York County Medicine Fall 2019 - 6

YO R K C O M E D S O C . O R G

GET TO KNOW OUR BOARD MEMBERS:

I
DR. DIANE SHIH- DELLA PENNA

grew up in Taiwan, an island off
the coast of China. At the age of
7, I immigrated with my parents
and two sisters to the United States. We
settled in College Park, Maryland and I
later attended college at Northwestern
University where I majored in Biology
and Psychology. I returned home to
Maryland where I completed medical
school at the University of Maryland in
Baltimore. Soon thereafter, I was accepted
to the general surgical residency program
at York Hospital. After completion of
residency, I joined a private practice with
Dr. Tiruchelvam where I practiced as a
general surgeon. In 2018, I joined the
WellSpan community as the associate
program director of the general surgery
residency.
What made you become a doctor?
My mother tells me stories that I had
a particular interest in helping people
starting at a young age. This became a
goal that I carried through my adolescent
years leading me to becoming the first
person in my family to attend medical
school. Eventually, I became fascinated
with surgery during my clinical rotations
and this led to my career working as a
general surgeon.
What do you enjoy most about
your job?
Education and development of our
surgical residents in the program is an
essential piece to providing well-trained
surgeons to the community and beyond.
It is most rewarding to see early career

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York County Medicine | FALL 2019

surgeons develop through their years
training in our program. In the clinical
side of my job, being a surgeon allows
me the unique opportunity to resolve
a patient's medical problem through
surgical intervention. During what is
often a particularly traumatic time in
their lives, I find it a privilege to be able to
provide surgical treatments that can often
result in an immediate outcome.
What do you do in your spare time?
I enjoy spending time outdoors with my
family and visiting new destinations. I
also like to read fiction, and often have
several novels waiting on my end table.
During residency, I began learning to
cook different cuisines, and now I am
working on mastering the art of baking.
However, my true passion to decompress
is to go shoe shopping!
What is your favorite vacation?
My most memorable vacation was a trip
to Nice, France. While there, we travelled
along the French Riviera and into Italy as
well, exploring the local culture. The best
part of this trip was the amazing macarons
which we enjoyed daily during our stay.
Why do you think it is important to be a
member of the YCMS?
It is my view that taking an active role
in one's community is important for any
physician. We should be aware of the
current issues in healthcare, especially
new developments regarding access to
care and insurance coverage.
http://www.YORKCOMEDSOC.ORG
York County Medicine Fall 2019

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