At Keck School of Medicine of USC, Medical students meet their match

On a verdant, sun-drenched lawn, surrounded by friends and family boasting big smiles and toting congratulatory floral bouquets, members of Keck School of Medicine of USC’s graduating class of 2022 readied themselves for their future.

The jazz playing on outdoor speakers set up for the occasion kept time with the steady thrum of excitement and anticipation that naturally accompanies Match Day, the annual event at which fourth-year medical students nationwide rip open envelopes (at precisely 9 am Pacific Daylight Time) to discover where they will be heading for their residencies to continue the next stage of their educational journey. At the Keck School of Medicine, after years of rigorous study, it was finally time to celebrate.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Betsega Wolde, who learned she had matched with her top choice: an advanced program in anesthesia at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena and Stanford University. “I’ll spend my first [intern] year at Huntington Hospital, then move up north for the final three years of the program. It’s an amazing opportunity at two outstanding institutions that will keep me in California but allow me to experience the Bay Area, where I’ve never lived.”

The pandemic created unique challenges for medical students seeking exposure to a diversity of disciplines, but for Wolde, it was actually COVID-19 that gave her early entrée to the world of anesthesia.

“COVID caused an abrupt shift in the way our rotations worked, and we ended up being able to do electives in our third year, which normally doesn’t happen,” she said. “I rotated through anesthesia, and I fell in love with it – the people, the fact that it’s procedural but isn’t surgery, and the broad range of options within the field. Whether you’re interested in obstetrics, or pediatrics, or cardiac, there are so many fellowships you can pursue.”

Wolde, whose parents emigrated to the US from Ethiopia before she was born, was also compelled by the idea of increasing diversity in the specialty. “Relatively speaking, anesthesia is a less diverse field than some others, and I think it’s important to have representation of somebody who looks like me,” she said.

Wolde was among 173 Keck School students who matched – a 97 percent success rate, above the national average. This year’s students matched in 25 states and the District of Columbia across 26 specialties including internal medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, anesthesiology, general surgery and more.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our students, who from here will go out into the world to fulfill their dreams,” said Donna Elliott, MD, EdD, vice dean for Medical Education and chair of the Department of Medical Education, who was on hand for the Match Day event. “They are all so deserving of the remarkable opportunities that await them.”

Fourth-year students Terrence Peng and Senxi Du were also in attendance, but for them, there was an added layer of anxiety going in – the need to match as a couple. With their wedding just a month away, they would be starting married life as medical residents, and they wanted to do it in the same city. Fortunately, their plan panned out: Both matched at UCLA, Peng in surgery and Du in internal medicine.

“Honestly, as excited as I am, my primary emotion right now is relief,” Du admitted. “As a couple, we didn’t just rank one program – we had to rank combinations of them. And we both had to match at our combination for it to work. It was pretty nerve-wracking!”

Despite the stress, Peng said the process was illuminating. “As you find out about what kind of programs are out there, it tells you a lot about what you’re looking for and where you want to focus,” he said. “I think UCLA is going to be a great fit for both of us.”

Fit was also top of mind for Reynal Palafox-Rosas, who was elated to discover she had matched in internal medicine at USC. “I can’t believe it,” she enthused. “To be able to stay in my home program, working with patients who have taught me so much and continuing to learn from them, is such a privilege.”

A native of Mexico, Palafox-Rosas moved to the US before high school and quickly realized how difficult it was for her and her family, with limited English proficiency, to communicate with physicians to get the level of care they needed. It’s something she hopes to change in her own practice.

“No one in my family was in medicine, and I didn’t know any doctors growing up. When I got to college, I thought it would be really cool to be a physician and contribute to the community – to help people like myself, immigrants who didn’t speak English,” she said.

No matter their ambitions, noted Carolyn Meltzer, MD, dean of the Keck School, the students assembled at Match Day were well positioned for impact. “The training they received here will prepare them well to stand out in their chosen fields,” she said. “The breadth of disciplines they are pursuing will reshape the medical landscape, transforming scientific possibilities and making a positive difference in the lives of the countless patients they serve.”

For more about Match Day, visit https://keck.usc.edu/education/match-day/.