Hard work, program propel woman to UH medical school

Carrie Ip has a simple piece of advice for Big Island teens and children — work hard.

Ip, 23, first saw that nose-to-the-grindstone mentality modeled by her parents. Both are immigrants from China, who came to the United States decades ago in hopes of achieving a better life. Growing up, Ip said she watched her parents work long hours to support the family.

“They don’t talk much (about immigrating) but you can tell they both worked really hard throughout the years to make a better life for me and my sister,” Ip said. “And we were able to live happily even though they worked a lot.”

Ip has also worked hard herself. In a few weeks, the Waiakea High School alum will join the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine class of 2020, the start of a rigorous post-graduate education which Ip ultimately hopes will lead to a career as a Big Island physician.

Getting accepted to the UH medical school is no easy feat: Only 20 percent of roughly 300 Hawaii applicants each year are accepted, medical school spokeswoman Tina Shelton said. For out-of-staters, it’s even more challenging — fewer than one percent of about 2,200 applicants are granted admission each year.

Shelton said about five students each year hail from Hawaii Island — among the best represented of the neighbor islands.

Ip, who is a first-generation college student, applied as part of the ‘Imi Ho‘ola program, a decades-old, year-long post-baccalaureate program which offers conditional medical school admission upon successful completion. The program targets students from underserved backgrounds — either socially, economically or educationally — and encourages them to return to their home community to practice.

Only 12 of up to 80 applicants are accepted to the ‘Imi program each year, director Winona Lee said. This year, eight students, including Ip, successfully completed it.

“These students represent both disadvantaged backgrounds and a commitment to the serve the underserved and that’s what we’re looking for,” Lee said.

Stats show future physicians such as Ip will be in high demand. Currently there are about 20 percent fewer physicians than needed practicing in Hawaii, a report released earlier this year shows. On the Big Island, the problem is even more severe — there are about 52 percent fewer practicing physicians than needed and the shortage has worsened in recent years as more physicians retire.

Several years ago, UH medical school began expanding its incoming class sizes in an effort to slowly help appease the shortage. It’s current class — 70 students — is its largest yet, and the max the school can accommodate without adding additional facilities, Shelton said.

Ip, a UH-Hilo graduate, was part of an on-campus, pre-med student organization called “Aspiring Doctors of Hilo” which aims to make the idea of med school seem more attainable for Hilo campus students. Adviser Jonathan Awaya said the club, which has about 60 members, hosts physicians and medical school faculty, offers workshops and helps students in navigating the medical school application process.

“The medical school isn’t here, it’s on Oahu,” Awaya said. “So they don’t really get a chance to see that med school on a daily basis like maybe UH-Manoa students do. So we kind of have to bring it to them. We’re trying to push this idea that there’s a need for doctors on the Big Island, we need students to come to the university and get on those tracks.”

Ip is eyeing a career in pediatrics, which is among the most in-demand specialties on the island. She encourages prospective medical school students to work hard and believe in themselves.

“It can be daunting to feel like you’re competing with so many students and like you’re not good enough,” she said. “I also felt like that (at times), like I had to really prove myself in the world. But don’t let that get to you, push yourself and work hard — it is possible.”