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Wednesday was just “chock-full-o-learning”!  After the student-led presentation was finished, the students had the opportunity to hear from Pat Podack, MD (An IWU alum!).  Dr. Podack is an OB-GYN physician who practiced on Maui for many years, and recently retired.  She described the demographics and statistics of the patient population she served, her experiences practicing … Continue reading »

Ashley, Kacie, and Nicolette led our class discussion on Wednesday. It was a divided session, starting before our Lahaina tour and concluding after lunch. As usual, the students leading the session did a great job fostering discussion among their peers. The session highlighted the difficulty we can experience as health care providers in helping patients express their … Continue reading »

Wednesday morning we met our guide from Maui Nei, Maile (rhymes with “smiley”), for a walking tour of Lahaina’s historical sites.  I’ve captioned each picture below, which represent only a fraction of what we learned.                       Some places we stopped were the Old Lahaina Courthouse, Pōhaku Hauola … Continue reading »

On our way back to the hotel yesterday, several of us noted that we had food in our refrigerators that we would not be able to use before we left tomorrow morning. So we gathered together last night for a spaghetti dinner and this morning for french toast and papaya. Kumu Noel is a whiz … Continue reading »

Today we boarded our Roberts coach to go to the Kalepolepo Fishpond (Koʻieʻie Loko Iʻa) in Kihei. This is an ancient Hawaiian fishpond, estimated to have been built between 1400–1500 AD.  In 1996, the ʻAoʻao O Na Loka Iʻa O Maui (Association of the Fishponds of Maui) began renovating Koʻieʻie, working closely with the Hawaiian … Continue reading »

Today we took  a fabulous trip  on the Pride of Maui to visit Molokini and “Turtle Town.” We gathered before 0700 for the drive to the harbor and had breakfast on the boat on our way to our first snorkeling stop: Molokini.   Molokini is a partially submerged crater of an extinct volcano. It was once used … Continue reading »

At the midpoint of the trip, Kumu Noel wisely schedules two days without class activities. Students (and faculty) are free to explore the Island of Maui as they wish. Kumu Noel and I took one day to travel to the top of Haleakala, which several students also did the next day–but much earlier in the … Continue reading »

We flew over to Maui yesterday afternoon.  Today, we went out to the Iao Valley, and hiked the trail up to the Iao Needle, which has an elevation of 2,250 feet. It was warm, and clear today so the students had a great view of the ʻĪao Needle (Kūkaemoku) which is a famous landmark in … Continue reading »

This year we added a unit of content on the culture of homelessness to the course.  On Sunday, May 11th, Collin B., Natalie S. & Sarah V. led a discussion on the topic. Today (May 14th) we took the Bus downtown to the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and then walked a short distance … Continue reading »

On Tuesday, May 13th the last three pairs of students completed their participant-observation experiences, accompanied by either Kumu Searing or I due to the distance they needed to travel for the appointment, or because the appointment was scheduled for late evening. Kumu Searing went with Natalie S. & Sarah V. as they learned about Shiatsu … Continue reading »