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Katherine Teets Grimm, MMS ’69, MD:
Preventive Medicine Inspires a Career in General Pediatrics and Child Advocacy
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f, as the adage says, it takes a village to raise a child, then it is easy to imagine many of the hands in that
The Rutgers Years
village belonging to Katherine Teets Grimm, MMS ’69, MD.
well-known, longtime advocate for children who have suffered neglect or abuse. In this role, she has given hundreds of physically and psychologically damaged children a better chance at becoming healthy adults. She regularly teaches and mentors medical students and pediatric residents on child abuse and neglect; she also lectures to lawyers, social workers, and other professionals on the manifestations of abuse. Dr. Grimm has dedicated a significant portion of her professional life to these children, conducting examinations, providing treatment, and testifying on their behalf. Her belief in families remains strong, however. “As much as we do not want to miss the diagnosis of child abuse, we also do not want to overdiagnose,” she says. “I have seen families suffer greatly whose children had unexplained physical injuries and were removed from the home, when in fact there was no abuse but an underlying medical etiology.”
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or almost 30 years, Dr. Grimm has lived and practiced general pediatrics on Roosevelt Island, a part of the borough of Manhattan that has a small-town feeling, she says, and an interesting multinational population: “Many of our parents work at the United Nations. Others are the intellectual elite of their countries, completing their training at Cornell and Sloan Kettering.” Dr. Grimm, who sees children from birth through adolescence, makes a home visit to each newborn in her practice. “It’s unusual, but it’s part of the engagement process,” she says. “I like to get a feel for the baby’s environment and the family. Somehow, in their home, it’s easier to ask and answer questions and discuss healthy practices, like safe sleep.” Dr. Grimm is sub-board-certified in pediatric allergy and immunology as well as child abuse pediatrics. She is a
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r. Grimm was in her senior year at Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, when her mother suggested that she consider Rutgers Medical School, a new institution, full of promise, located in her home state. It was a good match. Dr. Grimm earned her master of medical science degree at the medical school and then completed her medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Her enjoyment in working with children, combined with her interest in preventive medicine, led her to choose a career in pediatrics. She went on to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for her internship and residency, went back to Mount Sinai for a year in ambulatory pediatrics, and returned to Johns Hopkins as chief resident of the hospital’s Outpatient Department, also serving on the faculty there for two years. In those larger settings, Dr. Grimm realized her deep appreciation for the opportunities she had enjoyed at Rutgers. “Of course, I didn’t want to admit it at the time,” she says with a laugh, “but my mother was right. At Rutgers, I did microbiology research— working in the converted buildings at
48 Robert Wood Johnson I MEDICINE
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