During Match Day 2022, 166 medical students from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center learned where they will spend the next three to seven years as resident physicians. Of those, 43% will be attending Tennessee-based residencies.
Students gathered on the UTHSC campus in the Nash and Mooney buildings to celebrate their career placements from the National Resident Matching Program, which included many top-level programs across the country. It was the first Match Day celebration to be held entirely in person since 2019.
“This Match Day was incredibly special for me personally, as I am so proud of each student, and a virtual ceremony cannot truly capture the moment when our soon-to-be doctors open their envelope to find out where they will train for the next few years. UTHSC College of Medicine has a long tradition of training excellent physicians, and our Match Day results show that. We know that our students do so well in the Match because they have such excellent classroom training the first two years in Memphis and the last two years in Memphis, Jackson, Nashville, Knoxville, and/or Chattanooga,” said Catherine Womack, MD, associate dean of Student Affairs and Admissions in the College of Medicine.
Throughout the United States, medical schools celebrate Match Day on the third Friday of March each year, with the celebration of match results being a time-honored tradition. The National Resident Matching Program coordinates Match Day, using an algorithm to match graduating medical students with residency programs based on their applications, interviews, and preferences.
“This clinical training across our great state produces a high-quality resident. Our graduates from the UTHSC College of Medicine MD program will be highly accomplished, and we look forward to hearing all about their incredible endeavors,” said Dr. Womack. “This year we are so fortunate to have many of our students staying in the UT system, 39%. Fifty-three percent of our students have chosen to train in primary care and 19% will learn to practice surgery or a surgical specialty. As dean of students, I look forward to hearing about all the amazing things that they will accomplish in the future,” said Dr. Womack.
This year’s Match Day marks an optimistic new beginning for these students, who navigated the abrupt changes in their education brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. These graduates will now enter the next phase of their careers in a time when medical professionals have been proven more important than ever.
“Match Day was such a wonderful celebration, and one that our class worked so hard for over our medical school career. This year’s Match Day felt particularly special because we were able to celebrate it in person after two years of remote festivities due to COVID. My class fought through a rigorous clinical medical school experience that
was compounded by a worldwide pandemic, and this day was a testament to successfully overcoming these obstacles as a group,” said M4 Class President Jacob Woodruff, who matched into the General Surgery specialty at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University. “We had to be adaptable, resilient, and driven to be successful. Personally, I had been dreaming of Match Day since many years before medical school, and that dream was finally realized.
I was fortunate to help plan the day with many of our class leaders and seeing all the pieces fit together was so rewarding. There is really no other event quite like this. So many long hours of unnoticed work, perseverance, and preparation go into the Match Day letter that it is difficult to not be overwhelmed with emotion. Seeing our class celebrate in person together with many loved ones at our sides was simply unforgettable.”
The UTHSC College of Medicine held ceremonies for Match Day at its Knoxville and Chattanooga campuses, where students and faculty celebrated.
When the envelopes were opened, here’s how this year’s class stacked up for the 166 students graduating in May:
- 53% went into Primary Care (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and OB/GYN)
- 43% are staying in Tennessee-based residencies
- 39% will complete their residencies in the UT System
Knoxville Match Day celebrations