By Brenna Keller
NKyTribune associate editor
At the Newport Syndicate at exactly noon fourth-year medical students at the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus learned where they will be spending next few years.
The third Friday in March is known as “Match Day,” the day graduating medical students find out which residency program they will be attending. The National Resident Matching Program pairs the wishes of the students with the needs of hospitals’ residency programs.
Medical schools across the country celebrate Match Day, with all future doctors learning where they have matched at noon Eastern Time. It is an opportunity for graduating students to announce the location of their residency program, celebrate their futures as doctors, and reflect on the past four years.
The UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus has 34 fourth-year students. All matched with residency programs, and 32 attended the Match Day celebration at the Syndicate.
The future doctors were able to invite up to six guests, amounting to about one family per table. In addition to the invited family and friends, professors and physicians from local partner hospitals also attended.
The program was led by Dr. Holly Danneman, the Associate Dean leading the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus.
Dr. Danneman began speaking at 11:56, giving an overview of what was about to happen. With 10 seconds remaining until noon, the countdown was on.
Students opened their envelopes, learned the matches, and the room erupted. Mostly with cheers, with many receiving their top choice residency program.
After celebrating with their guests, the future doctors ran to see where their friends were heading. Amidst hugs and questions of “where are you going?” there were reflections on their shared journey.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” one student told her classmate.
After celebrating with friends and family, each future doctor was invited to the podium to announce the residency program they would be attending. Each had an individually selected walk up song.
Every future doctor had a pin to put on a map of the United States to show where they would be going. The excitement of the day may have been taken out on the map; during the pinning it fell from its easel. A larger and sturdier easel was quickly procured.
Many of the future doctors will be staying local, with St. Elizabeth Medical Center being the most common residency location. Other local hospitals getting residents from the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus include Bethesda North, Christ Hospital, and the University of Cincinnati.
Many students will be in Kentucky, Ohio, or Indiana, but some will be as far away as California. One future doctor heading west is Megan Ward, who matched to a pediatrics program in San Diego. Ward, who is originally from north of Dayton, wanted to continue her medical training in a new environment. She is eager to “learn some different things in a different climate, and kind of see what other things I can pick up.”
The final student to announce their match was Liv Davis. She didn’t walk up to the podium alone; her baby was with her. She proudly announced, “We matched in a combined internal medicine and psychiatry residency at the University of Kentucky.”