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| Vol. 24, No. 7 |
| April 15, 2002 |
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The Match Game Fourth-year medical students throughout the United States recently waited with anticipation for their destinies to be revealed ... Where would they continue their medical training? Match Day, held March 21, was the culmination of the National Residents Matching Program, a private, nonprofit organization established in 1952 to provide an impartial venue for consistently matching applicants and program preferences. Students from medical schools in the Texas Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, participated in this annual "right of passage." Match Day Celebrated at Baylor Of the 160 Baylor College of Medicine students who will graduate May 21, 146 participated in Match Day. The remaining students participated in the military residency match, or the early match program for neurology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology and urology residencies. The results for the 146 fourth-year medical students participating in Match Day were:
Michael McClam, president of the fourth-year class, along with Dr. Donald T. Donovan, Baylor College of Medicine associate dean, and Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, Baylor president and CEO, unwrapped the "package" that held the envelopes. Participating student Marissa Gomez is the first graduate of The University of Texas-Pan American program at Baylor, an eight-year program beginning in high school, designed to graduate greater numbers of physicians from the southernmost 13 counties in Texas. Tuition and fees at UT-Pan Am and Baylor are covered for program students in good standing. Gomez’s hopes were fulfilled when she learned of a match in family medicine in San Antonio. She said she wishes to return to her hometown of McAllen to practice after her residency. Another student, Tony Garcia-Prats, the oldest child in a family of 10 boys ranging from 7 to 26 years of age, was pleased with his match in the pediatric residency program at Baylor College of Medicine. He will follow in the footsteps of his father Dr. Joseph Garcia-Prats, a professor of pediatrics and ethics at Baylor College of Medicine and neonatology chief of service at Ben Taub General Hospital. The family is the subject of Dr. Garcia-Prats’ book "Good Families Don’t Just Happen: What we learned from raising our ten sons and how it can work for you." – Anissa Anderson Orr UT-Houston Medical Students Meet Their Match Darlene and Annette Esper never wanted to do anything but take care of sick patients when they grew up. As children, the sisters would go through their uncle’s doctor’s bag – learning how a stethoscope worked and taking each other’s blood pressure – when he visited them in El Paso. On March 21, the Espers came one step closer to fulfilling their childhood dreams of becoming doctors. The sisters, along with 205 other seniors at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, tore open envelopes in Webber Plaza to find out where their chosen professions will take them next. This year, 14,336 U.S. medical students competed for residency positions. The group enjoyed the highest match rate ever, with more than 94 percent of students matching with one of the first-year residency programs of their choice. At UT-Houston, it was a day filled with anticipation and celebration, as well as sadness for those who will be leaving friends and family to pursue their careers. For the Esper sisters, it will be the first time they have lived apart in different states. With the exception of one year, when Annette went away to college, the Espers have always been together. After moving out of their parents’ home, they were roommates at The University of Texas at Austin, and have shared an apartment in Houston since they started their first day of medical school. Their classmates even jokingly asked if they would be participating in "couples matching," a process usually reserved for students who are married or engaged. "It’s hard to imagine that I won’t see my sister every day," said Darlene, who will be going to North Carolina to do her residency in obstetrics and gynecology. "She wakes me up every morning. We study together, and I think we’ve fostered each other’s learning because we have different ways of thinking. She’s definitely influenced me, and I adore her. I’m really going to miss her." Annette will be five hours away from her sister at an internal medicine program in Atlanta. "This is nerve-racking," she said immediately after opening her envelope to reveal that she had been accepted to Emory University’s residency program. "We both got our first choices. I don’t know how much time we’ll have to visit, but at least we’ll be close." Annette is one of 38 UT-Houston Medical School seniors who chose internal medicine. Among her classmates, it was the most popular specialty, followed by family practice, pediatrics, anesthesiology and surgery. While the National Resident Matching Program reported a decrease in the number of students who are filling residency positions in primary care specialties, UT-Houston saw an increase. Eighteen percent of UT-Houston Medical School seniors chose internal medicine, up from 15 percent the year before. Almost 15 percent selected family practice programs, up from 9 percent in 2001, and the number of students who chose pediatrics grew from 9 percent to 11 percent. "This is a tremendous life moment for these students, and I’m very proud of them," said Dr. L. Maximilian Buja, dean of the UT-Houston Medical School. "I think our students have done extremely well." Dean Buja also noted that UT-Houston did an outstanding job attracting applicants and that the school was able to fill all its residency positions. Biruh and Felicia Workeneh are among students who chose a primary care specialty. The couple married in January and set their sights on doing their residencies in the same place – or at least in the same city. They got their wish when they opened their envelopes on Match Day. "We’re going to Galveston," Biruh Workeneh said. "We’re not going to be in separate cities, so we’re happy about that." Biruh said he always wanted to follow the example set by his father, a pastor who led his Ethiopian church at a time when it was a crime to mention God in their homeland. "I saw how one man can change so many lives and really make a difference," he said. "I knew I wanted to be like that, and internal medicine seemed like the right route for me to choose." His wife Felicia selected pediatrics, as did fellow classmate Maggie Bishop. Bishop, who will do her residency at the University of Colorado at Denver, said becoming a pediatrician seemed natural to her. "My brother had medical problems when I was a kid, so we were in and out of the hospital a lot," she said. "Most kids cry and hate going to the doctor, but not me. I loved it. I would ask questions and want to touch all the equipment." Bishop, who has been the class president at UT-Houston Medical School for the past four years, said when she started medical school, she considered other areas of medicine, but after her first year, she was convinced that pediatrics was the right field for her. "You can play while you are at work," Bishop said. "Plus, there is so much variety. I knew I would never go a day being bored. You see everything from 500-gram babies to adolescents who are pregnant and have adult problems." Match Day also was a rewarding moment for Dr. John H. Byrne, chairman of UT-Houston’s department of neurobiology and anatomy. His daughter, Kathryn, matched with an internal medicine program at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. "She grew up in medical schools, so I’d like to think that had something to do with her choosing a career in medicine," Dr. Byrne said. "I couldn’t be more proud." – Meredith Raine-Middleton
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