If becoming a doctor is a series of small, incremental steps, then Match Day is one where medical students dare to take a moment, look back, and see how far they've come. The name of the hospital on that sheet of paper is more than just a location where the student — now a resident — will spend the next three or four years. It is tangible proof that the dream of becoming a doctor is charging full steam ahead.
The process itself began months ago, with students crisscrossing the country to interview with program directors and department heads at dozens of residency programs. The students and programs both list their top choices and a match is made.
Weill Cornell students have made an annual tradition of being accepted into the nation's top programs and institutions, a trend that continued admirably in 2010. This year, 85 percent of all Weill Cornell postgraduate appointments were to top-50 hospitals, as ranked by the U.S.News & World Report survey. Internal medicine was the most popular specialty for this class, with 14 students accepting appointments.
Many thousands of miles away, the graduating class of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar clicked open e-mails to learn of their matches.
Photography by Amelia Panico.