Stars of Stanford Medicine

Kim Osborn launched an innovative new course that provides first-year medical students with early patient experience, one of the many reasons she was awarded an Inspiring Change Leadership Award.

The course, called “Walk With Me: A Patient-Centered Exploration of Health and the Health Care System,” pairs medical students with patients and their families to jointly explore health-related topics through a series of workshops. Students and patient partners also meet monthly outside of the classroom in clinical and nonclinical settings.

“She’s the most creative, supportive, innovative and effective administrative partner that I’ve ever worked with,” said Erika Schillinger, MD, clinical professor of primary care and population health and director of the Stanford Healthcare Innovations and Experiential Learning Directive. “She is always looking for opportunities to align our work with the broader missions of Stanford, and it is a joy to craft programs with her. The ‘Walk With Me’ course is an example: We are now building human connections between caregivers, medical students, physician-assistants and patients from the first days of medical student training.”

Schillinger is also impressed with Osborn’s workplace-culture-building skills: “She respects all members of her team and is always looking for ways to move the team forward together.”

When asked about what she likes best about working at Stanford, Osborn said, “I enjoy making broad impacts, finding innovative ways to add value and removing barriers to progress for a variety of customers. This often requires building relationships across institutions.”

On a personal level, Osborn appreciates the university’s many opportunities for career growth. “With management and faculty support, I was able to earn a master’s in public administration and contribute to academic presentations and publications. These experiences over the last eight years have expanded my perspective on the value of staff at Stanford.”