BUSM Celebrates Match Day

At Boston University School of Medicine 154 students anxiously awaited the results of Match Day. The annual event marks the moment in which students around the country learn which residency programs they will be attending and where they will spend the next three to five years of their lives following graduation.

Within seconds of the noon deadline, the future physicians accompanied by friends and families rushed to their mailboxes and opened envelopes in an effort to eliminate the nervous energy and anticipation that had been building throughout their four years of medical school.

This year 6 percent of students graduating from Boston University School of Medicine are pursuing careers in family medicine, while 4 percent chose surgery, 11 percent pediatrics.

“BUSM faculty and staff are very proud of our outstanding students.  Match Day is a rite of passage, perhaps as memorable as graduation for medical students. It has been a privilege to both teach and learn from our young physicians.  We wish them the very best in their future endeavors and know that they will do great things,” explained Phyllis Carr, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean of students at Boston University School of Medicine

Across the nation more than 15,000 U.S. medical school seniors from more than 126 medical schools participate in Match Day. Conducted annually by the NRMP, the Match uses a computer algorithm, designed to produce favorable results for students, that aligns the preferences of applicants with the preferences of residency programs in order to fill the thousands of training positions available at U.S. teaching hospitals.

The Match was established in 1952, at the request of medical students, to provide a fair and impartial transition from medical school to residency.

Established in 1873, Boston University School of Medicine is a leading academic and research institution, with an enrollment of nearly 630 students and more than 1,100 full and part-time faculty members.  It is known for its programs in arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, human genetics, pulmonary disease and dermatology, among others, and is one of the major biomedical research institutions in the United States.  The School is affiliated with Boston Medical Center, its principal teaching hospital, and Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center.  Along with Boston Medical Center and 15 community health centers, the School of Medicine is a partner in Boston HealthNet.

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) is a private, not-for-profit organization established in 1952 to provide an orderly and fair mechanism to match the preferences of applicants to U.S. residency positions with the preferences of residency program directors for those applicants. The NRMP is sponsored by the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Medical Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Hospital Association, and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies.