"UNC was founded as the first public university in the US with a mission to serve the people of North Carolina. Our medical school carries that mandate forward — we train physicians for this state, not just for prestigious academic careers."
"North Carolina is a state of contrasts: a booming Research Triangle and counties without a single primary care physician. UNC students are trained to see both — and to feel the obligation of both."
"A 35-year-old transgender woman from rural Western North Carolina drives three hours to UNC for gender-affirming care. Her home county has no affirming providers. Tennessee and neighboring states have recently passed laws restricting this care. What responsibilities do academic medical centers in states that permit this care have toward patients from restrictive states?"
Practice this scenario with AI →this is recent and directly relevant to UNC's patient population.
this is foundational UNC context.
Latinx migrant farmworker health is a specific and important UNC patient population.
"In 14 years of examining I have never failed a candidate for giving the 'wrong' answer. I have failed candidates for how they treated the person in the room with them."
UNC genuinely prefers applicants who intend to practice in North Carolina. If you have a genuine connection to NC communities — rural service, NC volunteer work, family roots — lead with it.
Know what an AHEC is: Area Health Education Centers distribute students to regional sites across NC. This is UNC's primary tool for its workforce development mission.
Know the specific health challenges of at least two different NC regions — the mountains (Appalachia), the Piedmont (Triangle), the Coastal Plain, and the Outer Banks all have distinct health profiles.
Know NC's HB2 history: the "bathroom bill" passed in 2016, was partially repealed in 2017 after massive economic backlash, and the full repeal debate continued for years.
Know that Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and other neighboring states have passed more restrictive LGBTQ+ healthcare legislation — meaning NC is a destination for patients seeking care.
Practice the cross-state care ethical question: what are an individual physician's obligations to patients who travel long distances for care that is unavailable in their home state?
NC is one of the top tobacco and sweet potato producing states in the US; a significant Latinx migrant farmworker population works seasonal agriculture.
Know the health challenges: heat illness, pesticide exposure, housing instability, lack of health insurance, language barriers, and fear of authorities.
Know about NC's farmworker health clinics and the Student Action with Farmworkers program, which UNC students participate in.
I had a station about a trans patient traveling from Virginia because her home state has banned affirming care. The interviewer wanted to know what obligations UNC as an academic medical center has. Think through the policy and the ethics simultaneously.
UNC is genuinely mission-driven. The interview felt like they were testing whether I really wanted to serve North Carolina — not just whether I was academically strong. Have specific NC community service and know the state's health geography.
The Medicaid expansion station asked me who was in the coverage gap before 2023 and what the barriers to care were. Know the specific populations — working adults who earned too much for traditional Medicaid but too little for marketplace plans.