From Pasadena Now:

School’s Focus on Diversity Highlighted

Dean Schuster expounds on the unique curriculum, goals, and innovation of KPSOM

September 16, 2022

Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, Founding Dean and CEO of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine (KPSOM) was featured in an August 22, 2022, Pasadena Now article in which he shed light on the school’s recognition as “the sixth most diverse medical school in the nation – and the second most diverse in California.” Dean Schuster shared details on the school’s active plans to instill diversity and inclusivity into its recruitment of students, particularly those who are Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Pacific Islander. He also discussed KPSOM’s overall goals and continued innovation; the school’s unique integrated curriculum that includes biomedical, clinical, and health system science; and the school’s commitment to waive students’ tuition fees through 2024 while providing considerable grant aid to offset the cost of living for students with financial need.

Mark Schuster, KPSOM Founding Dean and CEO

“So when you are learning about the cardiovascular system, you’re learning about the biochemistry and physiology of the heart at the same time that you’re learning about preventing, diagnosing and treating heart disease,” said Dean Schuster. He added that the school teaches students about the quality of care or lack thereof for women and people of color as opposed to white patients and elaborated on specially developed classroom sessions on racism, microaggressions, genomics and race, and mitigating bias in American medicine and the health profession in general.

Dean Schuster also further explained the importance of longitudinal integrated clerkships (LIC), a clinical experience KPSOM students take part in one half-day a week throughout the year. He explained that in LICs, students “learn more about emergency medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatric psychiatry, and surgery in a more realistic setting.”

“By having the clinical experience that starts in the first year, they’re seeing the relevance of what they’re learning in the classroom, and when they’re in the clinic, they go back to the classroom with questions,” said Dean Schuster. “It’s really helpful to see why biochemistry matters and why histology and anatomy and all the other fields matter. They can seem kind of disconnected from becoming a physician, so we want our students to see why all that material’s important and they can see it by being in the clinic at the same time.”

Read the article here .

Detecting Heart Failure Across Groups

Improvements in Pediatric Care Through Mobile Program

A Collision of Art and Science

Detecting Heart Failure Across Groups

Improvements in Pediatric Care Through Mobile Program

A Collision of Art and Science

School’s Focus on Diversity Highlighted

Recent News