UNC School of Medicine 4th-year student Uty Utin, originally from Nigeria, has lived in North Carolina since he was 5-years-old. As a youth with a penchant more for music than medicine, it wasn’t until a trip to Central America that his interest in medicine was sparked.
With a plan to focus on Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, UNC School of Medicine 4th-year student Uty Utin knew he wanted to become a doctor after a trip to Nicaragua. He shares more on why he chose to pursue medicine, especially to help alleviate medical mistrust within the African American community.
Q. What interested you the most in high school and college? Did you always want to be a doctor?
In high school I was a band nerd, focusing most of my time throughout the week on playing music either with my school’s wind ensemble, jazz combo, jazz band, or my church’s worship team. I thought that I would be going to college/university for music; however, I also had an interest in medicine. While in undergrad I took a mission trip to Nicaragua and got a chance to practice rural medicine which, I believe, gave me the inspiration and drive to fully commit to pursuing medicine.
Q. Why did you choose to become a doctor?
African American men tend to have some of the highest mortality rates in the US. A large part of that is lack of doctor visits inspired mostly in part by medical mistrust. I became a doctor to help combat that issue and help encourage African American men to want to regularly see their doctors and give them the tools to better take care of themselves.
Q. What is the most interesting part of medical school at Carolina?
Carolina is uniquely collaborative. Medical school environments can be daunting to most students due to the often-true perceptions of malignant competitive behaviors among students. However, the atmosphere I found at Carolina was rather that of encouragement, help, and simple kindness and understanding of all students and their unique circumstances.
Q. What do you plan to focus on after med school?
I plan on going into a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency program.
Q. What is your career goal?
My career goal is to work with underserved communities in North Carolina, helping them along their physical rehabilitation journeys.