Katelyn Peters, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor 
General Internal Medicine

What is your primary professional focus as it relates to our mission areas (clinical, research and/or medical education)?  
My primary professional focus is medical education and providing great clinical care to my patients. I really love teaching and it’s what puts the pep in my step every day. Having students really inspires me to stay up to date on current research and stay on top of the why behind what we do. I also love passion students bring to medicine, and it helps remind me why I chose to practice in the first place.

What drew you to UW–Madison and the Department of Medicine?   
I’m an Illinois farm girl at heart and I trained to provide care to a rural population throughout medical school. During my education journey I found a lot of passion in teaching and medical education. UW was one of very few institutions that allowed me the opportunity to practice in a rural setting and still be affiliated not only with an internal medicine residency but also a medical school.

What are you most excited about during your first year with the department in this role?  
I am so excited to continue to grow my career in medical education. Leadership within the Department of Medicine has been so supportive about hearing what gives me purpose and passing on numerous opportunities for me to grow professionally.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?  
When I’m not taking care of patients I love cooking, fishing, reading, and spending time with my husband and dog.

Favorite piece of advice from a mentor or inspiring figure in your life?  
The piece of advice that I think has been most helpful to me especially in residency and as a new attending is the rule of thirds, which is a guideline for achieving goals: if you are in a phase of life where you are growing and trying to achieve a big goal you should expect to feel good one third of the time, okay one third of the time, and not great one third of the time; if you’re feeling good or okay most of the time, you probably aren’t growing or pushing your limits.