Medical students’ residency locations revealed at Match Day
At last week’s Match Day, graduating School of Medicine student Eric Rafla-Yuan reacts after learning that he’s headed to UC San Diego Medical Center for his residency in Psychiatry. (photo by Anne Rayner) Since entering Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2012, Ashlee Hurff Arteaga has served as president of her class each year, which gave her a front row seat to the challenges and triumphs experienced by her classmates. Match Day, she said, is the culmination of a medical student’s efforts and a day she and her classmates have eagerly awaited. Harrison Kay, right, and family members, from left, father Dickie Kay, sister Hannah Kay and brother Haddon Kay, learn that Harrison matched in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Southern California. (photo by Anne Rayner) “There’s a high level of excitement, some anxiety and nerves,” Arteaga said of the time leading up to discovering where she and her classmates will spend the next several years in their medical residencies. “For us, this is such a huge celebration, getting to share everyone’s job search together.” Match Day is the crowning moment of the National Resident Match Program (NRMP), which matches thousands of medical students with residency programs at medical centers and hospitals across the country. Kelly Diaz, with her daugher, Emmaline, matched in Family Medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. (photo by Anne Rayner) Amidst tears, hugs, high-fives, applause and sighs of relief, the 79 fourth-year School of Medicine students who participated in this year’s festivities learned where they would be spending the next few years. Following Vanderbilt tradition, names were randomly selected by Amy Fleming, M.D., associate dean for Medical Student Affairs. Gregory LaChaud celebrates with his mother, Marguerite, after learning he’s going to the University of Florida for his Orthopaedic Surgery residency. (photo by Anne Rayner) Each student approached the stage in Langford Auditorium to a personalized song and a video screen of selected photos. After placing $1 into a fishbowl they received the envelope with their residency information. Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, welcomed students, family and friends and continued another Vanderbilt tradition of dropping $200 into the fishbowl, which would go to the last student called to the stage as a reward for patience. “Overall, I am just thrilled with the match,” Fleming said. “After talking to the students over the course of the application process who shared their rank list preferences with me, it’s incredible to know that the vast majority got into their top choices. “It’s wonderful to see, yet again, our students going off to the top schools and programs in the nation. I brag about our students all the time; now others can see why.” Arteaga, specializing in Family Medicine, and her husband, Dan Arteaga, specializing in Neurology, are one of eight couples who participated in a couples match. Married in 2014, Arteaga said their goal was to land in a place that allowed for quality time. They will be heading to the University of Virginia. There were eight students matching into Neurosurgery this year, a significant jump from years past. “It’s one of the most competitive specialties,” Fleming said. “And it’s a really large number of students to enter that field. I think we can attribute the big jump to how well our subspecialty surgical services support the students.” While students and audience members captured the magnitude of the day’s events, one fourth-year student followed a group of her classmates filming a documentary about the Match Day process. Trisha Pasricha, who matched at Johns Hopkins in Internal Medicine, is producing a documentary on the Match Day experience. (photo by Anne Rayner) Trisha Pasricha, who also participated in Match Day, was able to combine her love for film and her desire to be a physician while a medical student at Vanderbilt. With one documentary under her belt, “A Doctor of My Own: The First Medical Students of Namibia,” Pasricha wanted to film the Match Day culture. “As I was entering my fourth year, I started thinking about my next project. What was on my mind, and on the mind of every other fourth-year student, was Match Day.” An Internal Medicine candidate, Pasricha, will complete her residency at Johns Hopkins, where her husband is a current graduate student. The pair met as undergraduates at Harvard and married in 2015. Pasricha plans to wrap up filming in May and complete the editing process within a year. “There are two audiences for this film — film festivals across the country and national medical organizations that might be interested in sharing the film with their membership,” she said. “I hope this film sparks discussion about what is working, and maybe what isn’t working, in the match process.” Ashlee Hurff Arteaga and Dan Arteaga were one of eight couples who participated in this year’s match. The couple is headed to the University of Virginia. (photo by Anne Rayner) Deirdre Finnegan, who was the last student called to the stage, admitted the day was a win-win for her. Not only did she get the cache of money that filled the fish bowl, but she also matched to her first choice in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It was a really difficult time to wait,” said Finnegan. “The match was awesome and I am just so happy for everybody. It’s so awesome to finally get to participate. It gets better each year.” Match Day was webcast live, allowing family and friends from around the world to watch the festivities. Fishbowl winner Deirdre Finnegan, right, gets a little help from Amy Fleming, M.D., and Finnegan’s fiance, Matthew Puccetti. (photo by Anne Rayner) 2016 Residency Assignments Ryan Adams – VUMC, Surgery-Preliminary; Radiology-Diagnostic Abraham Alvarado-Gonzalez – U. of Florida, Neurological Surgery Daniel Arteaga – U. of Virginia, Neurology Diego Aviles – Pennsylvania Hospital, ObGyn Fadi Azer – Stony Brook Teaching Hospital, Transitional; VUMC, Radiology-Diagnostic Richard Boyer – Massachusetts General Hospital, Anesthesiology Joseph Boyle – U. of Colorado Denver, Medicine-Primary Michael Burns – Northwestern McGaw, Internal Medicine Geoffrey Casimir – Hofstra, Internal Medicine Mary Charles – Duke U. Medical Center, Internal Medicine John Chen – Emory U., Internal Medicine Jacqueline Clauss – Massachusetts General Hospital, Psychiatry Paul Cohen – Rhode Island Hospital, Emergency Medicine Perrin Considine – Maricopa Medical Center, Emergency Medicine Matthew Correia – US San Diego Medical Center – Emergency Medicine Laura D’Aoust – VUMC, Pediatrics Benjamin Dean – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Child Neurology Jaime de la Fuente – Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Internal Medicine Kelly Diaz – U. of Alabama School of Medicine, Family Medicine Deanna Dickerman – VUMC, Surgery-Preliminary; Medical College of Georgia, Dermatology Daren Dilorio – Medical College of Wisconsin, Pediatrics-Preliminary; Dermatology Stephen Dorner – Massachusetts General Hospital, Emergency Medicine Mana Espahbodi – Medical College of Wisconsin, Otolaryngology Shanik Fernando – VUMC, Otolaryngology Deirdre Finnegan – Children’s Hospital Philadelphia, Pediatrics Stephanie Flavin – Massachusetts General Hospital, Emergency Medicine Megan Freeman – UPMC Medical Education, Pediatrics Tanner Freeman – UPMC Medical Education, Pathology Glynnis Garry – U. of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Internal Medicine Jonathan Gelber – Alameda Health System, Emergency Medicine Zain Gowani – Johns Hopkins, Internal Medicine Brian Grieb – VUMC, Internal Medicine Richard Guyer – Massachusetts General Hospital, General Surgery DeAngelo Harris – Emory U. School of Medicine, General Surgery Tenisha Hinners – VUMC, Pathology Benjamin Hooe – Columbia U. Medical Center, Pediatrics Kristen Hovis – VUMC, Otolaryngology Ashlee Hurff Arteaga – U. of Virginia, Family Medicine Rivka Ihejirika – NYU School of Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery Annette Ilg – Baron Deaconess Medical Center, Emergency Medicine Ebone Ingram – VUMC, Psychiatry Kelli Jarrell – U. of Cincinnati Medical Center, Emergency Medicine Hannah Johnson – Children’s Hospital of Boston, Child Neurology Laura Kaufman – Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Family Medicine Harrison Kay – U. of Southern California, Orthopaedic Surgery Vanessa Kennedy – Stanford U., Internal Medicine Byron Knowles – Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Transitional; UCLA Medical Center, Dermatology Mary Ellen Koran – St. Thomas Hospitals, Medicine-Preliminary; Stanford U., Radiology-Diagnostic Emily Krainer – U. of Rochester, Child Neurology Kevin Kumar – Stanford U., Neurological Surgery Gregory LaChaud – U. of Florida College of Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery Travis Ladner – Icahn School of Medicine – Neurological Surgery James Lee – Emory U., Internal Medicine Young Lee – U.C. San Francisco, Neurological Surgery Robert Lentz – Northwestern McGaw, Internal Medicine Marguerite Lloyd – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Medicine-Pediatrics Mary Masterman – U. of Kansas School of Medicine, Family Medicine Jessica Meshman – UCLA Medical Center, Medicine-Preliminary; Jackson Memorial Hospital, Radiation-Oncology Jason Metcalf – U. of Michigan Hospitals, Pediatrics Victoria Migdal – Georgia Regents U., Emergency Medicine Ana Milisavljevic – Jackson Memorial Hospital, Internal Medicine Clinton Morgan – St. Josephs Hospital, Neurological Surgery Keaton Morgan – Indiana U. School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine Tejaswi Mudigonda – U. of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Medicine-Preliminary; Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Dermatology Melissa Musser – Children’s Hospital of Boston, Pediatrics Arash Nayeri – UCLA Medical Center, Internal Medicine Caroline Nebhan – VUMC, Internal Medicine Erin Nichols – Pennsylvania Hospital, Medicine-Preliminary; Wills Eye Residency Program, Ophthalmology Aaron Noll – Spartanburg Regional Healthcare, Transitional; U. of Florida, Ophthalmology Trisha Pasricha – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Internal Medicine Kelly Pekala – UPMC Medical Education, Surgery-Preliminary; Urology Praveen Pendyala – VUMC, Medicine-Preliminary Alec Petersen – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Internal Medicine Daniel Pipilas – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Internal Medicine Eric Rafla-Yuan – UC San Diego Medical Center, Psychiatry Vishruth Reddy – U. of Pennsylvania Hospital, Radiation Oncology Nida Safdar – Massachusetts General Hospital, Pathology Nicholas Shelburne – Duke U. Medical Center, Internal Medicine Calvin Sheng – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Internal Medicine Jared Shenson – Stanford U., Otolaryngology Irene Shyu – Virginia Commonwealth U., Pathology Anne Smith – U. of Missouri, ObGyn John Stokes – VUMC, General Surgery Eszter Szentirmai – VUMC, Pathology Brittany Tielbur – Duke U. Medical Center, Internal Medicine Allison Umfress – VUMC, Surgery-Preliminary; Ophthalmology Obinna Umunakwe – St. Thomas Hospitals, Medicine-Preliminary; Duke U., Ophthalmology Lucy Unger – U. of Utah Affiliated Hospitals, Emergency Medicine Leonela Villegas – Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, Pediatrics Gabrielle White-Dzuro – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Neurological Surgery Isa Wismann-Horther – Johns Hopkins Hospital, ObGyn Kelly Wolenberg – VUMC, Pediatrics George Yang – U. of Cincinnati Medical Center, Neurological Surgery Tiffany Yang – U. of Pennsylvania Medical College, Pediatrics Denise Ye – Emory U., Medicine-Preliminary; Neurology Aaron Yengo-Kahn – VUMC, Neurological Surgery Lily Yu – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Pediatrics Chi Zhang – VUMC, Internal Medicine Xuechao Zhang – SUNY Health Services, Surgery-Preliminary; Anesthesiology Sophie Zhao – VUMC, Internal Medicine