It's a Match! Pitt Med Students Participate in Match Day

By Andréa Stanford

Fourth-year medical students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine can breathe a little easier this week. That’s because Friday was Match Day – an annual tradition where seniors across the country are notified about their residency assignments for the next few years.

Students decked in celebratory green and white T-shirts labeled with the phrase #YOMO (You Only “Match” Once) gathered with their families in Scaife Hall  to await the day’s announcements.

The ceremony started promptly at noon with opening remarks by Joan Harvey, M.D., associate dean for student affairs, who applauded students for their accomplishments and set the tone for the occasion.

“I’ve come to feel that today is, in many ways, the best marking of all that you have accomplished through your hard work, long hours and commitment to your patients, with the help of a very dedicated faculty,” she said.

Then, all eyes stayed on the stack of crisp, white envelopes as students were randomly called one by one to the front of the auditorium to learn of their matches. While most students boldly chose to open their decision letters in front of a cheering crowd, others erred on the side of caution and revealed their placements among small circles of family and friends.

In following with Pitt’s long-standing tradition, each student dropped a dollar in a large bucket upon receipt of his or her envelope. The last student who was called took home the money  to make up for having been in suspense the longest.

Pitt’s class of 2013 matched 142 students to residency programs across the country: 

• Nearly two-thirds of the class matched in top tier programs at prestigious institutions,  including Johns Hopkins, UCLA  Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts General Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
• Fifty students matched in primary care fields (internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine).
•  ENT, orthopaedics, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, emergency medicine and pediatrics were among the most competitive areas
• Thirty-eight matched in Pitt programs here at UPMC  (including 11 students who will complete one year transitional programs).