Events

Bringing Scholarship, Storytelling, Music to KNN Conference

KPSOM students, faculty, and staff share approaches to advancing character, caring, practical wisdom, and flourishing in health

October 07, 2026

Dr. Deepu Gowda, Assistant Dean for Medical Education, speaking at the KNN Conference.

Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (KPSOM) had a prominent presence at the 2026 Kern National Network for Flourishing in Health (KNN) Conference, held September 30 through October 2 at the Hilton Pasadena, next door to the school’s campus. As a KNN member institution and one of the conference’s host city partners, KPSOM brought students, faculty, and staff together with educators, clinicians, researchers, and health leaders from across the country to explore the theme “Flourishing in the Fray: Courage, Connection, and Culture Change.”

“Flourishing is not something we achieve alone,” said KPSOM Dean and CEO John L. Dalrymple, MD, noting that human connection was a central theme of the conference. “Our capacity to flourish is strengthened by the people around us and the connections we build over time.”

KNN is dedicated to advancing character, caring, and practical wisdom across medical education and healthcare systems, priorities reflected in KPSOM’s integrated curriculum, early clinical experiences, community engagement, and emphasis on developing compassionate healers and courageous leaders of change. Those priorities align with the mission of KPSOM, where flourishing is “not an add-on” to health professions education, but foundational to preparing clinicians who can care for others while sustaining themselves and their communities, Dalrymple said.

Dr. Roland Tang (left) shares a class quilt representing student identities.

KPSOM presenters explored flourishing through curriculum, reflection, and relationships. In “Stitching Belonging: A Longitudinal, Artifact-Based Approach to Community, Identity, and Flourishing in Medical Education,” Roland Tang, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Clinical Science, described a first-year REACH (Reflection, Evaluation, Assessment, Coaching, and Health and well-being) curriculum activity in which students create fabric squares representing their identities and assemble them into a class quilt that returns at retreats across all four years. “Belonging happens through design, not just by proximity,” Tang said. The activity, designed to help learners feel seen as whole people and connect across differences, has earned 97 percent agreement from students that the activity supports their learning.

Brian-Linh Nguyen, MD, MBA, MTOM, Assistant Professor of Clinical Science, presented “Cultivating Awe: Reclaiming Wonder as Essential to Caring, Character, and Physician Flourishing,” drawing on student reflections about encounters with patients at moments of illness, joy, death and identity. He argued that awe is “not a feeling to wait for” but “a discipline of character,” and that the rise of artificial intelligence clarifies the enduring value of presence, curiosity, witness, and accompaniment in medicine.

KPSOM student Jason Scott performs at the conference.

In “Circles of Connection: Narrative and Embodied Well-Being Practices to Promote Community Flourishing,” Deepu Gowda, MD, MPH, MS, Assistant Dean for Medical Education, was joined by Kylie Leong-Bob, a student at Western University of Health Sciences and former KPSOM staff member. They described a four-part program developed after the Eaton fire in which students, faculty, staff, and community members combined reflective writing with mindfulness, portraiture, service, and nature-based activities.

Nahid Rianon, MBBS, DrPH, KPSOM Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, was joined by Abbey Bachmann, PhD, MEd, Assistant Professor and Educational Programs Associate at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, in presenting “Reflection to Resilience: An Innovative Faculty Development Program to Mitigate Imposter Syndrome,” a pilot program designed to help educators practice metacognitive reflection and build a supportive community.

A multi-institutional team that included KPSOM contributors Nicole Lawson, Faculty Director of Inclusive Curriculum; Shawn Wilson, Faculty Director of Academic Career Support and Advising; and Katerina Venderova, Professor of Biomedical Science, presented “Cultivating Caring: A Multi-Institutional Consortium Advancing Nature-Based Learning in UME,” highlighting the use of nature-based learning in undergraduate medical education.

KPSOM student Karina Pikhart and Nicole Maccalla, KPSOM Director of Assessment and Evaluation, presented “How Can Medical Schools Respond to a Local Disaster? The KPSOM Response to the Los Angeles-Eaton Fire.” Pikhart described how 26 students, supported by five faculty preceptors, provided care at the Pasadena evacuation center and helped develop procedures for future emergencies. Maccalla, an Eaton Fire survivor, emphasized sustained recovery partnerships: “It’s also really important that you listen to the needs of the community. We know what we need; we are witnessing it and experiencing it firsthand.”

KPSOM Student Karina Pikhart at the conference.

KPSOM scholarship was represented in the conference poster gallery, which featured six research posters created or co-created by school researchers. The school also collaborated with two of its nearby community partner sites to host optional, post-conference arts-based experiences for KNN attendees. At The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Joel Klein, PhD, Molina Curator for the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, and KPSOM student Ogechukwu Ogbogu led discussions on medical history artifacts. At the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, KPSOM students Sophia Scott and Sahar Nangoli joined Austyn De Lugo-Liston, the Armory’s Education Coordinator, to lead art-themed discussions.

The school’s participation also included music as a form of connection and reflection. KPSOM student musicians Andrea Yeung, Jason Scott, Jasmine Mitchell, Noah Le, and Natalie Keller performed during scheduled receptions and breaks, creating moments for attendees to pause and connect outside formal sessions. KPSOM also hosted KNN’s Partner and Member Reception on campus September 30.

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