Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match…

IUSM students fare well in the National Resident Matching Program

The excitement and tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with, well - a scalpel. And when the last red envelope was drawn and opened, all 260 graduating students at the Indiana University School of Medicine had accepted residency positions throughout the country.

"It's IU, baby!" thundered Jeremy Roscoe, grinning widely amid high-fives and hugs with his fellow students. "I thought they'd never get to my name!"

For Dr. Roscoe, who soon begins his pediatrics residency, the wait had other benefits. In addition to getting the residency he sought, he also took home two bedpans crammed with 259 one-dollar bills. In recent years it has been the practice for each student to leave a greenback in the pan after receiving his or her envelope, a consolation prize for the person whose name is drawn last.

IUSM students ranked well for Match Day 2001, a program that coordinates preferences of thousands of medical students and U.S. hospitals. During their senior year, students apply and interview for residency positions through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

"Nearly two-thirds of the IU School of Medicine's Class of 2001 received their first choice of programs," says Herbert E. Cushing, MD, acting associate dean of Medical Student Academic Affairs. "I'm sure the residency program directors in Indiana and elsewhere will be pleased with the quality of graduates entering their programs."

Nationally, the NRMP reports that 93.7 percent received a first-year residency training position. IUSM residents score a 100 percent match rate.

Nationally, the match results show a shift from recent trends of new physicians entering family practice programs and less interest in specialty programs, according to the NRMP. This year, the number of those entering family practice residency programs dipped nearly five percent while specialties such as anesthesiology and pathology increased about six and eight percent, respectively.

The newly assigned IUSM residents accepted positions in thirty states. For Anna Grogg, it will mean a cross-country move for psychiatry training at the University of Washington's medical facilities. "It's been nerve-wracking," she said moments after learning of her assignment. "I knew I had a spot but didn't know where it was."

Anticipation of the party-like atmosphere in the atrium of the Medical Sciences Building was not exclusive to students. For two hours, the cavernous hallway was Indianapolis' largest waiting room.

"She's a hell of a pick for Emory University," said a beaming John Glass, whose wife, Antoinette (Toni) Austin-Glass, will soon begin her anesthesiology residency at the Atlanta-based medical center. "Hard work and determination has gotten her to where she wants to be - and I couldn't be more proud of her this day."

The move won't be so far for Jennifer and Alexander Choi, who will remain at IU for their residencies. In fact, it's likely their paths will cross often. Her focus is surgery; he's beginning a residency in anesthesiology. But their training will probably take them far beyond Indianapolis.

"We're hoping further down the road to do mission work overseas," said Alexander Choi, who also graduated with a master's in public health.

To see how IUSM students matched to residency programs, go to www.medicine. iu.edu. Information about the National Resident Matching program can be found at www.nrmp.org.

Highlights of Match Day 2001

49 percent of IUSM graduates will pursue their first year of residency in Indiana.

75 students will be residents at IU, Riley and Methodist hospitals of Clarian Health Partners, and at Wishard Health Services and Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center.

48.6 percent will enter primary care residency programs, which include internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology and combined internal medicine/pediatrics.

62.8 percent of IUSM applicants were matched to their first choice. 12.3 percent matched to their second choice and 7.1 percent got their third choice.