Making a Match: Rochester Medical Students Gather Together to Mark Next Step in Training
On Friday, March 18, fourth-year medical students at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry found out where they’ll be spending the next chapter of their medical careers. Match Day – the annual ceremony where students across the U.S. open envelopes containing the name of the institution where they’ll train as residents – was held in person for the first time since 2019. Due to the pandemic, Match Day was held virtually in 2020 and 2021.
"We are thrilled to be able to have our Match Day activities in person and to celebrate the Class of 2022 with close family and friends attending,” said David R. Lambert, M.D., senior associate dean for medical school education at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. “When they begin their residencies in June, our graduates will find that our educational program has prepared them well. During the pandemic, we returned to clinical experiences fully and earlier than most schools, and I am appreciative of the tireless work that our faculty and those who support our programs put forth to make this happen. We know our students will deliver the excellence of Rochester wherever they go, and we are all very proud of them.”
Like other health care providers, the class of 2022 received COVID vaccines soon after they became available, and have helped care for COVID patients ever since. They worked through multiple surges of the virus, giving them an experience unlike students who came before them and those who will come after. “This was an unprecedented time in medicine, and I believe our students are stronger because of it. These future physicians will be well poised to manage the next major health crisis or threat, whatever that may be,” noted Lambert.
Starting in their third year of medical school, students apply to and interview with institutions where they are interested in training. Students conducted interviews virtually again this year due to COVID, which allowed them to interview at more places than if they were visiting in person. The National Residency Match Program runs the ranking and selection process, taking into account the preferences of students and the programs where they apply to make the best possible match for all. In January, students who participated in the early matches in urology and ophthalmology were notified of their positions. Students in the military were also notified of their military training sites earlier; we thank them for their service.
Match Day 2022
From Rochester's class of 2022, 27 students will stay at the University of Rochester Medical Center for their residency training and 77 will go elsewhere. Overall, UR SMD students pursuing residency training were placed in 24 different specialties, with the largest concentrations in Internal Medicine (24), Emergency Medicine (10), Family Medicine (10), Anesthesiology (7), Pediatrics (7) and General Surgery (7). Rochester students are headed to institutions across the country, including Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and Boston Children’s Hospital.
There are 177 incoming residents, from several top medical schools across the country, who matched at URMC. They will begin their training in Rochester this summer.
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