UH medical professor joins national medical licensing exam board

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Tina Shelton, (808) 692-0897
Director of Communications, Office of Dean of Medicine
Posted: Sep 17, 2015

Dr. Takanishi, second from left, back row, at the Philadelphia meeting.
Dr. Takanishi, second from left, back row, at the Philadelphia meeting.
Dr. Danny Takanishi Jr.
Dr. Danny Takanishi Jr.

Every medical student in the United States must pass the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), which tests the competency of medical students at the end of their second year in medical school (determining whether they are competent to continue into clinical training at patients' bedsides) and before they can be licensed as MDs.

That fact makes the work of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), a co-sponsor of the USMLE, critically important to the quality of health care in America. This week, the University of Hawai'i's Dr. Danny M. Takanishi Jr. was elected to the national examiners board during its 2015 Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Takanishi has also been appointed to the International Oversight Committee of the NBME for a two-year term. Takanishi is a graduate of the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), a tenured Professor of Surgery, Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, and Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Faculty Accreditation Lead for the medical school.

Dr. Takanishi's speciality is surgical critical care, with special expertise in breast diseases, critical care, digestive system abnormalities and sepsis (blood poisoning).

The membership of the NBME includes representatives from test development committees, national professional organizations, and members-at-large representing various interests, including the public. The membership reviews the annual activities of the NBME, provides advice on policy, ratifies the annual operating and capital budgets, and elects at-large members and members of the Executive Board.

About the UH Department of Surgery
The Surgery Department at JABSOM is headquartered on-site at The Queen’s Medical Center, one of JABSOM’s community-based academic health centers. The surgery faculty includes 50 academic faculty and over 250 appointed private surgical attending physicians. In addition to the Directors of Surgical Education, there are division chiefs for anesthesiology, ENT, emergency medicine, hyperbaric medicine, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, radiology, SICU education, surgical research, thoracic, transplant, trauma, urology, ultrasound and vascular surgery. Other academic training partners include Hawai`i Pacific Health, Kuakini Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Wahiawā General Hospital, and the Tripler and VA Health Systems.

More about the NBME
Founded in 1915, the NBME is an independent, not-for-profit organization that “serves the public through high-quality assessments of healthcare professionals.”

The NBME also provides education, assessment and testing, consultative, and research services to medical schools (Customized Assessment Services, Global Evaluation Management System, Subject Examination Program, Item Writing Workshops), residency programs (Advanced Clinical Examinations), practicing physicians (Post-Licensure Assessment Examinations), Health Profession Organizations (including medical specialty boards and societies), and other Allied Health Professional Organizations. More recently, globalization of their services has resulted in the creation of the International Foundations of Medicine Examination, which complements international NBME consultative and collaborative initiatives.

Additionally, the NBME provides education, assessment and testing, consultative, and research services to medical schools (Customized Assessment Services, Global Evaluation Management System, Subject Examination Program, Item Writing Workshops), residency programs (Advanced Clinical Examinations), practicing physicians (Post-Licensure Assessment Examinations), Health Profession Organizations (including medical specialty boards and societies), and other Allied Health Professional Organizations. More recently, globalization of their services has resulted in the creation of the International Foundations of Medicine Examination, which complements international NBME consultative and collaborative initiatives.

For more information, visit: http://jabsom.hawaii.edu