To the Perelman Class of 2015

My name is Katie Dillon, and I am an MS 3/4. I am so excited to meet all of you MS1s and welcome you to an amazing next four years. I want to reassure all of you that finally, after the months on the interview trail, agonizing over options, and weighing finances, you have made the right choice. I chose Penn three years ago because I was looking for a school that would give me rigorous training (obviously!), but would also allow me to have interests outside of medicine. I was an anthropology major in college and I wasn’t ready to completely give up the reading, writing, and discussions I enjoyed so much. Penn is an incredible place that wants you to pursue your passions and will often pay for you to do so. In the past three years I have traveled to Thailand for research, taken classes for a Masters in Bioethics, played a ton of golf and tennis, hung out at the Jersey Shore, and eaten at many of Philadelphia’s fabulous BYOBs.

Since I’ve been at Penn, and especially after my time on the wards, I’ve come to realize that I am most passionate about women’s health, and I want to be an Ob/Gyn. Right now I’m especially interested in infertility-I think the medicine is fascinating, there is a ton of great research in the field, and there are even some questions that benefit from a little ethics training. This year I am taking a ‘year-out’ and conducting research through the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship. Twelve medical schools in the country offer the fellowship, and I have been lucky enough to get to stay here at Penn and work in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility on a number of exciting research projects with terrific faculty.

I am eager to keep you updated on the progress of all of my activities this year, from my research to my ethics classes (Zeke Emanuel, Rahm Emanuel’s brother, just joined the department!) to use of my newly-found free time now that I’m taking a break from the hospital and no longer working ‘rotation hours’. I hope that you’ll enjoy following along, and I wish all of you a fun-filled orientation week!