Congratulations to Dr. Lee Buenconsejo-Lum on Being Selected as the Interim Dean at UH’s Medical School

Kudos to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) for their selection of Dr. Lee Buenconsejo-Lum to be their new interim dean. Her selection is well-deserved, well-merited. For our Filipino community, her selection is particularly inspiring to many of us because our community is underrepresented among 1) medical doctors; and 2) top level administration and faculty in higher education.

In this light, Dr. Buenconsejo is a trailblazer on both accounts, and she is truly a role model for many of our youth intending to pursue medicine as well as for those currently in medical school.

Many within the university have expressed confidence in Dr. Buenconsejo during this transition period because of her decades of experience at JABSOM in practically all facets from research, teaching and top-level administration (details in this issue’s cover story).

Plan early in life

What our youth can draw inspiration from is Dr. Buenconsejo’s journey to be where she is at today. At a very young age she was a well-balanced student in both academics and activities like student council. In college she worked hard and had family support. She was inspired by medicine at a very young age from her uncle who was a physician.

Many doctors will tell you that they’ve been inspired to pursue medicine and have been preparing for the profession at a very early age.

Prepare for the long-haul

As most already know the journey to becoming a medical doctor is long and arduous. Breaking down the number of years required: four years to complete an undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, 3-7 years to finish a residency program, and some will go that optional extra mile to finish a fellowship that takes 1-3 years. In total, on average it is about 14 years of college and training.

And when you consider the high cost of higher education, that’s an additional weighted commitment. Over the past decade, medical school costs have risen roughly 20%. With tuition, fees, and health insurance, four years of medical school can cost students roughly $155,000-$250,000, according to bestcolleges.com.

On top of years of commitment and the financial debt incurred, there are many life issues that must be in place that will afford a medical student stability, focus, and continuous drive to complete the entire process – that is very daunting, to say the least.

On the flipside, the rewards of being a doctor are priceless: you save lives, you heal people and therefore bring security and comfort to their entire family. On the financial end, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay of a doctor is greater than or equal to $208,000 a year. In some states, there are programs that will pay off a doctor’s student loan by a certain amount in exchange for a commitment to work in that state. This is increasingly becoming common, and it helps medically underserved communities by drawing in doctors or keeping them in place.

But the hard work it took for schooling and training doesn’t end. Many physicians will tell you, it’s immensely rewarding, but challenging.

The job growth rate (2020-30) for doctors is 3%, which experts say is low. This reflects on the national shortage of physicians. Within medicine, some areas have even lower growth rates: obstetricians and gynecologists (0% in the same time period), surgeons (-1%), internists, general (2%), peditricians (-2%),

From The Publisher

One of our main missions since we’ve started the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle (HFC) is to feature some of our community’s role models. It’s been encouraging that our community have made inroads in almost every sector in society. In some areas there’s still room for improvement, for example, representation in faculty and top administration positions in higher education, specifically at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

For our cover story this issue, we’re pleased to have interviewed Dr. Lee Buenconsejo-Lum who as of this month is the interim dean of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) following the retirement of Dr. Jerris Hedges. Dr. Buenconsejo-Lum will serve as interim dean until a permanent dean is selected, expected to be by the end of this year. Buenconsejo-Lum said she is also applying for that position as well. She has extensive experience in practically all facets at the university as a high-level administrator, teacher and researcher. She grew up in Wahiawa-Mililani and has an interesting story of hard work and inspiration from her family that have helped her reach her goals. At Stanford University where she completed her pre-med work, she also worked as a manager of the school dorm’s student food service and worked at the medical school. She came back to Hawaii for medical school and her residency training. For our youth considering being a doctor, she has sound advice in the article. Congratulations, Dr. Buenconsejo-Lum. We wish you much success.

Speaking of trailblazing, our Asian community will be pleased that President Joe Biden announced his nomination of Julie Su to serve as Secretary of Labor. If confirmed, Su will be the first Cabinet member of the Biden administration of Asian ancestry.

HFC columnist Emil Guillermo contributes an article on historical racism of Asian Americans. He also mentions contrasting opinions by two neuroscientists on the effects that racism can have. Guillermo will be doing a show (“Emil Amok: Lost NPR Host) in New York City at Under St. Marks Theater. See information in his column.

HFC columnist Elpidio Estioko, an educator based in California, contributes for his column “Filipino Educators in the Mainland,” which has an angle specific to Philippine educators making a transition to teach in the U.S. We also have a review of a fascinating book by HFC contributor Rose Churma, a book of essays on Filipinos and Filipino-Americans who have put the arts at the center of their existence and made it their life’s mission to help others achieve their goals in different artistic fields.

Lastly, our international correspondent, HFC columnist Seneca Moraleda-Puguan writes about the devastating earthquake that rocked parts of Turkey and Syria. Her article is called MIRACLES AMIDST TRAGEDY. We hope you enjoy these articles and our other columns and news.

Thank you for supporting the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle. Until next issue,warmest Aloha and Mabuhay!

Publisher & Executive Editor

Charlie Y. Sonido, M.D.

Publisher & Managing Editor

Chona A. Montesines-Sonido

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Edwin QuinaboDennis Galolo

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Belinda Aquino, Ph.D.

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Columnists

Carlota Hufana Ader

Elpidio R. Estioko

Perry Diaz

Emil Guillermo

Melissa Martin, Ph.D.

Seneca Moraleda-Puguan

J.P. Orias

Pacita Saludes

Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq.

Charlie Sonido, M.D.

Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq.

Contributing Writers

Clement Bautista

Edna Bautista, Ed.D.

Teresita Bernales, Ed.D.

Sheryll Bonilla, Esq.

Rose Churma

Serafin Colmenares Jr., Ph.D.

Linda Dela Cruz

Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand

Amelia Jacang, M.D.

Caroline Julian

Raymond Ll. Liongson, Ph.D.

Federico Magdalena, Ph.D.

Matthew Mettias

Maita Milallos

Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D.

Renelaine Bontol-Pfister

Seneca Moraleda-Puguan

Mark Lester Ranchez

Jay Valdez, Psy.D.

Glenn Wakai

Amado Yoro

Philippine Correspondent:

Greg Garcia

Neighbor Island Correspondents:

Big Island (Hilo and Kona)

Grace LarsonDitas Udani

Kauai

Millicent Wellington

Maui

Christine Sabado

Big Island Distributors

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Kauai Distributors

Amylou Aguinaldo

Nestor Aguinaldo

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Molokai Distributor

Maria Watanabe

Oahu Distributors

Yoshimasa Kaneko

Pamela Gonsalves

Shalimar / Jonathan Pagulayan according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The actual factors for the shortage in part have to do with the challenges stated above, but also the large number of retiring doctors are not being replaced. There are deterrents such as the complexities of modern medicine requiring large overhead, compliance with regulations for reimbursements, and to practice medicine (for those who want to get into private practice, which used to be a major incentive) now requires far larger capital and entrepreneurial acumen. In addition to all those factors, the shortage is also related to increased demand: 1) there is a larger senior population (graying of the Baby Boomers), as well as 2) larger overall population with increased access to medical

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