Match Day—It was an exciting day for hundreds of AUC graduates who learned where they would complete their residency training and in what specialty. That answer came in a brief but memorable email from the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) at 1 pm ET.
Graduates gathered at six of AUC’s affiliated hospital sites to open their match emails and celebrate their residency placements. This year, events were held at Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Baton Rouge, LA, Danbury Hospital in Danbury, CT, Center for Haitian Studies in Miami, FL, Providence Hospital in Detroit, MI, Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY, and Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in Bronx, NY.
Just prior to opening their emails, graduates listened to Dr. Julie Taylor, Senior Associate Dean of Clinical Sciences, who reiterated the significance of Match Day from AUC's campus in St. Maarten. She and dozens of other faculty members gathered to watch the six events from a video stream.
“Today is the day and the moment you have working so hard and so long for,” Dr. Taylor remarked. “It is an absolute privilege for AUC to share in this occasion and watch as you continue to succeed in the next stage of your career.”
In Miami, Barbra Giourgas fought back tears while announcing her match in child neurology at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her parents, who also attended the event, held Barbra in a tight embrace—clearly proud of their daughter. Just 128 child neurology positions were offered this year.
Up north in New York, Nicholas Russo donned a huge smile after reading his residency match: vascular surgery at Albany Medical Center—his first choice. Russo has spent the past year conducting and promoting research on inferior vena cava filters—work that won him national awards and work that impressed residency programs. According to the NRMP, just 60 vascular surgery positions were offered in this year’s match.
Graduates who were unable to attend the AUC events were quick to share their residency news on social media. Joshua Maxwell, for example, pulled over to record his match email reveal with his family. The video caught his excitement at a first-choice pediatrics-primary care position at Cooper University Children’s Regional Hospital in Camden, New Jersey.
“So grateful to call Cooper Children’s Hospital my home for the next three years,” he posted. It’s humbling to think that becoming a pediatrician is now a reality!”
According to the NRMP, the 2017 Main Residency Match was the largest in the program’s history with more than 31,000 positions offered. It was also a record year for US-citizen international medical graduates who matched at the highest rate since 2004.
AUC graduates earned residency positions at programs across the United States, including two in Canada (via the Canadian Resident Matching Service). They will now prepare to begin their careers as resident physicians in late June and early July.