As School of Medicine student Alessandra Moore accepted the very last envelope of Match Day 2014, the clock struck noon and Interim Associate Dean for Student Affairs Michael Kneeland, MD, MPH, gave the go-ahead to the members of the Class of 2014 to finally find out where their professional lives will begin. Together, they ripped open their envelopes, each containing a single sheet of paper produced by the National Residency Matching Program.
Screams, hugs and happiness ensued.
More than half of the 121 students matching this year will be training in primary care fields, with 23 graduates practicing internal medicine, 23 pediatrics, 13 family medicine and 12 obstetrics & gynecology. Almost half will stay in Massachusetts to train, including 23 who will complete residencies with clinical partner UMass Memorial Health Care.
“I can tell you that the match is spectacular. We are over the top thrilled with the placements our students have received,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins.
Michael Richardson grew up in Worcester and entered medical school with a passion for making a difference in public health.
“Growing up in Worcester and coming to UMass Medical School allowed me to take what I’m learning in class and apply it to the community I grew up in and know,” said Richardson, who matched in family medicine at his first choice, Steward Carney Hospital in Boston. “As a physician, really as a medical student, you have so much power to become a leader. You don’t have to wait to become an MD. You can do so many things now, and the community really needs it.”
Justin Caramiciu needed help from his parents to participate in the event—via Skype and an iPad. Camariciu, who matched in anesthesiology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, N.H., was actually in Jordan, but technology allowed him to take part in the right-of-passage and interact with his classmates.
Per tradition, each member of the class placed a dollar into a kitty as they received their envelope. As a reward for waiting patiently for the last envelope, Moore, who will represent the third generation in her family to train as a surgeon at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, received the kitty of $121. Also per tradition, the first round of drinks is on her, she said.
