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Medical school ritual sure to bring tears of joy, sadness

DETROIT – March 8, 2004 – After four years of medical school, nearly 250 students from the Wayne State University School of Medicine will convene at the school for the annual “Match Day” ritual Thursday, March 18 at 11:15 a.m.

It’s an event that is always exciting, sometimes chaotic and promises hoops, hollers and tears of both joy and disappointment. Young doctors receiving their medical degrees will learn, individually and simultaneously, where they’ve “matched,” where they will spend the next several years of residency training. It could take them anywhere from New York to California.

Most, though, stay right here in southeastern Michigan to continue their education, practicing at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), the Henry Ford Health System, and all of the other health care systems in the area. In fact, 60 percent of these graduates can be expected to continue their medical careers in the state of Michigan.

After months of selecting and interviewing with programs most suited and desirable, the students submit their top choices to the National Resident Match Program, which matches one of these choices with one of those of programs available. On Match Day, all graduating doctors nationwide learn which of those programs they’ve matched with. That’s where they will be heading for the next three to seven years for the next stage of training in their chosen specialty area.

Members of the media are invited to cover this exciting event at the nation’s fourth largest medical school. Interviews with faculty, staff and students will be available. Match Day will take place in the school’s Gordon Scott Hall for Basic Medical Sciences located at 540 E. canfield in Detroit.

With more than 1,000 medical students, WSU is among the nation’s largest medical schools. Together with its clinical partner, the Wayne State University Physician Group, the school is a leader in patient care and medical research in a number of areas, including cancer, genetics, neuroscience and women’s and children’s health.

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