Helping the healers

Student Katie Van Sistine plans for a career in health law

3L Katie Van Sistine is almost synonymous with Loyola’s health law program. She’s editor-in-chief of the school’s Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences journal and a member of the Health Law Society. She’s a Wiet Fellow, which includes a mentorship role with 1L and 2L health law students. Last year, her three-person team took second place in the National Health Law Transactional Competition, which focuses on what she’s most interested in: transactional and business aspects of health care, such as establishing new clinical practices, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and even HR issues.

How did you get interested in health care law?  

My mom was an occupational therapist, and my dad is a rehabilitation medicine physician. I was always inspired by their work. My dad’s clinic hosts a picnic every year for people who are in the [rehab] program or who have graduated from it, and I would volunteer when I was a kid. One year—I was about 10 years old—one of my dad’s patients said to me, “Do you know your dad is the reason I’m walking again?” I thought, “Who is my dad?! This is what he does all day? Amazing!” I knew then I wanted a career that touched people’s lives through health care.

Why law rather than medicine?

I thought about medicine. [At age 15,] I went to an orthopedic surgery camp. When I got back, one of my teachers said, you should try out for the mock trial team. I said, “You know I just got back from surgery camp, right?” But I did it, and loved it, and ended up competing in mock trial for six years in high school and undergrad. I wasn’t sure how I could combine my love of law and health care until I found Loyola.

“There’s as much depth to health law as health care. You can’t imagine all the ways to help people by working in this area of the law.”

Why is health law such a critical practice area?

Health care will touch every person’s life at some point, likely multiple points. Just look at the part [health care] plays in our economy. There’s as much depth to health law as health care. You can’t imagine all the ways to help people by working in this area of the law.

What would you tell a prospective student about Loyola Law?

Loyola has a unique focus on community that you can really feel. There is a focus on caring for the whole person, and that is a profound gift. The faculty, the staff, other students—they’ve created a culture that is so welcoming and so inclusive. I feel lucky to be here.

And if you’re interested in health law, this is the place to be. Loyola stands out not only for being very highly ranked for health law, but being strategically located in Chicago where there are so very many opportunities for externships and employment.

Do you feel you’ll be able to touch lives like your dad did?

My motto is “help the healers.” As a health law attorney, I can help providers focus on their patients and what they do best. It’s less direct, but it’s still a way to touch lives.—Liz Miller (February 2024)