March 15, 2006
From: Jean Spinelli,
(520) 626-7301
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EVENT: |
MATCH DAY
2006 |
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DATE/TIME:
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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 10
A.M. |
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LOCATION:
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DuVal Auditorium, The University of |
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MEDICAL
WRITERS/ASSIGNMENT EDITORS NOTE: |
Media are invited to attend
the Match Day ceremony, which is open to graduates and their families and
friends only, not the general public. Students and UA |
For four years, students at The University of Arizona College of Medicine
have worked toward "Match Day" - the day they learn where they will
spend the next several years as resident-physicians.
"Match Day" is the culmination of a year's work in the
complex process that matches the nation's graduating medical students with
residency programs. During the first half of their senior year, medical students
apply for positions at residency programs, which they then visit for interviews
with program directors. In February, the students submit their list of choices,
in order of preference, at the same time residency program directors submit
their rank-ordered lists of preferred candidates, to the National Residency
Matching Program (NRMP), or "Match," headquarters in Washington, D.C., where a
computer matches each student to the residency program highest on the student's
list that has offered a position to the applicant.
Match results are released at Match Day ceremonies
coordinated to occur on the same date at the same time throughout the nation.
On Thursday, March 16
at 10 a.m., members of the Class of 2006 will receive traditional
Match Day sealed envelopes, which contain letters showing where students will
spend the next several years as resident-physicians.
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 2006 includes 94 graduates - 48 women and
46 men. Most are expected to remain in
Sampling of residency numbers for the Class
of 2005:
9 in family practice
15 in medicine
18 in pediatrics
3 in
anesthesiology
4 in dermatology
4 in emergency medicine
1 in
medicine-pediatrics
1 in neurology
1 in neurosurgery
4 in
obstetrics/gynecology
3 in ophthalmology
1 in orthopedic surgery
1 in
otolaryngology
2 in pathology
1 in physical medicine
3 in plastic
surgery
4 in psychiatry
5 in radiology
5 in surgery
1 in
urology
Several
interesting 2006 UA medical graduates will be available for interviews on Match
Day, including:
April
Alvarez-Corona
April, 28, grew up in
Her decision to go to medical school was
influenced by her childhood experiences with her family's devastating health
problems, including severe pulmonary disease and cancer. At an early age, she
believed that if she trained in medicine she could alleviate their suffering. As
an adult, she recognized there was more to medicine than just health when she
became familiar with the medical inequities of access to health care. She
pursued medicine not only with an appetite for knowledge but also with the
attitude that health care should be available equally to all populations. This
was the basis, she says, not only for her pursuit of medicine but also for her
majors in the cultural science of anthropology and the art of philosophy. April
will be the first doctor in her family, and she plans to pursue a career in
pediatrics, serving the medically underserved and promoting preventive medicine.
Although there were obstacles to April's
attending medical school, none were as difficult to overcome as one she would
face during her medical education: her mother was diagnosed with metastatic
breast cancer. Holding a place in her life that could not be replaced by any
education or graduation, April chose to take a leave of absence to be her
mother's caretaker. April believes that the experience - the suffering her
mother endured and the depression April sometimes sank into - has made her a
stronger person, and the lessons her mother continues to teach her will make her
an even more compassionate physician.
April proudly says that, after two and a
half years of difficult chemotherapy and an unfathomably positive outlook, her
mother is doing well and will have the honor of hooding her at the
Joy
Lippe
Joy, age 21, is the youngest medical
student in her graduating class. Born in
After earning her associate's degree in
general studies from
Joy loved her medical school experience and
participated in many of the unique programs the UA College of Medicine offers,
including the Commitment to Underserved People Program, which is organized and
run by medical students to provide health care and health education free of
charge to those who could not otherwise afford to obtain it. Through this
program, medical students improve their clinical skills, learn about health
advocacy and public health, gain valuable leadership skills and make a great
difference in the lives of underserved people of all ages in
Throughout medical school she enjoyed
leadership roles in several medical clubs, on various committees and in the
national honor medical society, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA selection is limited to
the top one-sixth of each graduating class). Like her mother, Joy has a great
desire to teach, and she looks forward to a career in academic medicine. She
hopes to work with medical students and residents throughout her career, to
impact their lives the way many of her teachers have impacted hers.
Joy met her true love in medical school -
one of her classmates, Gregory Middleton, a
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sguthrie@email.arizona.edu
To read about the
expansion of the UA College of Medicine in Phoenix go to http://www.phoenix.medicine.arizona.edu/About/News/Campus/