John A. Burns School of Medicine – University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

The school's 2024-2025 Strategic Action Summary includes the following diversity admission goals; "Recruit, develop, and retain diverse basic science and clinical science research talent" and "Enhance recruitment of diverse students and retention of medical residents."

On May 25, 2022, the school's publication "UH Med Now" announced that i research scientists, in partnership with colleagues from nine universities and health care systems, "will lead a ground-breaking $20 million research project to study barriers that prevent people of diverse race and ethnicity from being represented and included in clinical research trials, with the goal of identifying best practices that can be easily replicated to ensure people of all races and ethnicities are fully included." The four-year grant projects began on Apr 1, 2022.

On April 12, 2023, JABSOM News reported that the school "offers two unique programs to help educate students from underrepresented communities on an undergraduate level." Those programs are the Minority Health Research Training Program and Maximizing Access to Research Careers which are both offered at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The programs are "pathways for students who are interested in biomedical and STEM programs."

In June 2020, the school "held an open forum with our ‘ohana to discuss racism in America as a health issue. Many voices implored us to speak openly about racism in our society and asked what we can do as an institution...All were passionate about the need to end racist practices, behaviors, and attitudes that drive health inequities. This dialogue highlighted JABSOM’s ability to create thoughtful leaders who advocate for their community and fellow health care providers, as well as providing excellent care for each individual patient. Such community advocacy also has been evident through our ‘ohana’s participation in #WhiteCoats4Blacklives and other peaceful protests against racism – our nation’s other continuing public health crisis."

As part of its Global Health and International Medicine program, the school has a "Partnership for Social Justice," which is "an interest group made up of members from a variety of disciplines, including medicine, law, nursing, and public health. PSJ aims to make a lasting difference in our community through projects designed to address health and educational inequities, and to understand public policy in both local and global domains."

The school hosted a "Diversity Matters 2022" series, which provided "new knowledge and thought provoking discussions on meeting the healthcare needs of underserved populations, advocacy and action to promote racial and cultural equity and inclusion, diverse approaches to wellness, and women in medicine."

The school also has a "Cultural Competency Resource Guide."

The school offers students the "Dean’s Certificate of Distinction in Social Justice" and an "Introduction to Social Justice Elective."

The school's "Introduction to Social Justice" elective includes material from "Harvard’s Project Implicit [Race IAT]" and "Systemic Racism in Psychiatry is Real."

The Health Sciences library has "Books on Race and Anti-Racism," including "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi and "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo.

The Health Sciences library released "Anti-Racism Sources" to "make yourself a more aware medical student and physician." These resources include "Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America" by Ibram X. Kendi and "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo.

The Health Sciences Library has a collection on "Race and Medicine." The library said, "Despite the best of intentions, medicine is not race blind. Regardless of education level, income level, and geographic location, patients of color and especially black patients receive less care and worse care. The problem is systemic, it is pervasive, and it is real."

The Health Sciences library has a tab within its "Race and Medicine" collection on "Resources for Teaching." The library said, "If you're ignoring race, you're failing your students and their patients."

The school published the "AAMC [Association of American Medical Colleges] Western Group Collaborative Spring Conference" itinerary which took place from April 14-17 of 2023. The program included "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism in the Learning Environment," "The Advancement of Improved Diversity in Medical Education: An Introduction to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Teaching Assistant Program," and "Mistreatment, Anti-Racism, and the Impact of Student-Led Outreach."

In response to an executive order on diversity training, school officials said, "Recent position statements by the LCME and ACGME promote an educational and training environment for students, residents and fellows that opposes systemic racism and leads to the development of a diverse physician workforce; a workforce that treats all patients with dignity and respect and seeks equitable health outcomes for all. The White House Executive Order related to diversity training includes elements which themselves may be divisive and undermine the medical community’s efforts to address issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and health care disparities. In conjunction with our accrediting bodies, JABSOM will continue its efforts to provide a clinical learning environment that is inclusive and supportive of our ohana and the patients we treat."

The school's "Diversity, Equity, and Opportunities" site features a "Medical Student’s Commitment to Health Equity."

The school is committed to "preparing a culturally competent health and science workforce that meets the needs of Hawaiʻi."

On June 19, 2020, the school's publication "UH Med Now" published a statement "in honor of Juneteenth" and stated, "The events of the last several weeks have reminded us that equity in society is a constant struggle and that many, especially African Americans, still suffer physical and emotional harm from racism in America. As physicians, we are increasingly aware of the higher rates of chronic disease, mental health issues, and decreased life expectancy associated with structurally racist policies and programs in our society."

On June 29, 2023, the school published its response to the Supreme Court's decision regarding race-conscious admission policies and stated the following: “JABSOM has long considered multiple factors and individual applicants’ lived experiences in our medical student admissions process. Similar to the larger University of Hawaiʻi system, we are now analyzing the Supreme Court ruling and will determine what changes, if any, will be required to adhere to the ruling, while maintaining our commitments to diversity and equity to meet the educational and workforce needs of Hawaiʻi."