Squeals of joy and hugs were plentiful during the annual Match Day celebration Friday, as 165 fourth-year medical students at the University of Toledo learned which residency programs they will enter.
As noon approached, many students took their seats at the Stranahan Theater Great Hall, squeezed loved ones’ hands, and furtively checked watches and cell phones. They soon got the go-ahead to approach the front table and find the envelopes with their names and where they will spend the next three to seven years.
Melissa Straub had tears in her eyes as she shared with friends and family that she’d be heading to Vanderbilt University in Nashville for pathology, her first choice.
“This has been a long time coming, lots of hard work. I’m glad to finally know where I’ll spend the next four years of my life,” she said. “It’s good to be with the people who have gone through this with me and supported me. I feel very lucky to be supported by the people I love.”
Her boyfriend, Kevin Hogan, who flew in from Baton Rouge, La., unwrapped a Vanderbilt baseball cap he’d fortuitously brought with him and put it on her head.
Lucia Reyes’ fiance, Paul Beata, took a video of her opening the letter so her parents in Miami could watch her reaction. Ms. Reyes, already wearing a scarf representing her match at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, will pursue family medicine. Now that they know where she’s headed, she said, they can set a wedding date.
Dr. Christopher Cooper, dean of UT’s College of Medicine and Life Sciences, congratulated the future doctors on their accomplishments.
“We’re very proud of our students and what they’re doing and we share in their joy and excitement today,” he said. “To our students, I’m looking forward to hearing about the next steps in your journey.”
Match Day is a nationwide program administered by the National Resident Matching Program, which pairs graduating students and academic hospitals based on the preferences of both the students and the medical centers.
Of the 165 students matched Friday, nine will stay at the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital. Three will go to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center.
Eleven will head to Ohio State University and nine to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Nearly one-third of students will stay in Ohio, while 11 percent head to Michigan. Other popular destinations include California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
The students matched positions in 24 medical specialties, with internal medicine, emergency medicine, and family medicine among the most popular.
Among those staying at the University of Toledo is Kevin Nguyen, who will specialize in emergency medicine.
“It feels good. I was really excited about the program here in Toledo,” he said. ”[Emergency medicine] is something I’ve always wanted to do and I have a job now. I can start paying off those loans.”
Laura Ruch didn’t sleep the night before she opened the letter announcing she was matched with the obstetrics and gynecology program at St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor.
She’s following in the footsteps of her mother, Dr. Anne Ruch, who is also an OB/GYN. Ms. Ruch said she wasn’t always sure this was the specialty for her, but watching her mother’s career was convincing.
“She loves her job and I see that she works in the happiest part of the hospital,” Ms. Ruch. “She gets to do surgery and see patients, and I realized that’s what I want to do too.”
Contact Lauren Lindstrom at llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.
First Published March 19, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
