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Match Day magic: UTSW students earn top residency spots

 

Future physicians persevere through pandemic to reach milestone moment

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UT Southwestern students in the Class of 2024

DALLAS – March 15, 2024 – At exactly 11 a.m. Friday, surrounded by family, friends, and mentors, 224 members of UT Southwestern Medical School’s Class of 2024 – who all embarked on their medical education during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – learned where they will continue their training.

As the students opened their envelopes, revealing which residency programs they had matched with in Texas and across the country, anticipation bubbled over into pure joy, and Match Day cheers echoed throughout UTSW’s Bryan Williams, M.D., Student Center gymnasium.

UTSW students are headed to more than 85 residency programs from coast to coast, including Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts General, and the University of California-San Francisco, and more than 90 matched to Texas programs, including 53 at UTSW.

In all, more than 100 matched to hospitals affiliated with U.S. News & World Report’s top 25 medical schools, which include UTSW.

“Match Day is an emotional, momentous day for our students, who have worked earnestly toward their dreams over these past four years,” said Angela Mihalic, M.D., Dean of Medical Students and Associate Dean for Student Affairs at UT Southwestern Medical School, Professor of Pediatrics, and a Distinguished Teaching Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center. “Despite a challenging start with a completely virtual curriculum during their first year due to the pandemic, members of the Class of 2024 have received outstanding clinical training and are well prepared for the next step in their medical education. Not only is this a milestone moment for our students, but also a reminder of our country’s critical need for more highly trained physicians for primary and specialty care.” 

The students, who will graduate in May, were among about 41,000 future physicians nationwide who opened their envelopes simultaneously as part of the National Resident Matching Program.

Top specialty selections for UT Southwestern students included internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, anesthesiology, family medicine, emergency medicine, neurology, orthopedics, and surgery. Matches ranged from medical centers in New York to California, Florida to Washington state.

“While a top-notch training environment and exposure to cutting-edge medicine were certainly expected, how I was treated from the moment I stepped onto campus made an even bigger impact on my decision,” said Nicholas Sevey, who grew up in a family of nurses in Coahoma, Texas, and is pursuing a career in Med-Peds (internal medicine-pediatrics). “I felt welcomed, wanted, and supported by everyone. UTSW immediately felt like a place where I could grow into the physician I wanted to be. Four years later, I still believe it was the best decision I ever made.”

Vanessa Ramirez-Allen, who grew up in Houston, decided to pursue medicine after a career in the tech industry. She plans to specialize in anesthesiology.

“I chose UT Southwestern for medical school because I wanted to start my training at an institution that would provide the broadest exposure possible,” she said.  “UTSW has high volumes and diverse patient cases across all specialties and provides countless opportunities for research, advocacy, and community service.”

UTSW training opportunities, rankings, accolades

UT Southwestern’s training facilities include  William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, ranked by U.S. News as the No. 1 hospital in Texas (tied) and one of the top 22 hospitals nationwide; Parkland Memorial Hospital, one of the nation’s busiest public hospitals; and Children’s Health Dallas, one of the nation’s largest children’s hospitals. 

UT Southwestern also boasts a 49,000-square-foot Simulation Center – one of the largest of its kind in the nation.

Additionally, UT Southwestern is ranked by U.S. News among the top hospitals in the nation in 11 specialties, including Rehabilitation; Pulmonology and Lung Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Cancer; Cardiology, Heart, and Vascular Surgery; Geriatrics; Urology; Otolaryngology; Gastroenterology and GI Surgery; and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Other key distinctions 

  • UT Southwestern is listed among the top 5% of hospitals nationally for patient satisfaction and is rated “excellent” for patient experience and patient services in areas including Cancer; Cardiology and Heart Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Ear, Nose, and Throat; Gastroenterology and GI Surgery; Geriatrics; Neurology and Neurosurgery; Obstetrics and Gynecology; Orthopedics; Pulmonary and Lung Surgery; and Urology.
  • UTSW’s  Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center  is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the region – one of 56 in the United States, placing it among the top 4% of the approximately 1,500 cancer centers in the nation.
  • UTSW is designated an Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and has one of the nation’s leading epilepsy clinics – a Level 4 center, the highest possible rating by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers – as part of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.
  • UTSW has more than 5,800 research projects fueled by nearly $719 million in funding and ample opportunities to participate in research, including a Scholarly Activity period with multiple research tracks available and more than 450 labs on campus.
  • The Perot Family Scholars Medical Scientist Training Program, one of just 54 M.D./Ph.D. training programs in the country supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), offers a dual degree to strengthen the advancement of laboratory discoveries into the clinical arena.
  • UTSW ranks No. 3 in the  2023 Nature Index among global health care institutions for its published research.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center 

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 21 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,100 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 120,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5 million outpatient visits a year.

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