The Class of 2005 at Weill Cornell Medical College opened the envelopes to their future on March 17, the annual Match Day event when medical students nationwide find out which postgraduate training program they will enter after graduation.
Leading a champagne toast, Dr. Antonio Gotto, dean of Weill Cornell, announced that this year "is the best match in the history of the Medical College," with 71 percent of students with slots in postgraduate programs scoring positions in the country's most prestigious teaching hospitals. "This is all due to your excellent efforts," said Dr. Gotto.
In comparison to other years, the residencies of this class represent a broad range of specialty areas. Twenty-nine percent of the students matched in disciplines associated with primary-care careers: internal medicine, primary-care medicine, pediatrics, and family practice. Another 27 percent successfully matched in the highly competitive subspecialties of neurology, neurological surgery, otorhinolaryngology (ENT), ophthalmology, emergency medicine, radiology, and dermatology.
Twenty-five students will be starting their residencies at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center: internal medicine (5), anesthesiology (3), pediatrics (3), orthopaedic surgery (2), psychiatry (2), radiology (2), general surgery (1), preliminary surgery (1), obstetrics and gynecology (1), ophthalmology (1), emergency medicine (1), dermatology (1), neurological surgery (1), and plastic surgery (1).
Two students will pursue radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Four students will be heading uptown to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
All together, 48 will remain in the metropolitan area, and 26 in the northeast.
Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, senior associate dean of education, credited the collective success to "the caliber of the student body, and their devotion to their studies."
Overjoyed students and proud faculty celebrate a most successful series of matches.
Photos by Amelia Panico.