Press Date: 08/11/2009

Kathy Dodd, MD, brings a wealth of life experience to her appointment July 1 as a Grant Family Practice Center - Southwest physician and Grant Family Practice Residency Program faculty member.

Before pursuing her medical career, Dodd, 52, raised two sons as a single parent and worked as a newspaper sports clerk, Little League volunteer, emergency department clerk, laboratory technician and activity therapist for the developmentally disabled.

"My exposure to different kinds of people and jobs prepared me for becoming a better physician," Dodd said. "When patients come to me with issues, I know first-hand many of the challenges they face."

Family demands postponed Dodd's education. "I got married and had children right out of high school," she said. "After a divorce, I had two little kids at home and sometimes I had to work two jobs to support them. Going to college just wasn't practical."

With her children older, Dodd earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in molecular and cellular biology in 2000 from the University of California, Santa Cruz and, at the age of 49, graduated in 2006 with a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

"Everyone said that I would never get into medical school because I was too old, but I thought I would give it my best shot," Dodd said. "When I was accepted at UC, it was a dream come true."

Dodd distinguished herself at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine where she served on the admissions committee and won the prestigious Harry Stagaman Award for outstanding performance. She was also on the admissions committee for the Department of Family Medicine. She graduated June 30 from her family practice residency at Grant Medical Center where she was named outstanding second and third year resident and elected Chief Resident by her peers.

Her interest in medicine took root in her early 20's when she was the night admissions clerk from 1979-1983 in the emergency room at Doctors North Hospital (now the Victorian Village Health Center).

"I spent a lot of time there interacting with doctors and nurses and observing how they helped patients," she said. "I enjoyed that job so much I didn't miss a day in four years. That's when I decided I wanted to practice medicine someday."

Her dream began to become a reality when she enrolled in college after an 11-year stint as a workshop specialist with the Montgomery County Mental Retardation/ Developmental Disabilities Board in Dayton. While in medical school, she worked summers as a senior laboratory technician at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus.

A native of Grove City, Dodd lives and works in her hometown. "I've met a number of patients I knew growing up or patients my family members have known." Her oldest son Patrick, 32, is a carpenter, while her youngest son, Jesse, 31, is an Army Sgt. First Class serving in Iraq.