Published: April 12, 2021
Cicely White, MD, is a pediatrician in Spokane and represents Washington Permanente Medical Group (WPMG) in the community and in medical education, where she serves on the faculty of three medical schools.
She’s been an associate professor at the UW School of Medicine for several years, helping guide student learning during third-year rotations. When the WSU School of Medicine opened, she was invited to participate in medical education for the Cougar students as a clinical professor. Her most recent role is assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Science at the newly opened Kaiser Permanente’s Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine in Pasadena, California. |
We recently sat down, virtually, to talk about her experience with Kaiser Permanente’s medical school.
How did you get involved in the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine?
I met Marc Klau, MD, Associate Dean for Clinical Integration, at a Kaiser Permanente Diversity and Inclusion conference a few years ago. He was promoting the newly funded plan to start a school of medicine at Kaiser Permanente. I shared with him my experience with medical education in Washington and he invited me to apply and now here I am — part of the initial faculty for our new school of medicine.
What is your role as a faculty member?
When I met Dr. Klau, I shared my medical education experience at the UW School of Medicine using problem-based learning through cases — both as a contributor to case creation and facilitation for students. I joined a group of other physicians to help design and create the curriculum. Most of my work to date has been creating cases for the students to learn through problem-based learning, integrating all the usual courses through cases.
What more will you do for the school?
I’m actually already doing it; I am part of the admissions faculty. So far, I have traveled six times down to Pasadena to participate in selection interviews. I met with over 60 candidates for admission. Meeting the future of medicine was exciting.
You are now on the faculty of three medical schools. Why do you do it?
First of all, I believe it is my duty to give back to medical education. I am thankful for the education I received and now have the chance to contribute to the future of our profession. We all have our own experiences with what our medical school days were like, the good and the bad. We are making medical education better and I am happy to be a part of that.
Second, I am a better doctor for my patients and colleagues at WPMG because of my role in medical education. It is part of my lifelong learning to stay current. I continually learn from the students.
Do you think any of the graduates will come join us at WPMG?
I certainly hope so. As the school become established and grows, it is likely students will come to Kaiser Permanente Washington for clinical rotations. I do know that at least three of the students in this class are graduates of UW so I hope they will think about us for residency and/or a place to call home. I am so excited for these students who will train in a school centered on all that we stand for in the Kaiser Permanente integrated model of care and coverage. They are going to hit the ground running when they join us.