The
envelope, please: 'Match Day' marks milestones
Annual passage places grads in their residency
programs
By SUSAN IPAKTCHIAN
With his fiancée by his side, Farhad Imam motioned for
family members to gather closer in a corner of the Fairchild
Auditorium lobby while he unsealed the envelope that would tell him
where the next phase of his medical training would occur.
The result: a pediatrics residency at Boston Children's Hospital at
Harvard. "It's my first choice," said Imam, a graduating MD/PhD
student at the School of Medicine who also earned his undergraduate
degree here and is getting married in two weeks. "I haven't lived
more than five miles away from Stanford since I was 6 years old. I
may want to end up back here, so we thought this was a good
opportunity to live somewhere else for a few years."
Imam was surrounded by classmates who were also learning about
their residencies during the annual Match Day ceremony on March 18.
On that day, 25,246 graduating medical students throughout the
United States and Canada found out where they'll receive the next
three to seven years of training, depending on their specialty. The
National Residency Matching Program pairs students and residency
programs, and students must accept the appointment for at least a
year.
Medical student Seema
Sanzgiri pumps her arms in triumph after learning that she'll serve
her residency in internal medicine at Stanford Hospital during the
Match Day ceremony March 18. Stanford was Sanzgiri's first
choice. Photo: Visual Art
Services
Imam was among the majority of Stanford students who got their top
residency choice. Terry Blaschke, MD, professor of medicine and of
molecular pharmacology and associate dean for medical student
advising, said that of the students who indicated how they ranked
their residency choices, 74 percent got their first choice and 91
percent matched to one of their top three on their list.
"Our students matched at excellent places," such as Stanford, UCSF,
UCLA, Harvard and the Mayo Clinic, Blaschke said. He noted that 25
of the 83 students will enter primary-care residencies, which
includes family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics. Others
will serve residencies in such specialties as dermatology,
radiation oncology and anesthesiology.
One of the specialty students was Debbie Williams, who matched with
her top choice -- a private practice anesthesia group in Seattle.
"It's a small group, the people there are wonderful and the group
is really well-known especially in regional anesthesia, which is
something I'm interested in," said Williams, who brought along her
husband Patrick and her 7-month-old puppy Josie to share in the
event. "This is something that affects our whole family so we
wanted our whole family here."
Williams, who is expecting a baby in October, will first serve a
one-year internship at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, which
will give her husband time to finish law school before they move to
Seattle.
While some students were excited by the prospect of moving to a
different part of the country, others were just as pleased to be
remaining in the Bay Area. Seema Sanzgiri was ecstatic when she
learned she would be doing an internal medicine residency at
Stanford Hospital. "I love the people here, I love the program and
the residency director is just the best," she said between hugs
from classmates.
Wearing a puka shell necklace and a T-shirt that depicted a
doctor's white coat, Hawaii native Stuart Tsuji said he was looking
forward to his residency in radiation oncology at UC-San
Francisco.
"Radiation oncology is a really competitive field, and UCSF has a
really good program," said Tsuji, who is heading to Guatemala for a
few months before his residency begins. He said he hopes to
participate in a Spanish-language immersion class while he's
there.
At the Match Day ceremony, envelopes were distributed by Julie
Parsonnet, MD, senior associate dean for medical education,
promptly at 10 a.m. -- the same time students at other medical
schools were learning their fates. Dean Philip Pizzo, MD, spoke to
the students before the ceremony, congratulating them on their hard
work and noting that their careers plans may change in the coming
years. "The opportunities to evolve are what you've been preparing
yourselves for," Pizzo said.
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