Click here for a slideshow of Match Day 2009.
Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean of Weill Cornell Medical College, and Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, senior associate dean of education, congratulate the class of 2009 on another great match.
A Southerner at heart, Johnathan Goree decided he was just about finished with city living. While he thoroughly enjoyed his four years here at Weill Cornell Medical College, the Memphis, Tenn., native and graduate of Washington University in St. Louis was ready to get back to his more rural roots.
So when he was deciding what anesthesiology residency programs to apply to, Goree, 25, concentrated mostly on the South, with just a few hospitals on the East Coast.
In October, Goree headed back to Washington University for a month-long anesthesiology rotation, and quite unexpectedly, he found himself missing New York.
That homesickness for NYC turned out to be a good thing, because Goree is going to be staying in New York for at least another four years. On March 19, Goree and 91 of his Weill Cornell classmates learned of their medical futures during the "Match Day" ceremony at Griffis Faculty Club. Goree matched with his top choice, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
"This is really where I wanted to be," Goree said as his classmates and their friends and family celebrated all around him. "I've been looking forward to this."
Johnathan Goree, a future resident in anesthesiology, matched at his top choice: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.
The Match Day process begins when medical students, with the help and guidance of faculty advisers, target dozens of potential residency programs all across the country. After extensive interviews with program directors and department heads, both the students and the hospitals list their respective top choices with the goal of not only creating a good fit for the student, but for the overall program as well.
Weill Cornell students are routinely accepted into the nation's top programs and institutions, and the class of 2009 did nothing to diminish that track record. This year, the vast majority of students matched to a top-50 hospital as ranked by the U.S.News & World Report survey. Internal and transitional medicines were the most popular specialties this year, with 10 and 11 students, respectively, accepting appointments. Nine students accepted psychiatry residencies.
More than 6,000 miles away, students at WCMC-Qatar were just as jubilant.
Almost half the students will be staying in the New York City metropolitan area, 21 of them right here at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.
On the same day but on the other side of the globe, the 17 graduating members of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar clicked open e-mails that contained their matches. All but three of the soon-to-be resident physicians will be coming to the U.S. for their residencies, four of them at Weill Cornell.
Qatar's newly matched class of 2009 is a diverse group, with chosen specialties that include internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, neurology, psychiatry, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Two students elected to pursue a year of clinical research before beginning their residency training. On May 6, 2009, the class of 2009, the second graduating class from WCMC-Q, will graduate and embark on their new careers as doctors.
Students (from left) Scott Montgomery, Ryan Wong and Sreejit Nair celebrate their matches.
Ali Saad, who matched at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, summarized his experience at WCMC-Q: "Above all else I thank my class for things that cannot be conveyed through words. They were the greatest part of my experience at WCMC-Q."
As the clock ticked toward noon back in New York and the students edged closer to the table holding the Match Day envelopes, Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., dean of the Medical College, congratulated the class on reaching this important milestone.
"You've all done a wonderful job," Dr. Gotto said. "We are expecting many great things from you."
It was then that Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, senior associate dean for education, said the four most anticipated words of the day: "The table is yours!" which let loose an excited swarm of students.
Seconds later, screams of delight, hugs, laughter and high fives created a steady buzz of joy and relief. Off in a far corner, Goree had his phone pressed tight to his ear, telling his fiancée, Maya, the good news.
"She's really happy," he said. "She wanted to stay, too."
Photography by Richard Lobell.