Fourth-year medical student Emily Hautman got her first choice for a match.
She will spend the next three to five years training as a resident in Internal Medicine, pediatrics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her mom and dad joined hundreds of family members and well-wishers for University of Cincinnati fourth-year medical students for a Match Day celebration in the College of Medicine Friday afternoon, March 18, 2016.
There were 171 matched students at UC's Match Day event. The most popular residencies for UC students were pediatrics with 29 matched students and internal medicine with 28 matched students.
"We are excited but I'm going to miss her," says Angela Hautman, Emily's mom. "At least it's only four-and-a-half hours away."
Emily Hautman says primary care offers her the opportunity to care for both kids and adults. The science behind medicine coupled with its humanism holds an attraction for the Cincinnati native. "I grew up in Cincinnati and I've been here my whole life," says Hautman. "I went here for undergrad and was here for med school. This will be my first time leaving."
Nerves gave way to excitement and finally jubilation as students crowded into a lecture hall in the Medical Sciences Building for a festive Match Day complete with music, cool class T-shirts, and huge U.S. map which allowed students to pinpoint their next destination. Their names were entered into a giant glass container and pulled lottery style by a College of Medicine dean.
As their name was called, students would run down, place a dollar in the container and then open their envelope and reveal where they are going. There was no guarantee that a student would get his or her top choice. There are few tense moments.
Fourth-year medical student Yevgency Novikov was the last to have his name announced. He won the huge pile of dollar bills he proudly displayed. Novikov learned he will stay at the University of Cincinnati and UC Medical Center for an internal medicine residency.
He was pleased with the news. "I just love how broad it is and you can go anywhere with internal medicine," says Novikov. "You have very special patient interactions. You get very close to people. I was worried about today especially about being last."
But for Novikov and most others the day was all about smiles and hugs. It was all part of Match Day, an annual event managed by the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), which pairs the preference of medical students with those of residency programs to create optimal matches.
