Future physicians celebrate Match Day, anticipate next chapter in medical careers

At the March 21 Match Day ceremony, members of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson Class of 2025 discovered where they will spend the next three to seven years of their careers as physicians in specialized residency training programs.

Cheers filled the air at 9 a.m. as 121 students eagerly opened their envelopes to learn where they matched, sharing moments of joy with each other and their loved ones in celebration.

Around the nation, more than 40,000 soon-to-be medical school graduates took part in the annual tradition, simultaneously finding out where they were placed by the National Residency Matching Program.

“You will always remember this day, as I remember mine,” said Michael Abecassis, MD, MBA, the Inaugural Humberto and Czarina Lopez Endowed Dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and a member of the BIO5 Institute. “The realization that the current leg of your journey is nearly over, as you contemplate and plan the next step, makes for mixed emotions. It is a time filled with a great sense of achievement, anticipation and excitement, but at the same time, some uncertainty and anxiety. But today, I would like you to focus strictly on your amazing achievement of crossing this milestone and looking forward to the finish line.”

Kevin Moynahan, MD, the vice dean for education at the College of Medicine – Tucson, added, “The joy I have for you and your class, and the experience I’ve had with you over the last four-plus years, I can’t tell you what a privilege it has been. Although I haven’t been involved in every aspect of each of your educations, I’ve been there for you behind the scenes, and I have shared your journey.”

Thirty-three of the soon-to-be graduates matched into residency programs with Banner – University Medical Center in Tucson or Phoenix.

“We congratulate and celebrate all the medical students who took part in Match Day. We admire their adaptability, resilience and commitment to the profession of medicine and to the patients they will care for,” said Richard Orlandi, MD, MBA, CEO of Banner – University Medical Group. “At the same time, we’re proud to welcome in the coming months the new residents who matched to Banner – University Medicine and look forward to them joining our mission to make health care easier so life can be better.”

Class of 2025 students matched at 60 different graduate medical education training centers in 24 states, including the University of Southern California, the University of Miami, Rush University Medical Center, Mount Sinai, UCLA Medical Center, McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard University, Cornell Medical Center and Banner – University Medical Center. The graduates will pursue specialties in areas including otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, pathology, diagnostic radiology, orthopedic surgery, dermatology, neurological surgery, child neurology and plastic surgery.

More than 40% of graduates will remain in Arizona, and nearly 40% of the class will go into primary care, helping address the primary care shortage across the state and nation. Residencies generally start in July and students are required to go to the institution to which they matched.

Match Day highlights include:

• 43% of graduates will complete their residencies in Arizona:
  • 32 in Tucson
  • 14 in the greater Phoenix area
• Thirty-three graduates matched with Banner – University Medical Center residency programs in Tucson and Phoenix.
• 38.8% of graduates matched into residencies in primary care fields, defined as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology:
  • 20.7% in internal medicine
  • 8.3% in family medicine
  • 4.1% in pediatrics
• 61.2% matched into nonprimary care specialties, including:
  • 10.7% in emergency medicine
  • 9.9% in psychiatry
  • 7.4% in anesthesiology
  • 5.8% in diagnostic radiology
  • 5.8% in general surgery
  • 4.1% in orthopedic surgery

Meet the Class of 2025

Curtis McGuire was joined by his fiancée and their 3-month-old infant when he opened his envelope to learn where he’d spend the next several years training to be an anesthesiologist.

Image

“I’m doing my intern year at Tucson Medical Center, and I matched for anesthesia here at the University of Arizona. That’s where we were meant to be,” McGuire said. “It’s incredible just knowing that all that uncertainty is gone.”

Matching at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s clinical partner, will allow McGuire to remain in Tucson, where he’s been ever since he was accepted into the Pre-Medical Admissions Pathway, an intensive preparation program for promising students who have faced considerable obstacles.

“Once medical school started, I knew how to take a physical history, how to take high-stress tests — I had done this before,” he recalled. “My P-MAP cohort are super close. Having that community helped us be successful.”

As a medical student, in addition to nurturing relationships with his fellow P-MAP alumni and other members of the Class of 2025, McGuire forged connections with physicians who inspired him to reach for greater heights.

“Continuing those relationships, learning anesthesia with great mentors — I’m excited for this next step for me and my family,” he said.

Image

Gabriela Orozco entered Match Day with some nerves, a feeling that was compounded when she thought all the tables on the lawn were already full. In the end, she and her family found a table together, and they had a successful Match Day.

“I have been so very nervous since last night, but, overall, I’m very excited to open the envelope to see where I’m going and get this part of my life started,” Orozco said.

Once the final countdown ended, she learned she matched into emergency medicine at the University of Miami in Florida.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “Miami was my No. 1 choice. I’m so happy and blessed to have gotten my top choice. I’m excited to explore the new city and its culture and learn from my patients.”

Orozco picked her specialty because she grew up without medical insurance, so she understands that emergency medicine can act as a safety net to those in similar situations.

“I’m excited to finally grow in the field that I chose,” she said. “I’m excited to become a very knowledgeable doctor, taking care of patients who need it the most and care for patients I connect with in terms of culture and language.”

Image

Jacob Ref is on his way to becoming a double Wildcat, as he earned an undergraduate degree from the College of Medicine – Tucson in physiology and medical sciences before matriculating into medical school. He celebrated Match Day by matching into internal medicine at the University of California, Irvine.

“It was shocking,” Ref said about opening his envelope. “You don’t know what to expect on Match Day. It’s a great program and academic center. I love doing research, so I look forward to spending the next three-plus years there.”

During Ref’s time as a physiology student, he built relationships that helped prepare him for the rigors of medical school.

“The undergraduate program does a phenomenal job,” Ref said. “The faculty are really invested in your success. A lot of them stay involved with the medical school curriculum, so it was great to continue those relationships.”

Ref said those relationships — with faculty, peers and the students he mentored — were the biggest help for him during medical school.

“I look forward to starting in a new place while continuing the relationships I built here,” Ref said. “I’m excited to get to know my new colleagues. It’s always been about the relationships.”

Image

Laura Tran and Justin Le met as medical students at the College of Medicine – Tucson and spent the hours leading up to Match Day in nervous anticipation. At 9 a.m., with their families by their sides, they tore open their envelopes to learn that their “couples match” would allow them to remain in Tucson for residency training in internal medicine at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson.

“We learned we matched here in Tucson, and I’m so excited to continue our journey here,” Tran said. “We’ve made so many friends and I’m so excited to keep learning with these people and grow together.”

“It’s nice knowing the hospital system — that’ll be a very smooth transition,” Le added. “We know a lot of the residents here already, and I’m really happy to be with the community we’ve been able to build for the past four years and continue learning all that we can.”

Tran and Le are recipients of the Primary Care Physician Scholarship, which covers tuition for medical students who commit to practice primary care in underserved communities in Arizona. After completing her residency, Tran said she hopes to serve immigrant communities.

“In my training, I’ve seen the daughter or son with the parent, and they’ve been asked to translate,” Tran said. “I see myself in them.”