Ronald A. Navarro MD, one of our former Pitt Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery Fellows (’95-’96) was named Director for Clinical Affairs at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine on February 1, 2021. The Director for Clinical Affairs represents the school in overseeing the logistics of student clinical education, including policies and procedures germane to assuring a positive learning environment and ensuring compliance with accreditation standards. This role will also participate in, and oversee as appropriate, programs in the clinical space designed to fulfill the KPSOM strategic plan. Dr. Navarro was identified for his leadership, experience in academia, collaborative and clinical acumen, and passion and enthusiasm for medical education.
Dr. Navarro has been Regional Assistant Medical Director of Business Management for Retail Strategy for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) since 2019. He joined Kaiser Permanente as an Orthopedist and Sports Medicine Specialist in 1997 and shortly after obtaining partnership in 2000 became Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at South Bay Medical Center, followed by several additional leadership roles. He became Regional Orthopedic Surgery Chief in 2013 where he oversaw all Orthopedic services in Southern California, which included working with over 200 Orthopedic Surgeons in 13 medical centers, collaboratively working with each medical center’s chief of service. In addition to his Regional Assistant Medical Director role, he also serves as the chair of the Inter-Regional Chiefs group of Orthopedic Chiefs across all the KP nation where he has helped lead a transformation of total joint arthroplasty from inpatient to over 80% outpatient day surgery.
Dr. Navarro has co-authored several peer-reviewed publications in orthopedics and related diseases and symptoms. He has also previously served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and as a Clinical Instructor of Athletic Training, Family Practice, and Internal Medicine with Harbor General/UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Navarro received his MD degree from University of Illinois, College of Medicine with Ortho training at Harbor UCLA and a shoulder and sports medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Navarro is a Hispanic American born to immigrant parents and was raised in Wilmington, California.
The Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine is a new medical school in southern California, located in Pasadena. The first students matriculated in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The school's distinct take on a contemporary medical education is built on an academically rigorous spiral curriculum, which revisits concepts with increasing complexity over your four years. The classroom instruction during the first two years is organized around cases that integrate the three pillars of the curriculum: Biomedical Science, Clinical Science, and Health Systems Science. Clinical learning begins in the first weeks, as the students step into a weekly clerkship in primary care and community settings. Woven throughout are a course and coaching program focusing on the students’ wellness and lifelong learning skills. The school is deeply committed to equal educational access so has pledged to keep the educational experience free of the burdens of cost so have waived the tuition for the first 5 classes of students.
Dr. Navarro has always been in deep admiration for his academic mentors including Dr. Freddie Fu. He jokingly remarked “While many are frustrated athletes, I always seemed to be a frustrated academic!” Dr. Navarro is excited and energized for his new role and will still maintain his clinical practice at Kaiser Permanente in southern California as well as his leadership position as Regional Orthopedic Surgery Chief. He relates that he sees the work of helping this nascent medical school to grow and thrive as a capstone to his career.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Navarro, who will report to the Chair of the Department of Clinical Science. We look forward to Dr. Navarro’s contributions to the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.