Galveston County Daily News, March 16, 2007

GALVESTON - Plenty of things test the nerve of medical school students - grueling hours memorizing anatomy and biochemistry, the constant possibility of failure and handling all those cadavers.

But when it comes to the ultimate pressure, "Match Day" is unmatched. That's when thousands of medical students across the nation gather to open envelopes containing letters upon which their futures hinge.

"I'm pretty nervous," said David Raimer, 28, who is specializing in dermatology. "The anticipation is overwhelming."

That was about 11 a.m. Thursday, about an hour before Raimer and more than 180 other students would finally learn where they'd be spending the next three to six years of residency training.

Each year, the National Resident Matching Program uses a computer algorithm, which aligns the preferences of applicants with those of residency programs.

Raimer, born and raised on the island, said the University of Texas Medical Branch was one of his top picks. But in the match process, nothing is guaranteed.

Match Week

The process is meant to fill thousands of training positions in U.S. teaching hospitals and essentially dictates the career paths of future physicians.

Medical students will learn whether they get to go to the hospital of their choice or be placed in a less-than-desirable training program.

While ceremonies were held Thursday, Match Day actually began Monday, known as Black Monday to an unlucky few who didn't get matched to a residency program.

On Tuesday, in what's known as "the scramble," the locations of remaining unfilled residency positions were released to unmatched applicants, while others awaited the envelope. A record 15,206 medical school seniors celebrated Match Day at 125 U.S. campuses Thursday.

Of the 14,201 U.S. medical school seniors who matched to a residency position this year, (93 percent of all seniors who applied), 84 percent matched one of their top-three choices, according to the program.

Though nerve-wracking for most students, the day also is one of exhilaration and celebration, as husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, children, professors and classmates cheer on the nation's future physicians.

"It's exciting; it's a culmination of four years of medical school," said Dr. Garland Anderson, dean of the School of Medicine. "But we always have a new crop coming in the door."

Rock 'N' Roll

Thursday at Levin Hall, there was less pomp and circumstance and more party, as medical students and even some professors moved to the thumping beat of Gary Glitter's "Rock N Roll Part II," a staple anthem at sports stadiums.

Cameras flashed and pompons waved as the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived - the distributing of the envelopes.

Faculty called each student to the stage to receive letters. As the students returned to their chairs, pockets of the auditorium erupted in cheers and hugs as they learned of their place of residency.

All In The Family

Raimer had some notable fans in attendance. His father, Dr. Ben Raimer, is a pediatrician and vice president for the Office of Community Outreach at the medical branch. Raimer's mother, Dr. Sharon Raimer, is chair of the department of dermatology at the medical branch. David Raimer got his wish. He'll train in the department his mother leads.

Mindy Calandro, 25, also got her wish when she was matched to the pediatric program at Children's Medical Center Dallas, the primary pediatric teaching facility for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Perfect Match

Recent months have been whirlwind for Calandro, a 25-year-old League City resident who married her longtime beau, Blaise, in January.

"It's been crazy; it's been fantastic," she said.

Blaise, an engineer, already is working in Dallas.

"It's perfect," Calandro said.

Jeffrey Cone, 27, from Amarillo, also had much to celebrate Thursday.

Cone's 9-day-old son, Jeffrey Cone III, was in the audience. Cone had hoped to match in plastic surgery at a teaching hospital in Madison, Wis., or in Tampa, Fla. He matched to Tampa, where he'll train at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

Cone, the president of 2007 graduating class and co-director of St. Vincent's clinic on the island, said he called his father and father-in-law Monday, when he learned he got a match.

"I told them I had a job," he said.

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By The Numbers

About UTMB's Match Day participants:

· 155 of the 180 medical student seniors who participated in Match Day are Texas residents
 

· 4 of the graduating medical students are homegrown doctors, born and raised in Galveston County
 

· 39 of the graduating med students are from Harris County
 

· 20 percent are from underrepresented minorities
• 197 potential graduates in the 2007 graduating class at UTMB. Some participated in early matches for specialized training