Embracing the Gray
Celeste Peay entered BU Law’s dual JD/MD program determined to make a difference at the individual and societal levels.
When Celeste Peay (’19) applied to the Boston University School of Medicine, she knew she wanted to pursue a second professional degree. She was interested in a career allowing her to focus on both micro-issues and macro-issues affecting people’s health but was unsure what form her future education would take.
“Medical school provides effective tools for addressing an individual’s health, but doesn’t provide skills to address society-wide issues,” she explains. “You focus a lot on disease processes, and I wouldn’t get all the skills for the type of career I want.”
Peay—now a student in the combined JD/MD program—wants to split her time between treating patients and working on policy. At first, she contemplated a master of public health, but the more people she spoke with, the more she heard that if she wanted to understand and draft legislation, she should get a law degree.
In 2014, during her second year of medical school, Peay decided to apply to BU Law and was impressed with the strong health law program. BU’s combined JD/MD program links the MD degree with intensive training in law, providing an additional focus in the health sector. The six-year program is designed for students interested in both medicine and the legal aspects of medicine.
Peay started the law school portion of her education in 2016. This past summer, she was named a 2017 Rappaport Fellow and earned a prestigious summer internship at the Massachusetts Health Connector Authority.
Reflecting on her first full year of law school, Peay says, “Both the medical and legal worlds deal with complex issues, but in medical school, you are focused on the black and white. What does the lab say? You rule everything out to get your answer. As a lawyer, you get into the nuance, embrace the gray, and argue both sides.”
In particular, she enjoyed her administrative law class with Professor Jay Wexler because it directly addresses the arena in which she is interested in working. “I liked learning how rules are promulgated and challenged, and making sure there is adequate due process,” she explains.
During this academic year, Peay is fully immersed in the JD program and will spend the summer in a medical clerkship. In 2018–2019, she will spend her final fall semester completing her medical school curriculum and her final spring semester at the law school.
One thing that constantly impresses her is the quality of the law school’s faculty. “They love to teach! They’re very accessible and always open to meeting with students.”
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