Community Connections

Connection to Place: Introduction to the Moku and ʻĀina-Based Experiences

During their first visit, first-year medical students explore the historical foundations, geography, culture, and strengths of their moku. Many groups visit a commercial or educational loʻi to learn about the traditional Hawaiian ahupuaʻa system and the relationships among land, water, food, and community health. Each visit also includes a service-learning project, giving students an opportunity to learn from the ʻāina while contributing to the place they are beginning to understand. 

"The field trip day was a memorable experience because it helped me connect with the geographical part of my moku, got hands on immersion experiences in the lo'i patch, and got to explore my moku through the scavenger hunt with my moku members, which made me feel overall more connected to my peers." 

Connection to Community: Community and Cultural Engagement

During the second visit, first- and second-year medical students explore the current life of their moku and consider how a patient in that community might live. By visiting community hubs, influential organizations, schools, and cultural sites, students learn from the people who know the moku best. Activities such as volunteering at a school allow them to work alongside community members, build relationships, and better understand the importance of trust, reciprocity, and community strengths in supporting health. 

“Our visit to the houseless populations and respite centers was super insightful. It helped me better understand what the barriers that we are all aware of are actually like and opened me up to resources that I could provide for my future patients.” 

Connection to One’s Better Self: Health Care Resources and the Physician’s Kuleana

During the third visit, first-year students explore the health care resources available to people in their moku. Groups may visit traditional health care systems in the community or specialized programs that serve populations such as people experiencing houselessness, survivors of abuse, or those seeking traditional healing. These visits help students better understand how care is accessed and delivered in the community and encourage them to reflect on the strengths and gaps in the local health system, their developing professional identity, and their kuleana as future physicians. 

“The field trip to Waimanalo Health Center was helpful to see what healthcare resources are offered in my moku and also understanding how they operate and care for the people in their community to see if that's a potential place of work in my near future.”

Connection to Past and Future: Food Resources, Food Security, and Service

During the fourth visit, students explore food resources and food insecurity within their moku. They learn how changes in land use, agriculture, and local food systems have shaped access to healthy food today. Students also create a diet plan for a patient, shop for SNAP-eligible ingredients, and prepare a meal. A central part of the visit is a service project that allows them to work side by side with community members and support local efforts to address food insecurity. Students often describe this as one of the most rewarding parts of the experience because they see how lessons from the past, community knowledge, and shared action can help create a healthier future. .