Match Day at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) has grown so popular the event moved from its traditional lecture hall setting at Light Hall to the more-spacious Langford Auditorium.
This year, 115 students opened their envelopes and announced to friends and family, both in the audience and watching online, which residency program they will be attending for the next three or more years.
“Our success in this year’s match is mostly due to the hard work and determination of our incredible senior class,” said Scott Rodgers, M.D., associate dean for Medical Student Affairs.
“We are constantly hearing about how much harder it has become for students around the country, and yet our students still seem to get many of the best positions out there. That says a lot about how much residency programs trust our graduates to become excellent resident physicians.”
The tradition of stuffing the money bowl for luck carried on. Each student placed a dollar bill in the glass fishbowl on the table onstage, with the prize going to the student selected last in the random drawing. But this year’s final match, Rishi Naik, got a bit more than usual.
Several students stuffed the bowl with extra dollars and one even put in a couple of rolls of pennies. The prize was made even sweeter when Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, continued his tradition of stuffing the fishbowl to add to the prize.
Vanderbilt students matched at top programs in the nation time and time again.
Zach Yoneda was one of several Internal Medicine candidates to celebrate a match here at Vanderbilt. He said he found much at Vanderbilt to inspire him, including experiences at the student-run Shade Tree Clinic as well as a spirit of mentorship he says makes him want to teach one day.
“I ran into Dr. Richard Light the other day. His name is in the history textbooks, but he still come into work, he still comes in and teaches medical students and gets excited about things. It’s that sort of thing that is so inspiring,” Yoneda said.
There were several couples matches, including Jesse Wright and Meera Reddy.
The two met at Second Look Weekend and got to know each other as the social chairs for their class.
“It’s been very busy, but we have had lots of support. Vanderbilt offers so much: basic science, clinical expertise, world-class research, diversity and more. Students have opportunities to do whatever they set their minds to,” said Wright, who is the son of J. Kelly Wright Jr., M.D., professor of Surgery and chief of the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation.
In June, Wright will be going into General Surgery and Reddy will pursue Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt. But the next big event is their wedding, a Christian/Hindu ceremony scheduled for April 20, just three weeks before graduation.
Not all matches took place before the large audience in Langford Hall. Tyffany Chen and her husband, Christopher Hom, a fourth-year medical student at Meharry Medical College, decided to open their envelopes together at home, since they couldn’t be at both events at once.
Chen said while the couple originally met near their homes in California, they began to date and married here, making Nashville a special city for them. Chen said Vanderbilt exceeded her expectations.
“It’s the kind of place where you immediately feel at home. You feel the support from the administration team, and then you learn about opportunities like the Shade Tree Clinic. Vanderbilt offered opportunities I never could have imagined. I feel they gave me so much by letting me in the door and giving me the chance,” Chen said.
Chen and Hom will be returning to California for their residencies in Internal Medicine.
RESIDENCY ASSIGNMENTS CLASS OF 2013
Suzanne Alfano – Northwestern McGaw/Children’s Memorial Hospital, Pediatrics
Katherine Allen – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Internal Medicine
Andrew Alsentzer – Medical U. of South Carolina, Pediatrics
Tyler Armstrong – U. of North Carolina Hospitals, Emergency Medicine
Natalie Ausborn – Baptist Health System, Transitional; Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Radiation Oncology
Neil Bansal – U. of North Dakota School of Medicine, Transitional; NYU School of Medicine, Radiology-Diagnostic
Brian Barnett – Massachusetts General Hospital, Psychiatry
Arter Biggs – San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Program, Psychiatry
Joshua Bilsborrow – Yale-New Haven Hospital, Internal Medicine
Edem Binka – U. of Maryland Medical Center, Pediatrics
Marissa Blanco – UPMC Medical Education Program, Pediatrics
Sarah Bourne – Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Neurological Surgery
Andrea Brock – U. of Utah Affiliated Hospitals, Neurological Surgery
Katharine Burns – Advocate Christ Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
Kevin Carr – U. of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio, Neurological Surgery
Michael Casner – UCLA Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
Jason Chen – Washington Hospital Center, General Surgery
Tyffany Chen – U. of Southern California/LA County Medical Center Program, Internal Medicine
Ankeet Choxi – Jackson Memorial Hospital, Anesthesiology
April Christensen – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Erin Ciampa – Steward Carney Hospital, Medicine-Preliminar; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Anesthesiology
Kathleen Collins – U. of Texas Southwestern Medical School-Dallas, Pediatrics
Jessica Cornett – St. Mary’s Hospital, Family Medicine
Stephanie Couch – Medical College of Georgia, Emergency Medicine
Jennifer Dang – Baylor Colledge of Medicine, Otolaryngology
Benjamin Deschner – Northwestern McGaw/Northwestern Memorial Hospital/VA, General Surgery
Anjali Deshmukh – U. of Michigan Hospitals-Ann Arbor, Pediatrics
Sravan Dhulipala – Atlanta Medical Center, Orthopaedic Surgery
Stacey Doran – University Hospital, General Surgery
Ryan Durk – Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Aesthesiology
Anna Fahy – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Internal Medicine
Daniel Fishman – UPMC Medical Education Program, Psychiatry
David Friedlander – Harvard Medical School/Brigham & Womens, Surgery-Preliminary; Urology
Ryan Fritz – VUMC, Emergency Medicine
Erin Fulchiero – U. of Colorado School of Medicine, Internal Medicine
Matthew Gartland – Massachusetts General Hospital, Med-Peds
Nicholas Giacalone – Brigham & Womens Hospital, Medicine-Preliminary; Radiation Oncology
Pamela Giacalone – Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Program, Psychiatry
Everett Gu – St. John Hospital, Transitional; U. of Michigan Hospitals-Ann Arbor, Radiology-Diagnostic
Scott Hagan – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Medicine-Primary
Amanda Harris – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Laila Hassam-Malani – U. of New Mexico School of Medicine, Neurological Surgery
Dustin Hipp – Baylor College of Medicine, Pediatrics
Emory Hsu – Emory U. School of Medicine, Internal Medicine
Stephanie Hsu – VUMC, Pediatrics
Tendeukai Hungwe – Indiana U. School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine
Aubrey Hunt – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Pediatrics
Vanessa Johnson – VUMC, Medicine-Preliminary; Dermatology
Olufemi Kassim – U. of Chicago Medical Center, Internal Medicine
Elliott Kim – VUMC, Orthopaedic Surgery
Peter Knowlton – UPMC Mercy Hospital, Transitional; U. of Pittsburgh, Ophthalmology
Katrina Korhonen – Methodist Hospital, Transitional; Hospital of the U. of Pennsylvania, Radiology-Diagnostic
Ryan Lang – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Internal Medicine
Neal Langdon – U. of Tennessee/Baptist Hospital, Medicine-Preliminary; VUMC, Radiology-Diagnostic
Alana Lewis – Duke U. Medical Center, Internal Medicine
Dennis Lockney – U. of Florida College of Medicine-Shands Hospital, Neurological Surgery
Rajshri Mainthia – Massachusetts General Hospital, General Surgery
Neil Manus – Albert Einstein Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
Allison Martin – U. of Virginia, General Surgery
Daniel McClure – Carolinas Medical Center, Orthopaedic Surgery
Abby Meyers – Children’s National Medical Center, Pediatrics-Primary
Puneet Mishra – VUMC, Medicine-Preliminary
Akshitkumar Mistry – VUMC, Neurological Surgery
David Moore – VUMC, Surgery-Preliminary; Urology
Melissa Mueller – UC Irvine Medical Center, Plastic Surgery
Rishi Naik – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Jill Neely – U. of Alabama Medical Center, Internal Medicine
Kathleen Nemer – VUMC, Medicine Preliminary; Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Dermatology
Natalie Nesmith – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Van Nguyen – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Kathy Niu – U. of Massachusetts Medical School, Psychiatry-Neurology
Rejoice Opara – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Psychiatry
Fernando Ovalle – U. of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Plastic Surgery
Baldeep Pabla – U. of Chicago Medical Center, Internal Medicine
Ravi Parikh – NY Medical College-Westchester Medical Center, Medicine-Preliminary; Yale-New Haven Hospital, Ophthalmology
Devin Patel – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Ravi Patel – VUMC, General Surgery
Klint Peebles – VUMC, Medicine-Preliminary; U. of Wisconsin, Dermatology
Michael Pelster – Northwestern McGaw/Northwestern Memorial Hospital/VA, Medicine-Preliminary; Dermatology
Laura Peterson – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Pathology
Natalia Plotnikova – VUMC, Medicine-Preliminary; Tufts Medical Center, Dermatology
Sarah Proffitt – VUMC, Medicine-Pediatrics
Meera Reddy – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Rachel Ruiz – VUMC, Pediatrics
April Seay – Duke U. Medical Center, Psychiatry
Meredith Sellers – Northwestern McGaw/Northwestern Memorial Hospital/VA, Internal Medicine
Lara Seltz – VUMC, Surgery-Preliminary; Urology
Tina Shah – Northwestern McGaw/Northwestern Memorial Hospital/VA, Anesthesiology
Craig Sheedy – VUMC, Emergency Medicine
Grace Shih – North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Medicine-Preliminary; U. of Southern California, Ophthalmology
David Silvestri – Brigham and Womens Hospital, Emergency Medicine
Lakshmi Sivarajan – Northwestern McGaw/Northwestern Memorial Hospital/VA, Internal Medicine
Michael Stockin – Tripler Army Medical Center, Transitional; Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Anesthesiology
Michael Stoker – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
William Sullivan – VUMC, Medicine-Pediatrics
Brittany Taylor – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Pediatrics
Laura Tortora – North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Emergency Medicine
Thuy Tran – Yale New Haven Hospital, Internal Medicine/Physician Scientist
Colby Uptegraft – David Grant Medical Center, General Surgery; USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, Aerospace Medicine
Francys Verdial Argueta – U of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, General Surgery
Margaret Webb – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Tyler Winders – U. of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Emergency Medicine
Danielle Wright – Meharry/Metro General Hospital, ObGyn
Jesse Wright – VUMC, General Surgery
Victoria Wurster – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Pediatrics
Musi Ye – Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Internal Medicine
Zachary Yoneda – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Amy Zhai – VUMC, ObGyn
Li Zhou – Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Internal Medicine
