University of Hawaii Kauai Program

Program Identity & Fit

The University of Hawai'i Kaua'i Family Medicine Residency is a new rural, academic community-based 4-4-4 program explicitly designed to produce family physicians for rural Hawai'i and the Pacific, with PGY-1 based on O'ahu within the established UH Family Medicine program before residents transition fully to Kaua'i for PGY-2 and PGY-3. Clinical training spans Wilcox Medical Center, critical access hospitals, an FQHC, and the district health office, giving residents a genuinely integrated rural care network encompassing maternal-child health, geriatrics, substance use disorder treatment, and care for housing-unstable populations. The program emphasizes full-spectrum, low-resource rural practice preparation over subspecialty or research pathways, and has built a distinctive "Rural Scholars" pipeline that lets aligned MS4s bypass the NRMP Match entirely for a guaranteed position, signaling a strong institutional preference for demonstrated, long-term rural commitment over conventional competitive recruitment. Faculty descriptions and resident profiles consistently emphasize cultural humility, community relationship-building, and service to underserved Pacific populations rather than academic productivity or fellowship placement.