Match Week 2022

This week is NRMP Match Week! This is the week that all the graduating medical students across the country find out where they'll be for the next 3+ years. This week also determines the ultimate specialty of those students, which is a career defining moment. My Twitter feed was full of happy and sad moments today; there were people who matched and those who unfortunately did not. People who did not match will get a second opportunity this week to find a spot through the S.O.A.P. (supplemental offer and acceptance program). I wish them all the best.

I can still vividly remember my Match Week from 2018. It's hard to believe that was four years ago.

On Monday of Match Week I was in our "Transition to Residency" class at McGovern Medical School when I got an email at 11 am CST saying "Congratulations, you matched!" I was very excited and relieved that I matched, but I knew it would be four more days before I learned where I would be going. The week crept along as I anticipated the news of Friday. On Thursday night my parents, brother, and sister-in-law came to town to celebrate the big day with me.

Our medical school staged an outdoor celebration on Match Day. I had always been lukewarm on going to my own Match Day for a couple of reasons. First, as an MD/PhD student, I would be celebrating with a group of people who I hardly knew. The people I had started medical school with graduated five years before I did and many were already done with residency. Second, it's a bit scary to open that envelope that tells your fate in front of a public audience. For some people it's a very happy and special moment, but for some people it can be disappointing to learn that they matched to their 10th choice program in a city that was always supposed to be a "back up." Anyway, I was very grateful that my family came to see the ceremony.

Match Day started with a group photo. One serious and one silly.

Then we gathered on the patio outside the medical school for the main event: The opening of the envelopes. Names of all the participants were placed in a large bowl and were drawn by the class president at random. When my name was called, I went to the front to get my envelope and put one dollar in a separate bowl. The person whose name was called last got her envelope AND the pot of money (around $240)! 

Once everyone had an envelope, an announcement was made to open envelopes. I was so nervous to do this, but I was surrounded by parents, my brother, sister-in-law, labmates, and friends. I remember opening the envelope, unfolding the trifold, and seeing this:

 This was my first choice program. I was so happy and the photo my dad took shows it all.

It was such an exciting feeling to know that I was going to finally graduate and that I had been picked by the program where I really wanted to go. It was also exciting to think about moving across the country for a new adventure. Cleveland Clinic and Ohio were everything I hoped for, and I am so thankful that I got to train there. I'm also so glad I got to share in all this excitement with my father while he was still alive. He was with me from the start of the journey and did everything he could to help me reach the finish line. He encouraged me when I was studying with the MCAT in 2006, he helped me move across Texas to start medical school in 2009, and he provided constant encouragement throughout my professional education. He was such an inspiration and I'm glad we shared Match Day together.

I will be wishing the best for everyone during Match Week 2022. I hope each graduate gets the chance to capture a photo like mine this Friday while relishing the moment with the people who have been there to support you along the way.