The shift to online learning was a logistical undertaking,
but the harder work may be producing doctors who are better equipped to
take on the systemic issues exposed by the pandemic,
like race-based health disparities, uneven access to care and ballooning treatment costs.
At Kaiser Permanente, that preparation began before
students even started classes last summer.
The entire class was invited to a virtual check-in to discuss
the racial-justice movement, and the conversation hasn't stopped since,
says 26-year-old first-year student Cruz Riley,
who has a special interest in Black maternal health.
"You would think we would be talking about what we watched on Netflix," he says.
"But we are always talking about systematic inequality,
and we are always bouncing ideas off each other."
Even at a school that proudly states its dedication to diversity
and has woven race and racism into its curriculum,
the conversations haven't been seamless.
In December, Kaiser physician and medical-school instructor Dr. Aysha Khoury,
who is Black, went viral on Twitter when she posted that
the school had suspended her from teaching in August after she led a frank,
emotional discussion about racial disparities and bias in health care.
Even after outcry from students and fellow physicians,
Khoury says she has not been reinstated to her faculty position
or told which policy the school thinks she violated. 
"I wish (administrators) understood that it is O. K. for Black people,
people from marginalized groups, to share their stories," Khoury says.
"If we're truly going to change health care. . .
they have to create a way and space to move forward together."
Representatives from Kaiser did not comment on details of the investigation
but said the school values diversity and Khoury was not penalized for
talking about her personal experiences or for discussing anti-racism in medicine.
Courses on health disparities and racism in medicine aren't new in the U. S. ,
but they also haven't been terribly effective. 
Racism is still a problem in medical schools as well as the wider medical system.
A 2020 study found that about 25% of students who identify as Black,
Hispanic/Latino or American Indian/Alaska Native experienced race-based discrimination
during medical education. That often doesn't stop after graduation.