Former college basketball player becomes acclaimed UNTHSC resident doctor
By Alex Branch
Dr. Mindy Hansen’s path to becoming the top osteopathic resident physician in the United States started on the basketball hardwood in frigid Minnesota.
A four-year shooting guard at the University of Minnesota, she loved being active, using her hands. She spent 15 years after college working as a private training and conditioning coach.
One thing bothered her.
“Athletes get injured,” Hansen, DO, said. “All I could do was refer them out for physical therapy or some other medical treatment. I wanted to be able to use my hands to help them heal.”
Then she discovered osteopathic medicine, the hands-on, holistic style of care taught and practiced at UNT Health Science Center. She attended osteopathic medical school in Arizona and landed an integrated Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine residency at UNTHSC, where she is completing her fourth year.
The American Academy of Osteopathic Medicine named Dr. Hansen the 2019 Resident of the Year at its annual meeting in March. Dr. Hansen said she was surprised, honored and grateful to the UNTHSC faculty and staff members who prepared her to succeed.
“The best part of the Health Science Center program is the people you get to work with,” she said. “All the faculty members here have their own unique styles but work incredibly well together. It is the most awesome team dynamic I have been a part of.”
Dr. Hansen has been involved with AAO, teaching seminars for students. During her residency, she has treated University of North Texas athletes and gained significant exposure to musculoskeletal injuries, treatments and rehabilitation.
She was nominated for the award by David Mason, DO, Program Director for the UNTHSC Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine residency, who wrote in his nomination letter that “Dr. Hansen has demonstrated strong leadership, is a problem-solver and is very adept at teaching students, residents and patients.”
In July, Dr. Hansen will complete her UNTHSC residency and start a one-year sports medicine fellowship at the University of Louisville. She’ll treat athletes similar to herself in her playing days in Minnesota.
“But my experience in Fort Worth has been so great that I am wide open to the idea of coming back to North Texas to practice medicine,” she said. “I love it here.”
Social media