by Dr. Timothy S. Duerler, a Family Medicine physician, had spent time working internationally before he moved to Hawai’i. When he expressed an interest in HIV care provision, an area he had not practiced before, several clinicians encouraged him to contact Dr. Cyril Goshima of the HAETC for mentorship. Dr. Goshima’s HIV care provision and instruction dated back to the 1980s, and his commitment to HIV care in the state was well known and regarded.
Dr. Goshima invited Dr. Duerler to several HAETC HIV training activities to help him get integrated into the HIV clinical community, and then offered to mentor him formally through an HIV “mini-residency” training. Upon completion of the HIV “mini-residency” Dr. Goshima continued to support and mentor Dr. Duerler through phone- and email-based clinical consultations.
As it turned out, several long-standing HIV clinical practices closed in rural Hawaii at this time. However, Dr. Duerler decided to open a much-needed HIV practice at a rural site on the Big Island. As his practice grew, he sought and obtained his HIV Specialist credentials, and expanded his practice to include more of the Big Island and traveling to Neighbor Island to provide HIV care there too.
The training of Dr. Duerler turned out to be critical HIV care component for rural Hawaii patients that was made possible by the long-standing HAETC program in Hawai’i.