Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (KPSOM) recently celebrated its inaugural preceptors Wednesday evening with a special recognition dinner, honoring the physicians who helped build the school's pioneering Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) program from the ground up.
The January 21 event at the school's rooftop cafeteria drew preceptors, faculty, staff and leaders who praised the honorees for their pivotal role in shaping KPSOM's curriculum and students since the first class arrived in 2020. Speakers highlighted the preceptors' willingness to embrace an untested model amid challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, crediting them with creating a nurturing clinical environment that has earned consistently high student feedback scores.
Anthony Burgos, MD, Chair of Clinical Science, described the LIC as a cornerstone of KPSOM's curriculum, pairing students one-to-one with Kaiser Permanente physicians for their first two years of medical school.
"The inaugural preceptors … are a group of faculty who did something both uncommon and deeply consequential: agreed to help build something that did not yet exist, with no tested curriculum, no track record,'" Burgos said. He noted that 2025 marked the program's fifth full year, emphasizing how preceptors balanced full clinical loads while adapting to an evolving structure different from traditional block clerkships.
"You didn't just say yes once,” Burgos added. “You said yes again and again. Week after week. Year after year.” He called the preceptors "co-creators" who have taught students continuity, responsibility, and professionalism through real-world examples rather than lectures. "The success of this medical school is not accidental. It rests on a foundation laid by people in this room."
Anissa LaCount, MD, Director of Clinical Education, recounted KPSOM's origins, welcoming 50 students per class in 2020 without a finished building, supported by 167 dedicated Family Medicine and Internal Medicine LIC preceptors across Kaiser Permanente sites from Downey to West Los Angeles. "You are truly the foundation of this school. Your belief in our mission, your willingness to teach, and your dedication to our students have shaped who we are today," LaCount said.
