After an extensive search process, the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (KPSOM) has announced the appointment of Dr. Anthony (Tony) Burgos, MD, MPH, as the next Chair of the school’s Department of Clinical Science. As Chair of Clinical Science, a department consisting of approximately 1,600 active faculty appointments spanning a multitude of roles, Dr. Burgos brings his breadth of experience and deep expertise in all key areas essential for the chair position: eminence in academic medicine; clinical excellence; commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity; operational leadership acumen, and distinction in research. Dr. Burgos will begin his new role late February.
Dr. Burgos holds joint appointments as an Associate Professor in the KPSOM departments of Clinical Science and Health Systems Science, giving him a catalytic seat in influencing the cross-pollination of ideas within KPSOM’s highly integrated curriculum, where he has taken the lead in integrating systems-based practice and quality improvement into the clinical clerkships. In his capacity as a Health Systems Science faculty member, he has also facilitated student sessions in quality and safety and interprofessional collaboration.
Dr. Burgos has also been part of KPSOM’s Innovation Groundwork Team: Assessing Health Systems Science in Clinical Environments, funded by the American Medical Association’s ChangeMedEd Initiative and has served as principal investigator (PI), co-PI, or on-site PI on several grants over his career with funding by the NIH, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, regional institutions, private foundations, and industry.
“The Department of Clinical Science is a remarkable collection of physician educators, the vast majority of whom are Permanente Medical Group physicians who are critical to the delivery of our school curriculum, and also includes faculty working in roles focused on admissions; equity, inclusion, and diversity (EID); research; and others,” said John L. Dalrymple, MD, Dean and CEO of KPSOM. “And, as KPSOM is only in year five of having welcomed students, we are at a point at which we can focus on our clinical faculty’s development and refine the already rich clinical learning experience at our school. Dr. Burgos’ background of proven leadership and experience across all aspects of academic medicine including evidence-based clinical practice, medical education, and scholarly research is perfectly positioned to lead these efforts.”
“I’m thrilled to join the KPSOM leadership team and contribute to shaping the future of the department and the school,” said Dr. Burgos. “The extraordinary faculty, strong culture of collaboration, and unique setting ensure that we will continue to provide a world class clinical learning experience that delivers on the school’s mission.”
As KPSOM’s inaugural Pediatrics Clerkship Director since 2019, Dr. Burgos has been on the front lines of curriculum development, implementation, and optimization for the entirety of the school’s existence, and is poised to lead continued refinement in clinical education. He has also been deeply ensconced in operational matters in assuring the staffing, continuity, and quality of our pediatrics clerkship. Dr. Burgos has practiced and led in key areas of clinical care, including inpatient wards, outpatient clinics, and intensive care settings both external and internal to Kaiser Permanente, and at three of KPSOM’s seven clerkship sites.
In prior roles, Dr. Burgos served as Medical Director of the East Palo Alto Clinic and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Health Van; as Medical Director of the Newborn Nursery & Level 2 Special Care Nursery at Stanford; and as the Regional Coordinator for Family-Centered Care (Post-Partum Care) for Southern California Kaiser Permanente. As such, he brings a deep understanding of personnel, budgets, staffing, and operations for every clinical setting.
Dr. Burgos holds a Bachelor of the Arts in Human Biology from Stanford University, a Medical Doctorate from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master of Public Health degree in Maternal and Child Health from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed his pediatrics residency, including Chief Residency and Postdoctoral Fellowship in Academic General Pediatrics, at Stanford University. He started his academic career, achieving the rank of Assistant Professor, at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Burgos specialized as a Pediatric Hospitalist in his clinical role, beginning at Stanford and its associated hospitals and then at the Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center since 2011. He is board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
Dr. Burgos’ commitment to EID is evidenced by his focused research on topics such as newborn care disparities and quality and access for care of low-income, Mexican American children. He has taught seminars in the confluence of race and ethnicity in the health of children. And, as clerkship director, he is deeply aware of the need to continue to advocate for the health of the learning environment and equitable assessment. His focus on EID also runs deep as a Latino and first-generation college student and physician, with deep connections to his extended family and his community.
“What’s important is that we continually develop as individuals, as a department, and as a school,” said Dr. Burgos. “By improving the way we teach medicine, with intentional integration and innovation, our students will become exemplary clinicians, who know and have what it takes to deliver healthcare in a changing landscape.”
Dr. Burgos has published extensively in notable peer-reviewed journals including Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, Hospital Pediatrics, JAMA Network Open, European Journal of Pediatrics and Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, as well as contributing to four chapters in print on neonatal, postnatal, and pediatric care quality topics. He has also published on medical education topics such as spiral learning and assessment, longitudinal integrated clerkship pedagogy, use of the electronic health record to assess comparability across sites, among other medical education topics. He has served as the Co-Chair of the Newborn Nursery Special Interest Group at the Academic Pediatric Association and was Co-Founder of the Better Outcomes through Research for Newborns (BORN) research network, which has now conducted 26 studies to establish the evidence-base for the routine care of term and late preterm infants.
Dr. Burgos replaces Jennifer Loh, MD, who had been serving in an interim capacity as the Chair of the Department of Clinical Science after Michael Kanter, MD, the inaugural Chair, had stepped down in September 2024. Drs. Loh and Kanter remain active faculty members in the Department of Clinical Science, with Dr. Kanter also holding an appointment in the Department of Health Systems Science.
