"The Match" -- a high-anxiety cap to the end of a grueling four-year medical education -- will determine their professional futures, not just where they will live for the next three to seven years, but what specialty they will pursue.Well, that all sounds quite difficult, doesn't it? True, medical training isn't easy, but it's not Darfur. There's a language tossed around in the press that creates this mystique of systematic torture by drill-sergeant faculty.
There's a buzz going on, but the excitement has the tamped-down quality of people who have learned to manage anxiety to survive the rigors of clinical rotations, being called out for not knowing answers during rounds and monster exams.
There is recognition, too, that as hard as medical school was, residencies, renowned for their brutal on-call schedules, can be even harder.
The UWSOM event is quite informal: lots of milling about, tamping down anxiety and eating dry pastries until the envelopes are distributed. You can open your envelope when you want and with whom you want. Some schools parade students in front of a crowd to read their "fate" for everyone. Check out this video from yesterday's University of Cincinnati Match Day event.
I would rather die than participate in that. Sorry, Shannah.
On the residency end, we go about our business on the morning of The Match and wait for a mid-morning page with the list. I got the page as I was strolling home from my massage through a sunny Seattle park. Quite a different scene than in Cincinnati or even at here at UW. I was thrilled with how we matched overall and especially at my beloved Downtown Public Health clinic.
Back to my brutal schedule--last legitimate day of vacation.
