Primary care and research programs at the John A. Burns School of Medicine have risen in ranks among the best medical schools in the nation.

These rankings indicate that JABSOM has gained additional national recognition amongst U.S. medical schools, JABSOM Dean Dr. Jerris Hedges said.

According to the 2015 U.S. News & World Report, JABSOMs primary care program propelled nine places from 66 in 2014 to 57 in 2015, while the schools research program earned an improvement of four spots, moving up from 82 to 78.

I believe our primary care rankings continue to rise in conjunction with our student scores rising on what is called the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, Step one, said Tina Shelton, communications and government affairs director at JABSOM.

Second-year medical students across the country must pass the USMLE Step One to continue their medical education for a third year.

In the last 10 years in a row, our second-year medical students have scored above the national average in this exam, Shelton said. That is a singular achievement as far as we know and speaks incredibly well of the faculty at our school and the problem-based learning curriculum adopted at JABSOM in the late 1980s.

According to Shelton, JABSOM has focused its research in recent years on addressing health disparities, which affect groups such as Native Hawaiians, Asian Americans and low-income citizens.

I am grateful for the excellent work that a stellar group of leaders at JABSOM has done during the last academic year, Hedges said. They, in turn, have relied on many other hard-working and committed individuals who support the vision of our school, to 'Attain Lasting Optimal Health for All.'

Among medical schools at land grant universities without a university hospital, JABSOM has led the nation in external funding, which include gifts and faculty practice income. In fiscal year 2013, external funding for JABSOM exceeded $57 million.

It has been a great privilege to complete my medical school training at JABSOM, said fourth-year medical student Kristen Teranishi. The students and faculty are top-notch both academically and as people.

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JABSOM continues to climb in national ranking