Match Day Reflections

The time has finally come.

It’s been a long year since the previous match day, and I’ve certainly grown as a person and a doctor. This time, match day was not quite the same fanfare as it was last year. I was not afforded the opportunity to go participate in the envelope opening tradition: there are patients to be taken care of! As a result, I waited patiently as I started getting an influx of pictures and Facebook statuses of all my successful friends, matching at quality programs across the country. In the midst of this social media storm, I was also bombarded with text messages regarding my own long-awaited result. Alas, I have to wait until the hour after where the NRMP sends out an email, almost as disasterously cryptic as the first notification email. Instead of the suspense filled subject “Did I Match?”, it is now “Where Did I Match?”

I’m not going to lie. I was definitely nervous while opening the email, even though I already had a sense of where I was headed.

For my General Surgery Residency, I will remain and start anew at Ohio State University. In addition, my fiancée matched to the affiliated pediatrics program: Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

I will be repeating intern year, but this time as a categorical resident. This time, with more experience. This time, knowing the system. Some may say how rough or brutal it is to repeat intern year, but in all honesty, I am just happy that I am now categorical, and that after many years of being long distance, Becky and I can finally be back together in the same city.

It brings me great joy to see the many happy faces that are depicted on Match Day photos, but this feeling is mixed with a bittersweet aftertaste. After all, it is the harrowing, unspoken truth that there are those who do not get to revel in the same joy. It is these people who are left out of the photos and festivities, that we shouldn’t forget about. The Match is an extremely unforgiving process, and I am all too familiar with both sides of this coin. Many people who went through the SOAP/scramble process had reached out to me, and I hope that my experiences/advice have made that process that much more manageable. For those who need someone to talk to about this whole process, I will remain available. It is not easy to walk this road alone.

To those who have matched to their dream specialty and location, I celebrate with you. We’ve all worked hard to reach this spot, and it is definitely rewarding to feel like “it’s finally paid off.” To those who ended up with a less than ideal result, congratulations are still in order. Finishing medical school is no simple feat, and that MD will stick with you for the rest of your life. It is by no means a judgment on your character or worth, and you should not view yourself any less of a future physician. To those in a preliminary position: have no fear: my story is the perfect testament that it is not a dead end road, and that the assessment and plan must be KOKO, keep on keeping on.

Thank you all for the support throughout this whole process, I look forward to finishing the year with a huge sigh of relief.

God bless, Go Blue.