An Exciting Day

Do you remember when you were a kid and wondered what you will be when you grew up? Well, today is that special day when many of my medical colleagues find out. It’s Match Day! Congratulations to all those who matched this year. I am truly impressed by the matches AUC graduates have placed this year. Going through my Facebook, I see my colleagues matching into residencies of all specialties, from my own specialty of Family Medicine, to Surgery and Internal Medicine. I am especially impressed to see my Caribbean colleagues getting into highly competitive fields like radiology, anesthesia, and orthopedic surgery, and proud of being an alumnus of a medical school who helped these highly motivated and talented individuals to achieve their dreams, when others may not have before.  Reading where everyone matched made me relive the excitement and happiness I felt when I matched 2 years ago, and be thankful for the opportunity AUC gave me to be where I am today.

Being on the other side of the Match, today was an exciting day for my Family Medicine colleagues and me too, but for different reasons. After many months of meeting new faces, and countless interview lunches and dinners with applicants, today was the day we found out which 8 new incoming interns we will be working with next year. Probably like the people matching, my fellow residents and I also waited anxiously for 1 o’clock to hit to receive our email with the names of our new colleagues. I am happy with our new draft and look forward to working with them.

At the same time, I am sure there are several people who did not match, for whatever the reason may be. There are those who have to go through the match over and over without guarantee of any better chances the next round. I feel for them, and it makes me realize the importance of appreciating what we have as residents, especially coming from the Caribbean. While residency may be a tough and challenging experience, it is not fair for us to complain about this when we know others would do anything to be where we are now. Every experience that makes us struggle also makes us grow. “Embrace the suck.” We know that from med school, and for all those who have matched today, the same applies for residency. Let’s not forget this.

Congratulations everyone, and best of luck in residency!

Number of AUC 2016 Matches by Specialty:

• Family Medicine – 82
• Internal Medicine – 80
• Pediatrics – 27
• Psychiatry – 24
• Anesthesiology – 15
• Med Prelim/Primary – 10
• General Surgery – 9
• Surgery Prelim – 7
• Emergency Medicine – 7
• Neurology – 5
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation – 5
• Pathology – 4
• Radiology – 4
• Obstetrics and Gynecology – 3
• Child Neurology – 1
• Med-Peds – 1
• Med-Psych – 1
• Orthopedic Surgery – 1
• Neuropathology – 1

Total: 287 matches

Check out AUC’s 2016 Match list here.

Benji