landscape & Policy Signals

Hawaiʻi’s health system is shaped by pioneering coverage policies, geographic isolation, and persistent access gaps. Referencing these realities—and how JABSOM is engaged in solutions—signals that you’ve done the work to understand care in the islands.

• Prepaid Health Care Act (1974): Hawaiʻi mandates employer-sponsored insurance for workers clocking 20+ hours/week, supporting the nation’s lowest uninsured rate (4.2%). However, it excludes gig workers—a significant omission in a state where 34% of jobs are tourism-related. JABSOM’s Health Policy Office advocates for extending coverage to hotel workers in Waikīkī, where ER visits for untreated diabetes are 3x the state average.
• Medicaid’s QUEST Integration: QUEST covers 400,000+ low-income residents, but neighbor islands face acute provider shortages. Molokaʻi General Hospital has just 1 full-time physician for 7,500 residents. JABSOM’s Rural Health Training Program places students in Hana, HI—where patients travel 3+ hours to Maui Memorial—to pilot telehealth psychiatry.
• Opioid Settlement Allocation: Hawaiʻi is investing $78M from opioid lawsuits into harm reduction, including mobile MAT (medication-assisted treatment) clinics in Kapolei’s homeless encampments. JABSOM’s Addiction Center of Excellence partners with IHS (Institute for Human Services) to blend Western medicine with Native Hawaiian hoʻoponopono (conflict resolution) therapies.

These policy touchpoints are not abstract; they’re lived context for patients and practice. Tying your interests to efforts led by JABSOM—such as the Department of Native Hawaiian Health, Rural Health Training Program, and Addiction Center of Excellence—demonstrates fluency and alignment.

Tip: Cite JABSOM’s Department of Native Hawaiian Health when offering policy-to-practice ideas that center community sovereignty and culturally rooted care.

Current Events & Social Issues to Watch

JABSOM operates at the intersection of environmental health, disaster response, chronic disease prevention, and structural inequities affecting NHPI communities. Go into your interview ready to discuss how these issues shape clinical decisions, research priorities, and advocacy.

Local Flashpoints

• Red Hill Water Crisis: 93,000+ Oʻahu residents were poisoned by jet fuel leaks contaminating the Navy’s Red Hill aquifer. JABSOM researchers found benzene levels 350x above EPA limits in affected schools—an urgent reminder to connect clinical care to environmental justice and community safety.
• Maui Wildfire Aftermath: The 2023 Lāhainā fires displaced 8,000+ residents and intensified mental health needs. JABSOM’s Project LIFT deploys mobile clinics offering trauma-informed care in a town where 40% of survivors report PTSD symptoms, underscoring the role of sustained, culturally aware recovery services.
• NHPI Health Disparities: Native Hawaiians die from COVID at 2.3x the rate of white residents. JABSOM’s Partnership for Improving Lifestyle Interventions (PILI Ohana) reduces obesity through culturally tailored nutrition programs—an example of prevention designed with, not for, communities.

National Issues with Hawaiʻi Stakes

• Clinician Shortages: Hawaiʻi needs 1,202 more doctors by 2030. JABSOM’s ʻIliāhi Program recruits rural high schoolers for medical pipeline training in Hilo, signaling a long-view approach to workforce development that begins well before medical school.
• Reproductive Health: Hawaiʻi’s shield law protects abortion providers, but neighbor island clinics remain resource constrained. JABSOM partners with Planned Parenthood Pacific Southwest to train OB-GYNs in procedural abortions via simulation labs, strengthening access and preparedness across the islands.

These topics let you connect your motivations to concrete needs in Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Hana, and Lāhainā. When you discuss solutions, anchor them in place, people, and programs—ideally those embedded in communities and informed by JABSOM’s partnerships.

Tip: Reference JABSOM’s AHEC Program (Area Health Education Centers) when discussing rural workforce solutions, pipeline development, and distributed training models.

Practice Questions to Expect

1. “Why JABSOM over mainland schools? How does our mission align with your goals?”
2. “How would you improve diabetes outcomes in Waiʻanae, where 50% of Native Hawaiian adults are obese?”
3. “A patient blames their illness on ‘aumakua’ (family spirits). How do you reconcile this with biomedical advice?”
4. “Hawaiʻi has the highest rate of multi-generational households. How does this impact elder care?”
5. “Design a community intervention to address vaping among Micronesian teens in Kalihi.”

Preparation Checklist

Use targeted practice to align your responses with JABSOM’s mission and Hawaiʻi’s context. Confetto can help you rehearse the way the panel will experience you.

• Run AI mock interviews that mirror JABSOM’s panel style and timing (45–60 minutes), with prompts spanning cultural competency, ethics, and community alignment.
• Drill scenario-based questions—telehealth in Molokaʻi, integrating lāʻau lapaʻau, addressing immigration-related care barriers—and get structured feedback on empathy, clarity, and cultural humility.
• Use analytics to balance your answers across themes (NHPI equity, rural access, interprofessional collaboration) and tighten pacing under layered panel follow-ups.
• Build a policy-to-practice playbook: rehearse concise explanations of the Prepaid Health Care Act, QUEST Integration, and opioid settlement allocation, then connect them naturally to JABSOM programs and community partners.
• Practice reflective listening: record and review how you acknowledge Hawaiian values (e.g., lokahi), use mahalo acknowledgments, and incorporate cultural practitioners (kumu hula, IHS) into care plans.

FAQ

Is the JABSOM interview panel-based, and who will be in the room?

Yes. Panels include 2–3 interviewers and typically feature faculty, community leaders (e.g., Native Hawaiian practitioners), and current students. Sessions run 45–60 minutes and center on cultural competency, ethical reasoning, and alignment with Hawaiʻi’s healthcare priorities.

What themes should I be ready to discuss throughout the interview?

Expect recurring themes: health equity for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, resourcefulness in isolated settings (such as adapting telehealth for Molokaʻi), and collaboration with cultural practitioners like kumu hula. You’ll be assessed on how you integrate these into clinical reasoning and patient-centered communication.

Which Hawaiʻi policy issues resonate most with JABSOM’s mission?

Focus on three: the Prepaid Health Care Act (1974) and its gap for gig workers; Medicaid’s QUEST Integration alongside neighbor island provider shortages (e.g., Molokaʻi General Hospital’s staffing); and the state’s $78M opioid settlement investment in harm reduction and mobile MAT in Kapolei. Tie your analysis to JABSOM efforts like the Health Policy Office, Rural Health Training Program, and Addiction Center of Excellence.

What current events should I understand before interview day?

Be conversant with the Red Hill Water Crisis (including benzene levels 350x above EPA limits), the 2023 Lāhainā wildfire and JABSOM’s Project LIFT response, NHPI COVID mortality disparities (2.3x the rate of white residents), clinician shortages (1,202 doctors needed by 2030), and reproductive health access challenges on neighbor islands.

Key Takeaways

• JABSOM’s panel interview probes cultural competency, ethics, and alignment with Hawaiʻi’s community health priorities in a 45–60 minute format.
• Show cultural humility and collaboration—integrating values like lokahi and engaging practitioners such as kumu hula and lāʻau lapaʻau.
• Ground your responses in Hawaiʻi’s policy landscape: Prepaid Health Care Act, QUEST Integration, and opioid settlement-funded harm reduction.
• Discuss local flashpoints (Red Hill, Lāhainā) and NHPI health disparities, connecting them to programs like PILI Ohana and Project LIFT.
• Name-check relevant JABSOM units—Department of Native Hawaiian Health, AHEC, Health Policy Office, Rural Health Training Program, Addiction Center of Excellence, and the ʻIliāhi Program—where appropriate.

Call to Action

Ready to practice for JABSOM the way the panel will experience you? Use Confetto to run realistic panel-style mocks, drill culturally grounded scenarios, and turn Hawaiʻi-specific policy and community context into confident, mission-aligned answers. Build the preparation habits that reflect the same partnership and respect JABSOM expects in the clinic.