{"id":181169,"date":"2023-08-01T12:47:25","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T22:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=181169"},"modified":"2023-08-01T12:47:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T22:47:25","slug":"twins-start-med-school-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/01\/twins-start-med-school-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Twin med school students start their JABSOM<\/abbr> journey together"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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JABSOM<\/abbr>‘s Class of 2027<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seventy-seven first-year medical school students began their medical school journey on July 28, as part of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> annual White Coat Ceremony at Kaimuk\u012b High School.<\/p>\n

“It feels a little surreal. We\u2019ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, and it\u2019s finally here. All the hard work we put in, it definitely paid off,” said Erin Kim, a member of JABSOM<\/abbr>\u2019s Class of 2027.<\/p>\n

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Lauren and Erin Kim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the academic medicine community, a White Coat Ceremony marks the start of a medical student\u2019s journey to becoming a physician. The white coat is draped on each student by a physician mentor or a physician from their family. <\/p>\n

For Kim and her twin sister, Lauren, the evening was something they\u2019d been dreaming about nearly their entire lives.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s nothing else we pictured ourselves doing,” Lauren said.<\/p>\n

With more than 2,200 applicants vying for 77 spots, competition for solo applicants is stiff. Two entering the same class from the same family is a true feat.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re fortunate to be here at the same time,” Lauren said. “I never thought we\u2019d have this opportunity to stay here and develop our skills together.”<\/p>\n

Jump start at JABSOM<\/abbr><\/h2>\n

Lauren and Erin were graduates of JABSOM<\/abbr>\u2019s ʻImi<\/span> Hoʻōla<\/span> Post-Baccalaureate Program<\/a>, which puts students from underserved communities on the path to medical school after they complete an intensive one-year deep dive into concepts and principles in the sciences and humanities.<\/p>\n

Via ʻImi<\/span> Hoʻōla<\/span>, the Kim twins got a preview of the rigorous curriculum at JABSOM<\/abbr>. They made it through the program together, and now they\u2019re ready to face the challenges of JABSOM<\/abbr>\u2019s four-year program.<\/p>\n

“It feels great to know that there\u2019s someone with you, who\u2019s your rock, your anchor, especially through the hard times,” Erin said. “Lauren is someone I would study with, and we would keep each other going and keep that motivation up.”<\/p>\n

The twins\u2019 bond has been unbreakable to this point. The sisters said it\u2019s reassuring to know when they lean on each other over the next four years, they\u2019ll know what the other is experiencing because they\u2019re navigating the journey together.<\/p>\n

“Our mom has been our biggest supporter since day one,” Erin said. “Since we were little girls, she knew we always wanted to become doctors. I think she was super proud seeing us on the stage together.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early to decide which specialty each twin will pursue, but the desire to stay in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is a shared goal.<\/p>\n

“Family sparked this dream,” Lauren said. “We have such close ties with our families. We\u2019ve had hardships, and through those, too, being able to overcome the losses we\u2019ve experienced here and there, we\u2019re now in a position where we can help those in similar situations or who feel helpless. That\u2019s something I want to do to give back to my community and do that for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.”<\/p>\n

Read more on the JABSOM<\/abbr> website.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Erin and Lauren Kim have always dreamt of being part of the White Coat Ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[31,1466,9],"class_list":["post-181169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181169"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":181200,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181169\/revisions\/181200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}