Medical students celebrate Match Day

On March 17, the Tampa Bay and the Davie College of Osteopathic Medicine campuses held their Match Days.

The College of Osteopathic Medicine opened the Tampa Bay location in 2019, with this year being the first time that the Tampa Bay campus has a Match Day. The Tampa Bay and Davie locations watched as their students opened the envelopes telling them if they matched to the hospitals they wanted for their residency.

Dr. Elaine Wallace, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, explained how the process for Match Day works.

“Students put in their desired locations for residency, and the residencies all over the country put in their list of desired students from all over the country. And then on [Match Day], they reveal if there is a match between the students and the hospitals that they want and the hospitals and the students that they want,” said Wallace.

Timmi Tan, MD student, felt that it was a big day for students, as it determined where they will be for the next few years of their lives.

“I am very grateful for the position that I am in right now. I got matched to my No. 1 choice and it is very close to my family, which was an important factor to me when choosing residency location,” said Tan. “It’s really a celebratory day because students get to see where they’re going for the next part of their career.”

After spending their fourth year of medical school doing externships all over the country, it was the first time in a year that students got to see each other. Many dressed up, shared their experiences of all the places they went, saw different disciplines and got themselves known at the hospitals they hope to match with.

“It is a dream accomplished, I came to Nova hoping to go into Orthopedics and hoping to get into [a] Broward hospital, and I did just that,” said Charles De La Rosa, MD student.