New members of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s house staff hit the ground running last week.

Despite a challenging health care landscape, Vanderbilt University Medical Center continues to advance the highest-quality patient care, train the next generation of physician leaders and push forward the frontiers of biomedical science.

Over the past eight years as Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s associate dean for Admissions, John Zic, M.D., estimates he’s made about 2,000 phone calls to let prospective medical students know they’ve been admitted. Personally delivering the good news has been one of his favorite aspects of the time-consuming job.

At last week’s Commencement, the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Class of 2014 was charged with focusing on developing relationships with their patients and stepping up as leaders in their profession while making a positive impact in health care.

For the first time that she can remember, Paula Marincola forgot her own birthday. Once the most celebrated day of her life, it took a backseat to another milestone on March 21 — Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Match Day.