UNIVERSITY TRACK RESIDENT
Hey everyone! I am so excited you are considering UNC Family Medicine as the residency program for you! Welcome! My name is Taylor Bennett and I am from a small rural town of about 800 people called Quitman, Arkansas. I grew up across the street from my high school and had a farm just a couple miles down the road with animals of all kinds! After high school, I attended Hendrix College and received my BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During undergraduate, I worked as a first assistant to an orthopedic surgeon for three months and two years later traveled to Succotz, Belize with him and several others for a medical mission trip. I have pretty much always known that I wanted to be a doctor and following Hendrix, I attended the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas.
For the first two years of medical school, I was CONVINCED I was going to be a surgeon. However, my first rotation of third year I was at the VA for internal medicine and quickly realized that I loved geriatric patients and, more importantly, I loved spending time getting to know my patients. As the year went on, I really enjoyed aspects of every clerkship I rotated through. When I finally rotated through family medicine, I knew it was the specialty for me! I love the variety family medicine provided and the close relationships that we can build with our patients—of ALL ages.
So, how did I end up at UNC? When I started looking at programs I had no idea what type of program I was interested in… Unopposed vs opposed, large academic institution vs small community program. It was a bit overwhelming! I attended the AAFP Family Medicine Residency conference in Kansas City and I talked to programs in every state/city I was interested in. UNC was an immediate stand out and I found myself going back to talk with them every day I was at conference. I can honestly say, even before my interview or more extensive research of the program, I left Kansas City and I knew UNC was my top choice. UNC is not only a top tier family medicine program, but it was truly the only program where I felt like I was a part of a family.
Outside of work, I love riding horses, traveling back to Arkansas whenever I can to spend time with family, spending time with my partner and friends, and playing with my foster-fail quarantine puppy, Willow. I know this year will be different trying to find the right program for you with all the restrictions of COVID, but if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out via email and I am happy to help in any way I can!
