For Allison Reed, the journey to becoming a doctor holds a special significance, deeply intertwined with her family’s history at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Katz). As she begins her own medical school career, Allison stands alongside her parents, Douglas Reed, MD ’90, and Rosaline Reed, MD ’91, who both played an unforgettable role in her white coat ceremony. Coating their daughter at the start of her medical school journey was a powerful moment for the Reed family.
“Having both of my parents coat me at my white coat ceremony was a meaningful experience for all three of us,” Allison reflected. “Aside from their connection to the Temple community, my parents are proud of me for the work that I have put in to get to this point in my education. I’m sure that the families and friends of my peers would echo this sentiment, regardless of their personal affiliation with the medical field.” For Allison, the experience was not only a celebration of her own achievements but also a moment to reflect on the path her parents had taken, standing where she now stands, at the beginning of their medical careers. “I’m grateful to them for paving the way for me and supporting me all these years,” she added.
Growing up with two physicians as parents undeniably influenced Allison’s decision to pursue medicine. Though neither of her parents pressured her to follow in their footsteps, their careers served as a source of inspiration. “Every time I’m asked about how I decided to pursue medicine, it’s impossible to answer the question without mentioning my parents,” Allison explained. “I even shadowed my father, a psychiatrist, for a brief time in high school. Even now, I still see my parents as mentors, and I’ll continue to look to them for advice in the years to come.”
Both her parents exemplified the balance between a career in medicine and a fulfilling personal life, a model Allison hopes to emulate. “My mother and father both set a great example for balancing a career in medicine with a life outside of work. I hope to approach medicine in the same way, pursuing my passion for healthcare while making time for family and other interests,” she shared.
While her parents’ legacy at Katz is undeniable, Allison recognizes that her own journey will naturally differ from theirs. “So many aspects of medical education and the healthcare field have changed over the past 30 years,” she noted. Her path to medical school already differs from her parents’—she took a gap year before starting medical school, lives in a different area of Philadelphia, and had early exposure to healthcare through her parents’ careers. “My father was a first-generation medical student, and although my mother had a doctor parent, she was born in Haiti and lived there until college. Each of my parents had a vastly different path to medicine than I did,” Allison explained.
Despite these differences, the advice and wisdom her parents offer are invaluable as she embarks on her studies. “One of the benefits of having family in the medical field is being able to ask them for advice at any time,” Allison said. Though medical school has changed since her parents were students, the challenges remain rigorous, and her parents have not sugarcoated the demands she will face. “They made it clear that the workload would likely be much greater than anything I dealt with during my undergraduate studies,” Allison shared. Her mother even encouraged her to revisit the anatomy lab in her free time, a strategy that helped her during her own time as a student.
As Allison steps into her role as a first-year medical student at Katz, she is aware of the expectations that may come with being a legacy student, but she is determined to forge her own path. “I don’t expect that being a legacy student will have much of an effect moving forward these next few years,” she said. “My classmates and I are all facing the same challenges and sharing similar experiences together. Regardless of how we came to be first-year medical students at Katz, we are all on relatively equal footing at this point.”
While her parents’ legacy at Katz will always be a part of her story, Allison is confident that her own journey will be unique. “Attending a school like [Katz] with such a strong sense of community will expose me to endless prospects for my future career course,” she said. “My parents are just two examples of what a career in medicine can look like. I’m confident that I will find an original pathway within medicine that maintains my identity as an individual, rather than making decisions based solely on my family members’ professions.”
As Allison Reed begins her journey at Katz, she carries with her the wisdom and guidance of her parents, Dr. Douglas and Dr. Rosaline Reed, but is ready to carve her own path in the world of medicine.