O Ye of Little Faith

Call me a pessimist. I went in to Match day expecting the absolute worst and I prepared all the documents I would need to send to programs that had available spots. It was terrifying. I was also trying to do everything I could to keep it together for the sake of my roommate who was in a worse situation than I was with very few programs willing to support his visa process. In the end, I came out  feeling like a winner but had to suppress my joy and excitement while I attempted to help my roommate scramble for a spot.

The next three years are looking sunny and warm. I will be training in polo country, specifically West Palm Beach, FL (my #1 choice). It was my first choice program and I am so honored that I was one of their top choices. I had the privilege of rotating there in October, originally scheduled as a fun out-rotation to see if I actually liked peds ER as a potential career path and it was also close to one of my best friends so I could spend time with her. It was #3 on my original rank list prior to going on auditions. Even if West Virginia and Michigan had lived up to my expectations, Florida so far exceeded my list of program wants that it jumped to the top of the list. The group of residents were supportive and attendings respected them. There was an atmosphere supporting education but also allowing for you to have fun and have a life outside of the program. I looked at the third year residents who were at the end of their training and had nothing but respect for them along with a comfort that they had been well trained and were capable of competently practicing on their own.

At the end of the day on Monday, all four of us at the Jeff City site had contracts on the table. Two were going in to internal medicine in Michigan and Florida. My roommate scrambled in to a spot in Washington, D.C. Overall as a class, things went fairly well for those of us that did the DO Match. An AWESOME outcome- there were six people so far that have matched in to general surgery, all six are female. We have some bad ass chicks in our class. Next month will be the final match (MD) with the other portion of our class finding out what the future holds for them. Best of luck to all of them. Can't wait to celebrate with everyone at graduation in three short months.