PLACE: DuVal Auditorium, The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center
1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson

MEDICAL WRITERS/ASSIGNMENT EDITORS NOTE: Media are invited to attend the Match Day ceremony, and the AHSC Office of Public Affairs can help arrange interviews with students and with UA College of Medicine administrators; for more information, contact Jean Spinelli or George Humphrey, AHSC Office of Public Affairs, (520) 626-7301.

Members of the Class of 1999 will receive traditional Match Day sealed envelopes, which contain letters showing where students will spend the next several years as resident-physicians. UA medical students will participate in the complex process that matches the nation's graduating medical students' preferences with program preferences. Match Day ceremonies are coordinated to occur on the same date at the same time throughout the country.

Residency programs vary in length according to specialty, from three years for general medicine/family practice specialties to eight years for the most specialized of surgeons. A residency is a major step in building a medical career.

The Class of 1999 includes 88 graduates -- 41 women and 47 men. Most are expected to remain in Arizona for their residencies and to enter primary care practices.

* 101 students graduated (54 women and 47 men; four students were originally scheduled to graduate with the Class of 1997)

* 45 stayed in Arizona for a residency (23 in Tucson, 22 in Phoenix)

* 57 students went into primary care:

* 17 in family practice

* 20 in medicine

* 10 in pediatrics

* 8 in obstetrics/gynecology

* 2 in medicine/pediatrics

In addition, 14 graduates went into emergency medicine, a record number for the UA College of Medicine.

Several interesting 1999 UA medical graduates will be available for interviews on Match Day, including:

Roger Griggs, Sr. Roger is a 35-year-old full-blooded White Mountain Apache who married his high school sweetheart and has five children, one born while in medical school. For as long as he can remember he wanted to go into medicine, but he thought that "becoming a doctor would be next to impossible for a young Apache boy." His dreams were put on hold when he married immediately after high school and needed to support his young family. He became an EMT (emergency medical technician) to stay in the field of medicine. Of his EMT career Roger says "I knew that I could do more for these patients, for myself, for my family and for my people." So he decided to pursue a bachelor's degree in occupational safety and health at the UA. Although moving from the reservation was an adjustment for his family, Roger is committed to bringing his understanding of the Apache culture to medicine and he plans to return home with his family to the White Mountains after his family practice residency.

Alan DeWitt. At 39, Alan is one of the oldest members of the class of 1999 and is a former restaurant equipment and refrigeration repair company owner. When he sold his business to answer the calling to become a doctor, he and his wife of 17 years were worried about the financial effects and time demands that medical school would have on his five children. "These challenges have really been a blessing to our family," he says. "We have grown closer as we have pursued this adventure together. Our children know the importance of furthering their education and understand that their dreams and goals can be achieved." He credits his medical aspirations to the family doctor he was named after. Raised in Snowflake, Ariz., he plans to practice in rural Arizona following his residency in family practice with an emphasis in obstetrics. "I am truly excited about fulfilling my dream of becoming a small town family doctor," Alan says.

Christian and Jennifer Moher. Recently married, Christian and Jennifer met in Rio Rico during a retreat for UA College of Medicine incoming students. Christian's father is a family practice physician at the UA and his stepfather practices internal medicine in Michigan. His father was with the public health service during Christian's formative years; while living in Keam's Canyon, Ariz. (the Hopi reservation) and Saipan (a small island in the Mariana chain), he developed an interest in other cultures and working with underserved populations. He hopes to follow in his father's footsteps as a family practice doctor. Jennifer is a former research technician at the Arizona Cancer Center who attributes her interest in medicine to the unfortunate illness of a close friend who died in 1992. "I actually disliked science in high school," she admits. She'll be the first doctor in her family. Jennifer is planning a career in pediatrics.

Phyllis Kapellen. Raised on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, Phyllis, 37, is one of seven children and will be the first doctor in her family. She moved to Arizona at the age of 9 and earned an A.S. degree in radiologic technology in 1982 from Pima Community College. Although she knew she wanted to pursue a medical degree, she earned a B.A. in history in 1994 from the UA because she "always loved history and thought this might be one of my last opportunities to investigate something non-medical." For 13 years she worked as a radiologic technologist (X-ray technician) and sonographer (diagnostic ultrasound), however she wanted a higher level of involvement in patient care. "I needed more challenge (boy, have I gotten it!), more knowledge and understanding of medicine and more responsibility," she says. While carrying at least 18 units per semester and working more than 32 hours per week, she maintained a high grade point average -- and managed not to accumulate any undergraduate debt. She plans to pursue a residency in radiology because it is a "diverse specialty requiring knowledge of anatomy in multiple planes of view, physiology, physics, disease progression and disease imaging characteristics." An Air Force scholarship paid for her medical training; in return, she will serve in the Air Force for four years after she finishes her residency.

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