March 16, 2012

By Ron Hartung

All the usual pageantry, suspense and exhilaration – plus a romantic surprise that brought the loudest ovation of the day – combined to make the College of Medicine’s Match Day one of the brightest days of the year.

Today was the day the students in the 117-member Class of 2012 learned where they will enter residency training this summer. Nearly two-thirds of the fourth-year students matched in primary care (family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine or obstetrics/gynecology). Other students matched in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, neurology, pediatric neurology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, pathology, psychiatry, diagnostic radiology, general surgery and urology.

Among those students who will continue their medical training in Florida, Orlando remained the hottest destination. Fourteen College of Medicine students are headed there, including 11 at Orlando Health. Another popular city was Tampa; seven students are bound for the University of South Florida.

As always, because of Florida’s shortage of residency programs, more than half of the class matched out of state. Besides Florida, North Carolina had the most matches (10), followed by Georgia (seven), and Louisiana and New York (five apiece).

The residency match, conducted annually by the National Resident Matching Program, is the primary system that matches applicants to residency programs with available positions at U.S. teaching hospitals. Graduating medical students across the country receive their match information at the same time on the same day.

Suspense? This was the day when students opened an envelope revealing where they'll spend the next three to seven years. Exhilaration? Shouts of excitement filled Oglesby Union Ballroom, alongside a few signs of disappointment from students who didn’t get into the program that was their top choice. Pageantry? This year’s theme was Mardi Gras, so even the microphone stand wore a feather boa.

And the romantic surprise? Fourth-year student Kristina Seeger, from the Daytona Beach Regional Campus, walked onstage with boyfriend Patrick Mickel to announce her match. After the applause, she turned to leave the stage – but Mickel had an announcement of his own. He was happy about the match, he said, but what he wanted most, wherever they ended up, was to spend all his days with her. Suddenly, thanks to top-secret coordination with the IT department, a slide popped up on the big screen reading: “Kristina, will you marry me?” As the audience gasped and applauded, Mickel dropped to one knee and made his marriage proposal official. After the program, Seeger showed off her engagement ring – and Mickel seemed amazed that his gesture had gotten such a huge response.

Among the couple’s well-wishers was Dean John P. Fogarty, the master of ceremonies, who earlier had indicated how pleased he was with the match results.

“The percentage of our students entering primary care specialties underscores our emphasis on working to produce more of the doctors Florida needs most,” he said. “We’re proud of the fact that 71 percent of our alumni now practicing in Florida are providing primary care services, many of them in rural and other medically underserved areas of the state. Today’s match results will go a long way toward helping us continue to help Florida communities find the doctors they need.”

Information about FSU’s Match Day history.
 

Match Day on Social Media: