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Vanderbilt’s Allen Kaiser, M.D., right, celebrates with his sons, Dan, left, and Clay, after Clay learned he matched at Stanford. Dan Kaiser matched at Vanderbilt. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Match Day reveals next stop on medical journeys
![Denis Foretia exults after learning he matched at Emory. (photo by Dana Johnson)](https://vumc-reporter.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/reporter_32108_2.jpg)
Denis Foretia exults after learning he matched at Emory. (photo by Dana Johnson)
![Leigh Anne Dageforde embraces her fiance, Chris Redhage, after learning she matched at Vanderbilt. (photo by Dana Johnson)](https://vumc-reporter.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/reporter_32108_13.jpg)
Leigh Anne Dageforde embraces her fiance, Chris Redhage, after learning she matched at Vanderbilt. (photo by Dana Johnson)
![VUSM Dean Steven Gabbe, M.D., primes the fishbowl. (photo by Dana Johnson)](https://vumc-reporter.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/reporter_32108_14.jpg)
VUSM Dean Steven Gabbe, M.D., primes the fishbowl. (photo by Dana Johnson)
![Sarah Greene, center, is congratulated by friends, from left, Jillian Copeland, Katy Jongeward and Sarah’s husband, Jake Greene, after matching at Vanderbilt. (photo by Dana Johnson)](https://vumc-reporter.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/reporter_32108_16.jpg)
Sarah Greene, center, is congratulated by friends, from left, Jillian Copeland, Katy Jongeward and Sarah’s husband, Jake Greene, after matching at Vanderbilt. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Four years of medical school tuition: $146,000. Textbooks covering abdominal pain to yellow fever: $3,200. Medical licensing exam fees: $2,445. Matching to the residency of your dreams: Priceless.
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine students reached that goal during Thursday's Match Day celebration, which came complete with rock music, tears, leaps of joy and congratulatory body slams. When the cheering stopped, many students had matched with the nation's top medical centers.
Match Day is the crowning moment of the National Resident Match Program (NRMP), which matches thousands of medical students with residency programs at medical centers and hospitals across the country. The students started the process a year ago by listing the residencies that most interested them. After completing applications and attending an average of eight on-site interviews, they ranked the different programs, which in turn ranked the students. The NRMP computer then matched programs with students to give each their best choice. On Match Day, the thrilling and often life-changing results were revealed simultaneously nationwide.
Of the 91 Vanderbilt students matching with residency positions across the country, 24 will remain at VUMC. Sixty-seven other students matched at top programs, including Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, UCLA Medical Center, Massachusetts General, New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia & Cornell, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Brigham and Women’s.
This year the School of Medicine matched 11 students underrepresented in medicine — the largest number in the history of the school.
“We know how great Vanderbilt medical school graduates are, and it is clear that the best residency training programs around the country recognize this as well,” said School of Medicine Dean Steven Gabbe, M.D. “It was a truly amazing match. We are very proud of these students.”
Gabbe kicked off Match Day by channeling the announcer for Saturday Night Live: “Live, from Light Hall, it's Match Day!” He then continued a beloved VUSM tradition by dropping a $100 bill in a fishbowl. Scott Rodgers, M.D., assistant dean for Medical Students, received a standing ovation, then drew names at random.
Each student came forward to music that ranged from “Chariots of Fire” to “Don't Worry, Be Happy.” After depositing a dollar in the fishbowl, the student read his or her match aloud. Igor Voskresensky, the last student to learn his match, went home with the pot of cash. He will remain at Vanderbilt in General Surgery.
Many students were accompanied to the front by friends and family, including newborn babies.
“It's been hard, because my husband and I have felt like our lives were in limbo, not knowing where we'll be for the next three years,” said Sarah Greene. “Luckily, my husband has been very involved in the process. I only interviewed in cities he was willing to live in. Leaving our friends in Nashville would be the hardest part about matching in a new city.” Greene won't face that hurdle, as she matched in Pediatrics at Vanderbilt.
The day's family theme included Gordon Bernard, M.D., Vanderbilt's assistant vice chancellor for Research, whose daughter, Aline Bernard, matched in Pediatrics at Denver. Clay and Dan Kaiser, the sons of Vanderbilt University Hospital Chief of Staff Allen Kaiser, M.D., matched in Thoracic Surgery at Stanford and Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt, respectively.
“Match Day is the culmination of what we've worked for for the past four years,” said Jonathan Kropski, who also landed Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt.
“This is the beginning, but it's a bittersweet occasion. Beneath the excitement, there's also an undercurrent of closure.”
Early match was available for students going into Ophthalmology, Neurosurgery and Urologic Surgery. “Vanderbilt has been a great place for medical school,” said Ben Rosenbaum, who matched in Neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic. “It will be tough leaving such a great institution with terrific students and faculty.”
Match Day was Webcast live, allowing family and friends around the world to watch the festivities from home — a boon for Roxanne Wadia, who will be going into Internal Medicine at the New England Medical Center. “My parents weren't able to make it, but they're watching the Webcast. I've been thinking about how I'd feel at this time for three years.
“Actually matching seems so surreal. But what struck me is how supportive and excited everyone is for one another.”
Residency Assignments
Muyibat Adelani – Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Orthopaedic Surgery
Rehan Ahmed – U. of Texas Medical School, Transitional; Baylor College of Medicine, Ophthalmology
Rachel Akers – Carolinas Medical Center, Ob/Gyn
Jeffrey Albert – U. of Texas Medical School, Medicine-preliminary; U. of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Radiation Oncology
Laura Altom – U. of Alabama Medical Center, Surgery
Raimy Amasha – U. of Michigan Hospitals, Anesthesiology
Cameron Atkinson – VUMC, Orthopaedic Surgery
Ryan Bayley – N.Y. Presbyterian Hospital, Emergency Medicine
Mihaela Bazalakova – Lahey Clinic, Medicine preliminary; Massachusetts General Hospital, Neurology
Marschall Berkes – Hospital for Special Surgery, Orthapaedic Surgery
Aline Bernard – U. of Colorado School of Medicine, Pediatrics
Elizabeth Bleecker – U. of North Carolina Hospitals, Ob/Gyn
Robert Browning – U. of Florida College of Medicine, Surgery
Christopher Bunick – Yale-New Haven Hospital, Medicine-preliminary; Dermatology
Heather Burks – U. of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Ob/Gyn
Darryl Calvo – Hennepin County Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
Erin Carney – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Pathology
Clinton Carroll – VUMC, Pediatrics
Marisa Cevasco – Brigham & Women's Hospital, Surgery
Yong Cha – VUMC, Medicine-preliminary; Radiation Oncology
Sutin Chen – Boston U. Medical Center, Medicine-preliminary; Emergency Medicine
Nadja Colon – VUMC, Surgery
Robert Connors – St. Vincent's Hospital, Medicine-preliminary; New York U. School of Medicine, Neurology
Leigh Dageforde – VUMC, Surgery
Larry Davis – U. of Tennessee/Baptist Hospital, Medicine-preliminary; VUMC, Radiology-Diagnostic
Kevin Elias – Brigham & Women's Hospital, Ob/Gyn
Alex Eshaghian – U. of New Mexico School of Medicine, Medicine-preliminary
Nafeh Fananapazir – Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Pediatrics
Sheryl Fleisch – U. of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Psychiatry
Denis Foretia – Emory U. School of Medicine, Surgery
Joseph Gentile – U. of Florida College of Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery
Kirsten Gibbs – Baylor College of Medicine, Medicine-Pediatrics
Aviram Giladi – U. of Michigan Hospitals, Plastic Surgery
Jennifer Gloeckner – Grand Rapids Medical Education & Research Center, Transitional; Boston U. Medical Center, Dermatology
Sarah Greene – VUMC, Pediatrics
Dana Guyer – VUMC, Medicine-Pediatrics
Randon Hall – VUMC, Pediatrics
William Heerman – VUMC, Medicine-Pediatrics
Erin Horn – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
Joyce Hsu – Chilren's Hospital of Boston, Pediatrics
Olivia Hutul – VUMC, Ob/Gyn
Kathryn Jongeward – VUMC, Medicine-preliminary; Massachusetts General Hospital, Radiology-Diagnostic
Clayton Kaiser – Stanford, Thoracic Surgery
Daniel Kaiser – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Andrew Keyes – U. of New Mexico School of Medicine, Psychiatry
Alaina Kiefer – VUMC, Pediatrics
Jared Knol – McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern U., Internal Medicine
Leanne Kolnick – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Jonathan Kropski – VUMC, Internal Medicine
Yaa Kumah – VUMC, Pediatrics
Benjamin Landis – N.Y. Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia U. Medical Center, Pediatrics
India Landrigan – N.Y. Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, Pediatrics
William Lea – Indiana U. School of Medicine, Surgery
Diana Lemly – Massachusetts General Hospital, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics
Brent Lorenzen – Carolinas Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
Noami McClure – UC Davis Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
Michael McTigue – UCLA Medical Center, Internal Medicine
Carrie Menser – VUMC, Anesthesiology
Vineet Mishra – Emory U. School of Medicine, Transitional; U. of Alabama Medical Center, Dermatology
Willard Moore – U. of Alabama Medical Center, Orthopaedic Surgery
Anamika Mukherjee – VUMC, Pediatrics
Mary Alice Nading – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Transitional; Massachusetts General Hospital, Dermatology
Joshua Nepute – St. John's Mercy Medical Center, Transitional; University of Cincinnati, Radiology-Diagnostic
Albert Nguyen – Loma Linda U., Emergency Medicine
Blake Niederhauser – Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, Transitional; Mayo Clinic, Radiology-Diagnostic
Mario Nieto – Baylor College of Medicine, Anesthesiology
Milton Ochieng – Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Internal Medicine
William Oldham – Massachusetts General Hospital, Internal Medicine
Sanjay Patel – UCLA Medical Center, Surgery-preliminary; Urology
William Payne – U. of Arizona Affiliated Hospitals, Orthopaedic Surgery
Colleen Pepper – Jackson Memorial Hospital, Anesthesiology
Rohith Piyaratna – Stanford, Transitional; Anesthesiology
Paul Reynolds – VUMC, Anesthesiology
Deanne Roberts – VUMC, Surgery
Benjamin Rosenbaum – Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Surgery-preliminary; Neurological Surgery
Yaw Sarpong – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Surgery-preliminary; Neurological Surgery
Jacob Sepmeyer – Spartanburg Regional Healthcare, Transitional; Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Radiology-Diagnostic
Rohan Shah – Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital, Transitional; U. of Illinois, Ophthalmology
Nader Shourbaji – Emory U. School of Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery
Rebecca Snyder – VUMC, Surgery
Dmitri Sofianos – U. of Utah Affiliated Hospitals, Orthopaedic Surgery
Adam Stenger – Barnes-Jewish Hosptital, Emergency Medicine
Daniel Stover – VUMC, Internal Medicine
John Stringham – U. of Colorado School of Medicine, Surgery
Paul Stromberg – Virginia Commonwealth U. Health System, Emergency Medicine
Ryan Tomlinson – VUMC, Anesthesiology
Bernard Trappey – U. of Minnesota Medical School, Medicine-Pediatrics
Keli Turner – U. of Maryland Medical Center, Surgery
Jan Vobecky – Stanford, Emergency Medicine
Igor Voskresensky – VUMC, Surgery
Roxanne Wadia – New England Medical Center, Internal Medicine