At 11 a.m. on March 15, cheers erupted as RUSH Medical College鈥檚 class of 2024 discovered where residency training would be taking them. Students gathered with family and friends at the Union League Club of Chicago for Match Day and opened envelopes at the same time to find out where they would be taking the next step in their medical careers.
鈥淭he envelope is a snapshot of time, and today is the beginning of your journey,鈥 Cynthia Brincat, MD, acting dean, RUSH Medical College, said as she addressed the crowd. 鈥淲e have taken this journey together, and I am so proud to have taken it with you. I want you to find your family, your faculty, all of the people who have been part of your journey and thank them because it is about to get really exciting.鈥
An annual nationwide celebration, Match Day is the culmination of the process of applying to and interviewing with residency programs at health care institutions across the country. After completing the interview process, students rank their programs, and the programs, in turn, rank their applicants. A computer algorithm then matches students with the residency programs.
鈥淭oday is emotional,鈥 M4 student Kathleen Coogan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an accumulation of everything we worked for, for four years. It鈥檚 the start of my career as a pediatrician. It鈥檚 the start of all of my colleagues鈥 careers. It鈥檚 an exciting day.鈥
Depending on a student鈥檚 chosen specialty, a residency will last three to six years and lead to eligibility for board certification in primary care or a medical or surgical specialty. One hundred forty-seven students matched residency programs in 29 specialties and combined programs in 30 different states. This year鈥檚 top specialties were internal medicine, family medicine and psychiatry.
鈥淎fter Match Day, I鈥檓 looking forward to taking care of patients and being the best doctor I can be,鈥 M4 student Daniel Leary said. 鈥淚 matched in internal medicine at Northwestern. I鈥檓 very happy to be given this opportunity and looking forward to spending three more years in Chicago.鈥
The 2024 graduating class entered medical school as the global pandemic was in full effect. Students overcame all the obstacles that came with that and continued to thrive throughout their medical college education. Their resiliency, dedication and hard work for the past four years paid off with a successful Match Day and a bright future ahead.
鈥淐ongratulations to everybody today. Regardless of the outcome, this is exactly what it's meant to be,鈥 M4 student Marissa Pharel said. Referring to Dr. Omar Lateef, president and CEO of RUSH, Pharel went on to say, 鈥淟ike Dr. Lateef said, he never opened the right envelope, but it is always the right envelope. So whatever you opened, it鈥檚 what it鈥檚 meant to be. And take that in. Bask in that glory, and let鈥檚 keep moving forward.鈥
2024 Match Day Highlights
