Ngozika Okoye, MD, FAAP

Ngozika

Name: Ngozika Okoye, MD, FAAP 

Hometown: Born in Nsukka, Nigeria and raised in Oxford, MS

Undergraduate School attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Hobbies:

Reading, writing poetry, short stories and essays, exploring new cuisines, enjoying the outdoors and playing soccer and other sports with my son

Languages you speak: Igbo and English

Furthest I've traveled from home: Amsterdam

Favorite activity in the Twin Cities: Discovering hidden gems of restaurants in the Twin Cities.

What is your specialty: Pediatrics

Why I chose my specialty:

I have always been good with children and baby sat my younger brother and other neighborhood children when I was younger. As I got older, I found children's innate curiosity and the way they process the world around them very fascinating. In medical school, I enjoyed my Pediatric rotations and enjoyed helping take care of sick children and working with parents and caregivers to learn healthy habits to keep their children strong and healthy.

Why Medicine:

As a child, I had an inquisitive mind and I found the inner workings of the human body intriguing. I enjoyed helping people and was always the first on the scene with my bright orange lunch box full of ointments and bandages when my siblings sustained minor injuries during our adventures as children so naturally, I gravitated towards a career in medicine.

Being a doctor is similar to being a detective as both gather facts and clues and analyze the information to solve a problem. I enjoy helping patients overcome sickness and disease and find it gratifying using the information I gather from the patient, parents and/or caregivers along with physical exam findings and at times, imaging studies to diagnose and treat medical problems.