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Students celebrate Match Day success

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On Friday, March 18, graduating medical students at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) joined other medical students across the nation in celebrating Match Day by opening their envelopes and learning where in the country they will spend their residency.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, nearly 30,000 U.S. and international applicants matched to residency training positions at the nation's teaching hospitals this year. A total of 130 students participated in the Match Day event at EVMS, and are headed to several of the nation’s most prestigious residency programs including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and the University of Washington (Seattle) — just to name a few.

I am beyond excited. It really is an amazing feeling,” says Jeffery Goodwin, who will be doing his residency in urology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. “I am seeing four years of hard work pay off."

See the full 2016 Match List.

“This is an exciting time in the lives of our medical students,” Ronald Flenner, MD (MD ’89) Vice Dean of Academic Affairs, says. “We are very proud of the work and dedication our students have put forth to get to this point in their medical school careers.”

EVMS by the numbers:

  • Students matched in 15 specialties
  • 42 percent of the class is pursuing primary care
  • 25 percent of the class will stay in Virginia for at least their first year of residency
  • The top represented specialties were internal medicine at 17 percent, surgery at 12 percent and family medicine and emergency medicine at 11 percent, respective

The matching process is organized by the National Resident Matching Program, which uses an algorithm to pair medical students and residency programs. Fourth-year medical students across the nation apply to residency positions in their chosen specialty — such as pediatrics or surgery. After hitting the interview trail, the students rank the programs according to those they would prefer to join. The programs, in turn, rank the students they feel will make the best fit. Nearly all applicants learned the results of that ranking process at the same time.

Photos from this year's Match Day ceremony can be viewed on the institution’s Flickr album. Videos and photos also are available on the EVMS Facebook page.