Kaiser Permanente has announced its school of medicine plans to open in Summer 2020 with a tuition waiver for the first five classes of students.
Kaiser officials said in a news release Thursday the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine will teach students to deliver patient-centered care and advocate for the health and well-being of patients in diverse communities.
The school has received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which is the highest level of accreditation possible at this stage, and plans to begin accepting applications in June 2019, according to a prepared statement from Kaiser.
Students who are admitted this summer will comprise the school’s first graduating class, officials said, adding the school will waive all tuition for the full four years of school for its first five classes.
“We’ve had the opportunity to build a medical school from the ground up and have drawn from evidence-based educational approaches to develop a state-of-the-art school on the forefront of medical education,” said Mark Schuster, the school’s founding dean and CEO. “Our students will learn to critically examine factors that influence their patients’ health in their homes, workplaces, schools, and communities — and become effective health advocates for their patients. They will graduate with the knowledge and skills to become visionary leaders in medicine and take on some of the most challenging health issues of our time.”
The school is set to be based in Pasadena with clinical education taking place primarily in the greater Los Angeles area in Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics, and in partnered community health centers. This will allow students to leverage the unique relationship between the independent Permanente Medical Groups and the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals organization.
Thanks to this partnership, students will gain access to the physicians, clinical teams, data, and technology of Kaiser Permanente, which is known for its integration of comprehensive health services, quality of care, and excellence in diversity and inclusion, the release stated.
Prospective students and others who are interested in learning more can visit medschool.kp.org for more information.
