Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Internal Medicine Residency Program Director Mitch Motooka, MD, along with more than 350 physicians and providers from Hawaii Permanente Medical Group (HPMG), welcomed the 2016-2019 class of internal medicine residents at HPMG’s Professional Development Day on June 10. Each resident was presented with a white coat by his or her core faculty mentor and a PGY-2 colleague.
“I want to be a well-rounded, efficient, and compassionate primary care physician, and I know the Kaiser Permanente residency program is going to get me there,” said Valynn Pham, MD – a JABSOM (University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine) graduate who completed her third-year longitudinal clerkship at Kaiser Permanente. “All of my preceptors were amazing. They were excellent teachers and really great examples of the physician I want to be.”
The five interns will be based out of Mapunapuna Medical Office and will receive the majority of their training in the clinics, though they’ll spend six months of their first year at Moanalua Medical Center. Dr. Motooka will oversee the residents with various faculty mentors from internal medicine and related subspecialties.
“What really sold me about the program was how welcoming and friendly everyone was,” said Maegan Doi, MD, who received her medical degree from JABSOM. “Everyone’s been really open to helping us and giving us advice, making it a little less stressful.”
Beginning their residency as an attendee at HPMG’s Professional Development Day was an eye-opening experience. They were surprised with a welcome video that featured a number of their future colleagues. All five residents remarked on how impressed they were with the event, including the speakers and the training they received in shared decision-making.
“I think one of the best parts was the small group session in which you could practice shared decision-making and get feedback from other physicians,” said Li-Hsieh Chen, MD, also a JABSOM graduate.
“I don’t think any other residency program has quite an experience like this,” said Henry Lew, MD, who attended the Charles R. Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program. “The welcome video, and the chance to sit down and meet the physicians and other residents – it was a great first day for us.”
“I’m looking forward to trying a bit of everything and learning about which area I enjoy the most, so I can find my niche,” said Dan Moreno, MD, a graduate of the medical school at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara Facultad de Medicina in Mexico (where physicians receive a Medico Cirujano degree, or Master of Surgery). “Hawaii’s home – where else would I want to be?”
Incoming Chief Resident Jennifer Katada, MD, who joins the program in September, also received her white coat.
Mahalo to the IM Residency Program core faculty, the Internal Medicine Department at Mapunapuna Medical Office, and the residency program team (Jeani Jow, RPh, PharmD; Krissy Mai; and Kenika Lorenzo), for their dedication to supporting our residents.