As part of the NC Doctors’ Day celebration on March 30, Karin R. Minter, MD, MPH, FAAP, was named 2017 NC Doctor of the Year.
Dr. Minter is a pediatrician with Burlington Pediatrics in Burlington, NC, where she has practiced medicine since 2006. She shares, “I always knew I wanted a career in medicine, but the decision of which field to enter was difficult. It comes down to my fundamental belief that all children are good. So I chose to commit myself to children. It’s fulfilling to provide the best, most thoughtful care that I can to young patients and their families. I strive to make it a personal experience.” This approach seems to be working for her, as she received the most online votes of the 10 NC Doctor of the Year Award finalists, making her the winner.
The award comes with a $5,000 prize to be used to further a professional or community project of the winner’s choosing. Dr. Minter plans to split the funds among two worthy charities: Alamance County Partnership for Children and Reach Out and Read of Alamance County. As she explains, “They (Reach Out and Read) make such a big impact to promote literacy by distributing books to kids through pediatricians, and they are really deserving.”
NC Doctors’ Day, spearheaded by the NCMS, is the homegrown celebration of National Doctors’ Day. Starting in February, patients, colleagues, family and friends nominated doctors who exemplify the best qualities of caring, compassion, clinical expertise and community involvement. Numerous doctors were nominated through the NC Doctors’ Day website (www.ncdoctorsday.org). In mid-March, 10 finalists were selected from among the nominations to participate in an online voting contest. These extraordinary physicians represent various specialties and are from across North Carolina.
The nomination for Dr. Minter caught the finalist selection committee’s attention, with several nominators singing her praises as a clinician, physician leader and a compassionate community advocate. As one supporter shared, “Karin is a devoted, impressively intelligent pediatrician who is passionate about her patients and the health of the community at large. She has a beautiful sense of humor that puts you at ease, and a formidable feistiness that serves her well when needed. Karin is compassionate and goes to all lengths for her patients.”
There were a total of 22,588 online votes cast to determine this year’s winner; many thanks to all who took part in this process!