A Bit About Dr. Hatch I was born and raised in Tema, Ghana. I am the youngest in the family and grew up right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, so I obviously love seafood and being near the water. My formative years were in Ghana, and I moved to the United States for my undergraduate education in Southern California, at Whittier College. Reading has always been a constant hobby for me since I was a little girl. Now that I am older, I am getting more into the culinary scene and enjoy learning how to make new, delicious dishes. The Journey to Family Medicine Looking back to my childhood, medicine has always been in the background of my life. Even as a child, in Ghana, my godmother was a pediatrician and was a huge influence in my pursuit of medicine. She never told me to go into medicine, but I always loved her stories of her time in medical school and all the interesting cases that she has dealt with over the years. Also, my family has always had a close relationship with our general practitioner back home and she has become very much a part of our family. My love for family medicine really solidified during a rural medicine rotation in Fillmore, Utah, working with Drs. Jon Bassett and Wayne Brown. The breadth and clinical skill set of rural family physicians was nothing short of impressive and I knew that was the kind of skill set I wanted to have to serve my patients best. Residency at McKay-Dee McKay-Dee Family Medicine Residency is the oldest family medicine residency in Utah and has trained hundreds of family medicine physicians to serve the people of Utah. It provides an excellent education in full-spectrum family medicine, and that is what I wanted, and fortunately, it worked out that way. The program at McKay was my top-ranked choice, and I feel blessed to have matched there for residency. In addition, my program volunteers at Seager Memorial Clinic in Ogden, which is a free clinic that provides healthcare to the underserved. This clinic is dear to my heart because I started volunteering there as a medical student and have enjoyed continuing to do so as a resident, built into my curriculum. My training has been great so far. I have learned a lot and met incredible mentors that I know I will have long term in family medicine and other specialties. I am truly fortunate to train here. What’s Next? I am excited that I will be joining the Heber Valley Family Medicine Clinic after residency. The Heber Valley area has a decent-sized population, with a mix of rural and suburban, and provides a wonderful opportunity for me to practice medicine and continue to learn along the way. I envision my future practice will include women’s health, sports medicine, acute care, chronic illness management and pediatrics/adolescent medicine. I have an interest in lifestyle medicine, and I am hoping to get certified with the American Academy of Lifestyle Medicine after residency. Hopes and Concerns for the Future of Family Medicine I hope that as family medicine physicians we continue to have preventive medicine at the forefront of our practice. A major concern I have is the lack of interest in family medicine and primary care in general. I am aware that compensation is a huge barrier of interest, especially among medical students. And I hope we will be able to find effective solutions, such as student loan repayment, adequate compensation and more clinical support for family medicine doctors. Advice for Students Considering Family Medicine On one hand, the variety of pathophysiology is endless, and on the other hand, there is a lot of flexibility to find a niche within family medicine. More importantly, you are always learning, and your patients have so much to teach you! Lastly, come spend some time with us at McKay-Dee! Advice for Your Younger Self Be patient with yourself, lean on your support system when times get rough and try to have fun throughout this journey. Life has a funny way of turning out the way it is supposed to. RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT Akosua Hatch, DO 31
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