From Dreams to Reality: Match Day 2019 at the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Medical Students Embark on the Next Phase of Their Medical Training

After years of hard work, determination, and personal sacrifice, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) medical students’ dreams finally came to fruition at the Match Day ceremony on March 15. At exactly noon, medical students at the UMSOM and around the country, some 30,000 students across the U.S., received an envelope telling them where they will do their residency training. It was truly a day filled with excitement and anticipation for the UMSOM Class of 2019 at Baltimore’s famed Hippodrome Theatre. 

During the Match Day celebration, the students each selected their own soundtrack that played as they walked onto the stage. Many students danced their way up to applause. This year, 162 UMSOM students matched at 73 different hospitals in 29 states. Fifty-seven members of the Class of 2019 will stay in the state of Maryland for their residency training.

According to the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), this year’s Main Residency Match is the largest in history, exceeding the more than 43,000 applicants who registered for the 2018 Match and the more than 33,000 positions offered last year.

Among these students are David Hurwitz. He arrived at the UMSOM after leaving a decade-long private business sector career in biotechnology. For years, he worked side-by-side with primary care physicians and felt an insistent call to join the front line of community care. He hopes to combine his medical training with his expertise in business for a career in geriatrics.  “Being the ‘old man’ of my class with two school-aged children comes with some challenges, but also several unique advantages. I always have a willing volunteer to play the part of the standardized patient!” he said. He hopes that he has inspired others to appreciate that you are never too old to pursue your dreams. Mr. Hurwitz, who is set to earn his medical degree in May, matched at Johns Hopkins Bayview in internal medicine.

Deepanjali Jain shares a similar journey. She spent a few years working in global health policy helping to push legislature for health workforce development in low-and middle-income countries. While she did find her work in health policy rewarding, Deepanjali missed making personal connections. “Medicine gave me the opportunity to connect on an individual level and celebrate how their health improvements improved their lives and the lives of their families,” she said. Throughout the course of her studies, she was involved in many student-based groups and discussions that shed light on the importance of diversity and inclusion in medicine. Ms. Jain has decided to specialize in internal medicine and plans to continue to provide care for underserved populations. She matched at Temple University Hospital in internal medicine.

Kayle Miller and Michael Miller loved math and science from a very young age. The brother and sister, two members of a set of triplets, grew up in Frederick County, Md. Their early exposure to science and mathematics sparked the fire in their aspirations that ultimately burned a path all the way to medical school. Mr. Miller is interested in sepsis and the roll of palliative care in critical care-level settings, while Ms. Miller is interested in HIV and substance abuse. Interestingly, their sister Claire—the third member of the trio—is in medical school in New York and will also be graduating this year. They were excited to find out that they both matched in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Milton Gholston’s acceptance to the University of Maryland School of Medicine came at the time of civil unrest in Baltimore. Like the Millers, his affinity for science and service began at an early age. Fast forward to his college years, it became clearer to him that a systematic approach was the ultimate solution to address the suffering in his immediate community and communities alike. Mr. Gholson is glad that he stayed in Baltimore to be a part of the healing process and those pivotal discussions for change. He says the recognition and attention of health disparities is critical to improve health outcomes for populations that have been customarily underserved in health care. He matched with Tufts Medical Center in family medicine.

Some members of the class traveled far and wide to follow their dreams. Elise Ma moved from her hometown of Los Angeles, Calif. to Baltimore to pursue both a MD and PhD in Neuroscience. She completed a few pre-med courses while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but it wasn’t until she began working in a research laboratory when she envisioned a career in medicine. She will be returning to UCLA where she has matched with a competitive program in ophthalmology. She hopes to use her background in neurotrauma towards a career that includes both scientific and clinical investigations in neuro-ophthalmology.

Shawnecca Burke, a native of Silver Spring, Md., spent much of her young-adult years participating in service trips in the U.S and Latin America. She says that although she grew up near major cities most of her life she’s always had an interest in rural communities. This continued to be a major theme while in medical school--rotating at two different Native American reservations in Zuni, New Mexico and Chinle, Arizona. She hopes to pursue a career in family medicine and serve patients in rural native communities. She matched with the University of Colorado Hospital in family medicine.

Match Day 2019 Video:

Max Coale came to the UMSOM from Princeton University where he played football—helping Princeton break Ivy records in both scoring and total offense. His interest in medicine was inspired after an ankle injury in a football game when he was in seventh grade. Several years later, he spent a summer shadowing an orthopaedic traumatologist at our renowned R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and that’s when he says his passion for medicine ignited. He has chosen to specialize in orthopaedics and credits the unwavering support of family, friends, and mentors for his success.  He matched with the University of Washington Medical Center in orthopaedic surgery.

Daniel Lee’s activism began in college—engaging in several community-based initiatives throughout Baltimore. Through these experiences, he began to understand the intersections between housing, health and gender. During his studies at UMSOM, he served on several student councils and groups, and he travelled to Nigeria to work on a prevention of mother-to-infant HIV transmission project. While, 82 percent of doctors matching into obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) in the U.S. are women, Mr. Lee has decided to follow the same path. “A career in OBGYN will offer me unique opportunities to address gender issues both here in the U.S. and abroad,” he said. He matched with UCLA in obstetrics and gynecology.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished recipient of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research.  With an operating budget of more than $1 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for more than 1.2 million patients each year. The School has over 2,500 students, residents, and fellows, and more than $530 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total workforce of nearly 7,000 individuals. The combined School and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8^th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. Th School works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu.