Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (KPSOM) will showcase the innovative work, stories, and initiatives of the school and local region as one of three host city partners of the 2026 Kern National Network (KNN) Conference, which takes place September 30 through October 2 at the Hilton Pasadena. The conference brings together educators, learners, clinicians, researchers, and leaders from across the country who are committed to advancing flourishing across the health ecosystem.
This year’s conference theme, “Flourishing in the Fray: Courage, Connection, and Culture Change,” recognizes the realities of today's complex health environments and acknowledges the difficulties many people are now experiencing, while inviting participants to imagine and create a future where flourishing is a shared aim. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect, learn, share innovative ideas, and strengthen collective efforts to transform health education, practice, and systems while gaining new perspectives intended to advance community-centered work.
“Even though healthcare is supposed to help patients and communities flourish, oftentimes physicians, nurses, residents, medical students, and staff are not flourishing, so this [conference] is designed to promote flourishing of the entire ecosystem, not only for patients and community members, but all of us who are training in medicine and delivering care,” said Deepu Gowda, MD, MPH, MS, KPSOM Assistant Dean for Medical Education.
As a host city partner, KPSOM is helping to bring the spirit, context, and lived experience of the local region to participants, and many KPSOM community members are integrally involved in shaping the overall conference experience and agenda. On September 30, KNN’s Partner and Member Reception will be hosted at KPSOM and will include live musical performances from KPSOM students Noah Le and Natalie Keller, remarks from KPSOM and KNN leaders, and a narrative medicine-focused exercise for attendees that will be led by Gowda. On October 1, a collective of KPSOM faculty and learners, and many others, will present their work to conference attendees during various sessions throughout the day. KPSOM students Jason Scott and Andrea Yeung will provide additional musical performances during the conference. Finally, on October 2, Gowda will share a brief welcome and John L. Dalrymple, MD, KPSOM Dean and CEO, will offer remarks for the conference’s final day.
Gowda said such opportunities for faculty, students, and staff to present and disseminate KPSOM curricular innovations and programs are key and contribute to the advancement of medical education as well as the furthering of KPSOM’s impact through mission-aligned presentations and information-sharing. KNN and KPSOM’s missions are closely aligned, said Gowda, especially in respect to helping communities flourish, which he noted “is at the heart of each organization’s DNA.”
KPSOM previously co-sponsored a project with KNN support in response to last year’s Altadena fires in which well-being practices and narrative medicine were deeply embedded. The effort brought together KPSOM students, staff, faculty, and community members to promote community flourishing. This time around, Gowda and other KPSOM community members have been instrumental in planning an optional post-conference arts-based experience for KNN Conference attendees, which will be held at the Armory Center for the Arts and The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, two KPSOM community partners.
Participants’ three-hour experiences will include guided observation, creative inquiry, and conversation at one of the two locations. In addition, art will be used as a lens to explore attendees’ lived experiences in health professions learning, teaching, caregiving, and leadership. The KPSOM arts-based experiences will offer “space to integrate conference insights, reconnect with purpose, and reflect on how creativity and self-awareness can support flourishing in the health professions” offering participants “renewed perspective, meaningful connections, and inspiration for the work ahead,” said the KNN conference website.
KPSOM student Ogechukwu Ogbogu will team with Dr. Joel Klein at The Huntington to showcase the history collection and visual art galleries while facilitating discourse that mirrors narrative medicine curricular discussions for KPSOM’s fourth-year students. KPSOM students Sahar Nangoli and Sophia Scott will lead close observation and discussion of specific artwork at the Armory Center for the Arts, along with a teaching artist from the Center.
“It is a tremendous opportunity for us to build community around values we share,” said Gowda. “We've never had a chance like this, where we've had leaders from around the country that are going to be in our living room,” he added, and as a KNN host city partner, KPSOM will help to create further opportunities for shared learning and inspiration during this year’s conference.
