During Match Day on March 15, 128 students of the UNMC College of Medicine learned where they will do their physician residency training — typically a period of three to six years of training depending on their chosen medical specialty.
Forty percent of UNMC students are staying in Nebraska for their training, and 64 percent matched in primary care, which includes family medicine, internal medicine, internal medicine/pediatrics, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology.
See a photo album from Match Day.
"For a lot of people in the class it's almost more important than graduation, because it's when we find out that we get to do the sort of medicine that we want to do, and we're going to have a place to go next year, so it's a really important day for everybody," said Dan Arkfeld, a UNMC medical student from Omaha.
"It feels good to move on to the next step, but they say that residency is harder than medical school," Arkfeld said. "But I think you have more purpose in residency, because you're more focused on what you're doing and you're finally taking care of patients and taking more responsibility than we have as students, so it's really exciting."
Students are matched through a computer program to align their preferences for residency programs in order to fill the thousands of training positions available at U.S. teaching hospitals.
The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®), or The Match®, is a private, non-profit organization that provides an orderly and fair mechanism for matching the preferences of applicants for U.S. residency positions with the preferences of residency program directors.
Here's a sampling of some of the interesting stories surrounding this year's class of students participating in Match Day:
Zachary Wordekemper, of North Platte, was in a motorcycle accident at the end of his first year of medical school, resulting in the amputation of his right foot. He not only stayed with his medical school class, but kept up a flurry of nonstop activities – he is currently recovering from an ACL tear in his left knee that happened playing volleyball on his prosthetic leg. He hopes to practice family medicine in western Nebraska and run in Paralympics athletic events.
Amy Dreessen, of Elkhorn, was diagnosed during her second year in medical school with multiple sclerosis and was faced with possibly needing to take a year off. But after speaking multiple times with a key administrator, she opted to continue without taking time off. Her experience as a patient has undoubtedly shaped her role as a provider.
Sean Flor, of Omaha, was an Air Force weapon systems officer in the B-1B Lancer bomber, the backbone of America's long-range bomber force, which can do a top speed of 900-plus mph. He deployed around the world before separating from the USAF to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a physician.
Kelsey Tieken, of Omaha, was born with an intestinal mal rotation. At six weeks old, she had surgery. Her medical history was the initial inspiration for her medical career, although her reasons for continuing on this path have grown over the years. She hopes to stay in Omaha and pursue a career in surgery as a general surgery resident at UNMC.
Two former Husker football players — Jason (Jake) Long, of Elkhorn, and Brent Moravec, of Grand Island, will graduate from medical school together in May. They say being part of the Husker football team prepared them for the time demands of medical school, as well as learning many life lessons they’ve used throughout medical school and in everyday life.
Kiley Cameron, of Tekamah, plans to use her family’s heartbreak to prevent future domestic violence and help those affected by it. During her third year of medical school, her cousin was the victim of a murder-suicide as a result of domestic violence. As a volunteer at the Women’s Center for Advancement in Omaha, she is in the position to recognize signs of domestic violence in her patients and share resources for victims.
Jonathan Greenberg, of Omaha, graduated from nursing school before starting medical school. As a nursing student, he remembers he was doing a rotation in the intensive care unit when a patient had complications after heart surgery. The experience left him with the decision that he wanted to get into medicine. Now, he wants to match in internal medicine – critical care, which includes working with patients in the intensive care unit. He said his experience as a nursing student will help him communicate better with nurses and understand and appreciate what nurses do.
This year’s class of medical students going through Match Day will graduate on May 4.