DATE/TIME:
9 a.m. Friday, March 16
Note: Match results will be revealed at precisely 10 a.m. Great photo and video opportunity for reporters.
LOCATION:
University of Arizona Memorial Student Union – South Ballroom, 1301 E. University Blvd.
Nearly 120 medical students in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson will learn where they will complete the next phase of their medical training at this year’s Match Day ceremony.
Surrounded by classmates, family and friends, the students simultaneously will tear open envelopes at 10 a.m. revealing where they will begin their careers as physicians. This nationwide celebration, known as Match Day, represents a culmination of four arduous years of medical school.
“Match Day is probably the most emotional and impactful day of medical school,” said Kevin Moynahan, MD, deputy dean for education at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson. “Each student’s journey to this point has been an individual story, and I’m proud to have shared some of that journey with them.”
Medical students cannot select where they will go for their residency training. During their last year of medical school, students select institutions where they aspire to train and apply to interview for a residency slot there. Students later rank their residency location preferences, while institutions rank the students they would like to have as trainees. The match process then is completed by the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).
Fourth-year medical students across the nation learn their match results at coordinated ceremonies that occur each year on the same date (the third Friday in March) and at the same time (1 p.m. Eastern time). Medical students are obligated to go to the institution to which they have been matched.
Following are some of the outstanding 2018 UA College of Medicine – Tucson graduates who will be available for interviews on Match Day:
Seattle native Laura Bricklin is a student representative of the class of 2018. Bricklin has served as vice president of the Student Government Association and is a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society for exemplifying outstanding compassion in patient care.
Before joining the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, she earned a BA in human biological science from the University of Montana. Bricklin will pursue her residency training in pediatrics with plans to later specialize in critical care. She is a triplet with two brothers, Alex and Jacob.
While attending medical school, Danielle Nahal was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society for high educational achievement and the Gold Humanism Honor Society for exemplifying outstanding compassion in patient care.
Nahal regularly volunteered at the Community Food Bank farmer’s market through the Food Rx Commitment to Underserved People (CUP) program. She provided healthful cooking demonstrations to promote nutrition and its impact on health.
Nahal holds a BS in nutritional sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, and will pursue her residency training in pediatrics in hopes of working with underserved communities.
Dave Reyes is a first-generation college graduate and a husband and father of two children. While studying at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, Reyes established the ”Wish Makers” CUP program, which helps medical students become Arizona wish granters for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Student members help grant wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses.
Reyes earned a BS in biological sciences from the University of California, Davis, and will pursue his residency training in internal medicine. In the future, Reyes hopes to provide care to underserved Spanish-speakers in the United States. He also is interested in providing free medical care to rural communities in Guatemala, where his family is originally from.
Before pursuing a career in medicine, Michael Wyman was a successful video gamer designer, creating games for companies like Electronic Arts, Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucas Learning. He is the author of the book Making Great Games: An Insider’s Guide to Designing and Developing the World’s Greatest Video Games.
Wyman, who can speak Spanish, Japanese and French, holds a MEd from Harvard University and a BA in public policy studies from Duke University. He and his wife, Leisy, have two children, Jules and Evelyn. Wyman hopes to pursue residency training in emergency medicine.
The Class of 2018 is made up of nearly 120 medical students, ranging from 25 to 51 years old. Two students are on track to earn an MD-PhD degree and three are set to earn an MD-MPH degree. Sixty-two students are female and 58 are male.
About Residency Programs at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson
The UA College of Medicine – Tucson offers a total of 60 residencies and fellowships through two graduate medical education programs: UA College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education and UA College of Medicine at South Campus. All of the UA residencies/fellowships are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which establishes exacting national standards for approval and assessment of graduate medical education programs. The UA programs provide training in environments unique for their diverse patient populations and exceptional faculty-to-resident ratios, and they are crucial in attracting and training doctors who will remain in Arizona.
The UA College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education Program oversees 60 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs in all major specialties and subspecialties. More than 600 residents and fellows are trained at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson’s primary teaching hospital, Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, and other major participating institutions in Tucson.
The University of Arizona College of Medicine at South Campus has four ACGME-accredited residency programs — emergency medicine, family medicine, medicine and ophthalmology — and one fellowship in medical toxicology. Each program has achieved continued accreditation from the ACGME. Approximately 80 residents are participating in these programs, which focus on providing health care in rural and underserved areas of Arizona to help reduce the Arizona physician shortage and improve access to health care throughout the state.
About the UA College of Medicine – Tucson
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is shaping the future of medicine through state-of-the-art medical education programs, groundbreaking research and advancements in patient care in Arizona and beyond. Founded in 1967, the college boasts more than 50 years of innovation, ranking among the top medical schools in the nation for research and primary care. Through the university’s partnership with Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country, the college is leading the way in academic medicine. For more information, visit medicine.arizona.edu. Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
Media Contact: Nadia Whitehead