Statements from the Dean

Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD, Founding Dean and CEO

July 1, 2021

Congratulations to our students for making it through your first year of med school! I think that deserves a round of applause!

I’m glad we are taking this moment to acknowledge our first-ever final day of school. We’ve had successes and we’ve had challenges. All of you have done an extraordinary job this year, and our school and community are the better for it.

We were prepared for an earthquake and a sustained power outage; and we were probably ready for hail, locusts, and frogs. But nothing could have prepared us for pestilence—or, rather, the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Of all the emergencies we gamed out, a once-in-a-century coronavirus pandemic wasn’t on our list. But, together, as soon as COVID-19 threatened our community, we got to work. We consulted with deans and med ed experts around the country who strongly advised us to have as much in-person instruction as possible. The public health experts supported that goal. We also heard from many of you that you wanted classes to be in person. 

So our faculty and staff kicked it into high gear to adapt the school and the curriculum for a distanced and masked delivery, with some virtual learning mixed in. They took the curriculum they had been developing for years and retrofitted it to the realities of COVID-19, seemingly overnight. It takes real ingenuity to build, adapt, and implement a new curriculum, and they did it all under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. And there is so much more to our school than the curriculum. Our staff have been working day and night to create and continue this school. Many of our faculty and staff are here today, and I think we all owe them enormous thanks. 

Our leadership are members of the faculty or staff, but I also want to acknowledge them directly. They have put intense effort and hours into this school since joining throughout 2018, immediately carrying us through an impossible timeframe for preliminary accreditation, and then creating all aspects of this school. Without them, there would be no school. Of course, there is also our parent organization, Kaiser Permanente, and our board, and those who initially envisioned a school. They have made this all possible.

And you, our students, you overcame incredible obstacles to achieve so much and complete your first year. Together, we found ways to stay connected and learn from one another, even during the times we were physically apart. 

We got through the first year of the pandemic the same way that medicine is practiced best: collaboratively. And I am especially proud of how you built community amid some of the toughest challenges our country and world have faced in decades, not only the pandemic but also a renewed recognition of the racism, both individual and structural, that has been causing harm for centuries.

In your small groups this year, you learned not just about coronavirus biology and COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment, but also about how the pandemic exacerbated and shined a light on endemic health disparities.

And you got a crash course in the virtual care that is shaping our field today. Learning how to take a history via a screen will serve you well for years to come. 

Our faculty and staff learned a lot from you, too. I’m proud of how they revised our curriculum and our practices in response to what you told us about how you learn best. I think we’ve all seen the value of more unstructured time for impromptu meetings, studying, and even a bit of relaxation, as well as the ability to take quizzes on your own schedule. 

We’ve all learned a lot over the past year about the importance of adaptability, of listening, of trying something new when the way things have always been done isn’t good enough. Our school has faced, and continues to face, challenges and pain, and we among the leadership, faculty, and staff are eager to partner with you to continue engaging in the work of building an inclusive culture and incorporating restorative practices into our work. It won’t be easy, but we are grateful to be on this journey together.

I will end with a recognition of you, our extraordinary inaugural class, our class of pioneers, of risk-takers, who took a chance on a brand-new med school and curriculum. It takes a certain kind of person to take that chance. We aimed high when selecting this class, when selecting you, and we exceeded our target. You are a wonderfully strong, bold, and passionate group.

Thank you for contributing so much to our first year together. Congratulations again for completing this year.