During the last few moments before the envelopes were opened on Match Day, March 17, students, family and faculty gathered at the Griffis Faculty Club at Weill Cornell Medical College nervously made small talk as they sipped champagne and checked their watches.
Christina Rabinak, however, had no time to grab a drink and calm her nerves before she found out where she would be completing her residency training over the next three or four years. She was busy setting up her laptop in the corner and signing in to Skype so she could let her roommates, working at an HIV clinic in South Africa, know where they matched.
When Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the dean of the Medical College — himself presiding over his final Match Day before he retires later this year — gave the word at noon, and the residents-to-be swarmed the table, Rabinak grabbed the envelopes for herself and her roommates, Heather Player and Sarah Freeman, and held them up to her laptop screen.
"I am so happy and so relieved," said Rabinak, who will spend her preliminary year at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis before continuing on to Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation. "My fiancé is a med student at Indiana University, and we got the same exact match — Indiana then Wisconsin. We are getting married in two months!"
Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., along with faculty and administration leaders, salute the class of 2011 on another successful match.
Six hours ahead in South Africa, on a pixilated Macbook screen, Player and Freeman were just as thrilled. Player matched in general surgery at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut, Freeman in internal medicine at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
For the past 16 years, Match Day at Weill Cornell has begun with a champagne toast and congratulations from Dr. Gotto. As he raised his glass to express pride and gratitude toward another accomplished class of medical students, Dr. Gotto was touched with a bit of nostalgia.
"As dean, this is always one of the most exciting days of the year for me," he said. "And this is my 16th and final match. I flew back from Doha last night so I wouldn't have to miss it. I'm so proud of this class, as I am of each class that has come before them. They achieve at not only the highest academic and clinical levels, but also in the humanistic aspects of medicine. They are a wonderful group of young doctors, and it is days like this that I will miss most."
Matching to the nation's top residency programs has become a Weill Cornell tradition, and the class of 2011 contributed to that history.
This year, 77 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 20 students accepting appointments.
Eric Goodman is one of those 20 newly minted internal medicine residents, and he will be staying at Weill Cornell as well.
"I feel relief, elation, excitement and a sense of privilege that I'll be able to stay right here and continue to work with the amazing and talented people I've met over the past four years," Goodman said.
Using the video-chat program Skype, Christina Rabinak was able to share the moment in real time with classmates Heather Player and Sarah Freeman, who are working at an HIV clinic in South Africa.
As he hugged and high-fived his equally ecstatic colleagues, his parents, Richard and Lore, took in the joyful scene.
"This is one of those days that, as a parent, you just don't want to miss," said Ms. Goodman.
While the joy and relief of this day are annual constants, the surprise isn't necessarily guaranteed. Throughout the Match interviewing process, students often receive strong hints from their top programs about their chances for landing there. Match Day then becomes less of a shock and more of a quiet confirmation of what students thought all along. But as much as he tried, Mike Nanaszko could not get his top choice program to tip its hand.
"Barrow [Neurological Institute] in Phoenix doesn't give you any indication of where you stand," Nanaszko said. "I was completely in the dark right up until I opened this envelope. This is so perfect. I was born to go there. My knees won't stop shaking."
Sooner than one would think, the unmitigated elation of the moment dwindles, and students start not only thinking ahead, but reflecting back.
"This really is the culmination of lot of hard work and effort, and not just on my part," said Brian Rebolledo, who will join the Hospital for Special Surgery as an orthopedic surgery resident. "So many people have worked and sacrificed so I could be here. I feel very thankful right now."