April 1, 2010
UW medical students meet their match
Caroline Grady said she was shocked to see her dad and stepmother walk into the Health Sciences lobby. She and fellow fourth-year medical students took part Thursday, March 18, in Match Day at the University of Washington. Match Day a national event for some 16,000 U.S. medical school students who find out where they will spend the next three to seven, or even more years as a resident.
Mike and Merry Grady made the surprise trip from Lansing, Mich., to support and cheer on Caroline, who hoped to land an internal medicine spot at the Mayo Clinic. “It’s an important point in her medical travel,” said her father. “We just wanted to be a part of it.”
While waiting for the envelopes, many medical students said they felt a sense of relief. “It’s one of the best days in medical school,” said Elizabeth “Lili” Peacock-Villada. “I’m not just relieved, but excited. I’m going to be a pediatrician,” she said, with a huge smile.
Peacock-Villada and husband Kyle Chambers took part in a special “couples” match, ensuring that they would end up in programs within the same geographic area. There were 808 couples in the Match this year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Associate deans for the UW School of Medicine led the day’s event, handing out envelopes to 166 students. Dr. Peter Eveland, associate dean for student affairs, said it was an “extraordinarily important day in the lives of our students and faculty.” He banged a gong held by Dr. David Acosta, associate dean of the Office for Multicultural Affairs, to mark the start of UW’s Match Day.
“The anticipation is killing me,” said Taylor Abel, while waiting for his name to be called. After he opened up his envelope, he revealed a yellow and black Iowa t-shirt he’d been wearing under a jacket. He’s heading east, to become a neurosurgeon.
Grady matched with Mayo Clinic, as did Karna Sunsted. Peacock-Villada and Chambers matched in Boston—she at Children’s Hospital Boston and he at Harvard. And the spectators? “This was phenomenal,” said Mike Grady. “How exciting.”
Match by the numbers:
Twenty-seven UW medical students will move ahead as residents in internal medicine, while 26 other students chose family medicine. Nationally, the number of U.S. medical school seniors who will enter residency training in family medicine rose nine percent over 2009. Fifteen students selected surgery, and 15 others chose emergency medicine. Twelve students opted for obstetrics/gynecology and another 12 will enter residency training in pediatrics. Two students matched in neurosurgery, and similarly in dermatology.
