O’ahu Family Medicine Residency

About

Aloha and e komo mai (welcome) to the University of Hawaiʻi O’ahu Family Medicine Residency Program! We are a community-based 7-7-7 program sponsored by the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). Our hospital sponsor is Pali Momi Medical Center, a community hospital that serves central and leeward Oʻahu. This setting provides an ideal environment to care for and learn from patients across a broad range of cultural backgrounds, lived experiences, and medical needs.

Our training experiences are as varied as the communities we serve, including maternal-child health, geriatric care, substance use disorder treatment, community outreach, and care for individuals experiencing housing instability, among many others. We are a RHEDI program and are committed to ensuring comprehensive reproductive health training. Our continuity clinic provides team-based care including clinical pharmacy, behavioral health, and community health navigation and serves as the home base for our ʻohana of students, residents, faculty, and staff.

Our program was established in 1994 in Wahiawā, where it served the community for over 20 years before relocating to Pali Momi in 2017. A few years later, in 2020, our continuity clinic site also moved to a newly renovated facility at the Pali Momi Outpatient Center in ʻAiea. Since our founding, we have trained over 170 residents and are proud that over 80% continue to serve in Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific. Opportunities for all and a welcoming environment have been integral to the mission of our program since its inception, and we remain committed to fostering these values in our work today.

To prepare family physicians to be compassionate, resilient, and effective leaders in improving the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Basin.

We believe that the foundation of a health system is built upon a strong base of primary care and we seek to achieve this through:

Providing broad training for a diversity of career paths
Promoting health fairness and trauma-responsive care
Fostering clinician well-being and resilience
Cultivating efficacy in community and population-based health
Advancing education and scholarship in Family Medicine

To create a healthier Hawai’i by improving care, building community, and promoting health equity through excellence in Family Medicine.

Core Faculty

The core faculty are those that work within the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. They are responsible for the bulk of the teaching, precepting, and curriculum development for the residency program.

The other faculty have clinical appointments with our department and all volunteer their time to work with our residents and medical students. The clinical faculty responsible for residency teaching includes over 100 community physicians, many of whom are active medical staff members at Pali Momi Medicial Center and preceptors/supervisors at the various rotation sites (Tripler Army Medical Center, Hilo Medical Center, and private offices). Faculty responsible for medical student teaching include a wide variety of talented family physicians throughout Hawaii and the Pacific Basin.

ALLEN HIXON, MD, MA
Department Chair

Pali Momi Medical Center, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children

THOMAS QUATTLEBAUM, MD
Program Director

Pali Momi Medical Center, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children

LEIMOMI KANAGUSUKU, MD
Associate Program Director, Director of Inpatient Medicine

Pali Momi Medical Center, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children

ROBERT CARLISLE, MD
Clinic Medical Director

Pali Momi Medical Center, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children

KOMAL SOIN, MD, MPH
Director of Maternal Child Health & Women’s Health

Pali Momi Outpatient Center, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children

PATTY TRAN, DO
Core Residency Faculty

Pali Momi Medical Center, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children

CYNTHIA KIM, LCSW
Director of Behavioral Health

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

KANA MAEJI CARTER, DO
Musculoskeletal Medicine Lead Faculty

Pali Momi Medical Center, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children

SEIJI YAMADA, MD, MPH
Clinical Faculty, Medical Student Sub-Internship Director

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

NEAL A. PALAFOX, MD, MPH
Founding Program Director

Professor, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.

STEVEN HANKINS, MD, MPH, MTS
Inpatient Clinical Faculty

Pali Momi Medical Center

CAMLYN MASUDA, PHARMD
Clinical Pharmacy Lead

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

TERESA SCHIFF, MD
Medical Director of Hawaiʻi HOME Project

Pali Momi Outpatient Center, Office of Medical Education

LEE BUENCONSEJO-LUM, MD
Interim Dean of JABSOM

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

DAMON LEE, MD
JABSOM Family Medicine Clerkship Director

Pali Momi Outpatient Center, Office of Medical Education

CYNTHIA OHATA, MD
Oah’u Family Medicine Core Faculty, Kaua’i Family Medicine Program Director

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

LIANA KOBAYASHI, DO Faculty Advisor

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

JESSENIA KNOWLES, MD Faculty Advisor

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

EDITH DASIG Program Administrator

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

LINDSEY RAMOLETE Administrative Assistant, Rotation Coordinator

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

ASHLEY WOOD Administrative Assistant, Training Coordinator

Pali Momi Outpatient Center

DESIREE NAVARRO
Clinic Operations Manager

Hawaii Pacific Health | University Family Medicine at Pali Momi Medical Center

Curriculum

Family Medicine Residency

PGY-1

Intro to Family Medicine: 2 weeks

Family Medicine and Community Health (FMCH): 2 weeks

Family Medicine Inpatient Service (FMIS): 10 weeks total

Medical Intensive Care Unit: 4 weeks

OB1: Labor & Delivery: 4 weeks

General Surgery: 4 weeks

Emergency Medicine (Wahiawa): 4 weeks

Newborn Nursery: 4 weeks

Ambulatory Pediatrics: 4 weeks

Introduction to Behavioral Health (BH-1): 2 weeks

Sports Medicine: 2 weeks

Surgical Subspecialties: 2 weeks

Palliative Medicine: 2 weeks

Night Float: 1 week

Elective: 2 weeks

Vacation: 3 weeks

PGY-2

Family Medicine and Community Health: 2 weeks

Family Medicine Inpatient Service: 8 weeks

Night Float: 3-4 weeks*

Behavioral Health (BH-2): 2 weeks

Pediatrics Wards: 4 weeks

Pediatrics Emergency Medicine: 4 weeks

Geriatrics: 4 weeks

Veterans Health: 4 weeks

Outpatient Cardiology: 2 weeks

Inpatient Cardiology: 2 weeks

Dermatology: 2 weeks

Ambulatory Medical Selective: 2 weeks

Obstetrics-2 Family Planning: 4 weeks

Elective: 6 weeks

Vacation: 3 weeks

PGY-3

Family Medicine and Community Health: 4 weeks

Family Medicine Inpatient Service: 6 weeks

Night Float: 4-5 weeks*

Pali Momi Emergency Medicine: 4 weeks

Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine: 4 weeks

Rural and Public Health (Kauaʻi or Oʻahu): 4 weeks

Community and Developmental Pediatrics: 4 weeks

Sports Medicine and Orthopedics: 4 weeks

Outpatient Gynecology: 4 weeks

Ambulatory Medical Selective: 2 weeks

Elective: 8-9 weeks*

Vacation: 3 weeks

Conferences
Weekly didactics are held on Wednesday afternoons and serve as protected time for resident learning. These conferences cover a 24 month curriculum and use a variety of formats to promote engagement and active learning including interactive lectures, small group breakouts, skills-based workshops, and POCUS practice.

Residents

Class of 2029

Andrea Claudine Afable, MD
Home Town: Batangas, PI
Medical School: University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery

Jessica Cabusog-Sirois, DO
Home Town: ʻEwa Beach, HI
Medical School: Western University of Health Sciences – College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific

Corina Edgington, MD
Home Town: Hawaiʻi Kai, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Greyson Fox Tran, MD
Home Town: Huntersville, NC
Medical School: University of South Carolina – Columbia

Jacob Friedman, MD
Home Town: Baltimore, MD
Medical School: University of Maryland

Joseph Li, MD
Home Town: Honolulu, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Kiara Wing, MD Home Town: Honolulu, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Class of 2028

Stephanie Cacal, DO
Home Town: Kalihi, HI
Medical School: A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine

Sierra Condo, DO
Home Town: FL
Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Spartanburg, SC

Roxanne Erolin, MD
Home Town: ʻEwa Beach, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Viridiana Jeffers, MD
Home Town: Chicago, IL
Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine – Rockford

Franchesca Johnson, MD
Home Town: Wahiawā, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Chad Russell, MD
Home Town: Kāneʻohe, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Amanda Tsuhako, MD Home Town: Pearl City, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Class of 2027

Sathwik Booreddy, MD
Home Town: Foster City, CA
Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Carter Buuck, MD
Home Town: Hillsboro, OR
Medical School: Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine

Melissa Gozun, MD
Home Town: Mililani, HI
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Akiko Kawai, MD
Home Town: Okinawa, Japan
Medical School: Nagoya University School of Medicine

Nataliya Panova, MD
Home Town: Siberia, Russia
Medical School: University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Maria Santino, DO
Home Town: Cincinnati, OH Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine

Peter Tamura, MD Home Town: California Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Rotation Sites

Schedule

Kapi’olani
Queen Kapi’olani founded the Kapi’olani Maternity Home in 1890 to improve maternal and child health in Hawaii, a mission that has evolved into the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children (KMCWC), a leading provider of exceptional care for Hawaii’s families for over 130 years. Located in Honolulu, KMCWC hosts Family Medicine residents’ obstetrics and gynecology rotations, where they deliver obstetric continuity patients and provide newborn nursery care. It also supports inpatient and community pediatric rotations as well as the pediatric emergency medicine rotation. Family medicine residents work alongside OB/GYN and pediatric residents, enhancing the learning environment through interdisciplinary collaboration and comprehensive care training.

Pali Momi Outpatient Center
University Family Medicine at Pali Momi located in ʻAiea, HI is the continuity clinic for our residents and serves as one of the foundations for service learning in our program. We provide comprehensive care to a demographically diverse and medically complex patient population using a team-based approach with integrated behavioral health, clinical pharmacy, and a community health navigator on site. As residents progress in training, their time in clinic and continuity panel will correspondingly increase. For more information about our clinic, please see the following website: University Family Medicine at Pali Momi

Pali Momi Medical Center
Pali Momi Medical Center, also located in ʻAiea, is the primary hospital site where our residents train and serves as the other main foundation of our residency program. We are the only residency program based at this hospital and maintain our own Family Medicine Inpatient Service staffed by our residents and faculty. Pali Momi serves as a healthcare leader for Central and West Oahu and is recognized annually for outstanding quality and patient experience. For more information, please see the following website: Pali Momi Medical Center – About Us

Queen’s Punchbowl
Founded in 1859 by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV to address health care needs during epidemics, The Queen’s Hospital has evolved into The Queen’s Health System, now a leading provider of whole-person care in Hawai‘i and the Pacific Basin. Located in the heart of Honolulu, the Punchbowl location hosts Family Medicine residents for their Medical ICU rotations, where they work alongside Internal Medicine residents under the guidance of skilled critical care attending physicians. Additionally, Family Medicine residents train alongside OB/GYN residents and attending physicians during their gynecology rotation, fostering a well-rounded educational environment.

Queen’s Wahiawā
Wahiawā General Hospital (WGH), a nonprofit opened in 1957, serves over 150,000 residents in Wahiawā, Central O‘ahu, and the North Shore. Now The Queen’s Medical Center – Wahiawā, it was the original site of the Family Medicine Residency Program from 1994 to 2020. It currently hosts the Adult Emergency Medicine rotation, where family medicine residents work with emergency medicine attending physicians to address the urgent needs of the surrounding rural communities.

Veterans Administration Pacific Islands
The Veterans Administration Health Care System has several sites in the Pacific that provides care to veterans and their dependents. Residents have the opportunity to rotate in both primary care and specialty clinics on Oʻahu, neighbor islands (Maui, Hawaiʻi Island), or other sites in the Pacific including Guam and American Samoa (depending on dates and preceptor availability).

Rural Health Sites
During the PGY-3 year, residents have the option to go to Kauaʻi or stay on Oʻahu for a rural and public health selective experience. On Kauaʻi, residents will work with public health staff in the local District Health Office based in Lihue and engage in field activities across the island. The clinical experience is based at Ho’ola Lahui Hawaii which offers comprehensive health services and outreach as the only Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) on the island. On Oʻahu residents will work out of the main Department of Health office in Honolulu and spend their clinical time at Waimanalo Health Center, the FQHC that services a high need area on windward Oʻahu.

Applying to our Program

How to Apply

Candidates for residency must apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)

Applications are reviewed holistically by faculty and the program director with attention to applicants’ life experiences, attributes, clinical competency, and academic metrics. As a program, we value applicants who demonstrate strong teamwork and communication skills, a commitment to serving our population in Hawaiʻi and/or the Pacific, resiliency, and an enthusiastic approach to feedback and lifelong learning.

Requirements

Completed ERAS application by October 20, 2026. Applications completed by the ERAS opening date for program review (September 23, 2026) will be prioritized.

Official transcripts demonstrating passing scores for:
- USMLE Steps 1 and 2 and/or
- COMLEX Level 1 and 2

At least three Letters of Recommendation with at least one from a family physician.

Graduated from medical school within the last 5 years.

Personal Statement illustrating:
- Who you are
- Why Family Medicine
- Why the University of Hawaiʻi Family Medicine Residency Program

Additional requirements:

Must be fluent in English (both oral and written)

Matched applicants who do not have a social security number will need to arrive in Hawaii 30 days prior to the start date

International Medical School graduates will be required to be ECFMG certified

J1 VISA sponsorship is the only visa sponsorship available

Interview Info

Interview invitations will be offered through Thalamus email starting on September 30, 2026. We expect to complete interview offers by November 1, 2026.

Our interview period will be from October 8, 2026 through December 17, 2026.
Interview sessions will be conducted virtually via Thalamus.
A typical interview day includes:
- Interview Registration
- Morning Report
- Orientation with the Program Director
- Interviews with 2 Faculty, 2 Residents, and the Program Director
- Orientation with the Program Administrator

Hawaii Residency Programs, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. If you need accommodations at any time, please contact HRP Human Resources at 808-586-2891.

information on drug testing requirements

Visiting Students

Prospective Applicants and Students
Learn more about us and help us get to know you by joining us for a Sub-I rotation experience! We accept visiting students throughout the year for a 2-4 week inpatient and outpatient experience where you will have the opportunity to contribute to our team. For more information or to apply, please contact Lira Quitevis at liraq@hawaii.edu.