Match Day sends Houston medical students to residency programs across Texas and beyond

Moments after learning that he’ll be moving to Boston to continue his medical training, Baylor College of Medicine class president Aaron Pathak pulled out his cell phone to see whether he’d be reunited with his long-distance partner. 

Pathak and his partner, Mingee Kim, have been together since they were undergraduates at Rice University, but he stayed in Houston while she attended medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. After four years apart, they opted to try to “couples match” to residency training programs in the same location. 

Pathak texted Kim after he opened an email and learned they’d both be moving to Boston. He was ecstatic when they spoke by phone after they were both matched to internal medicine, with Pathak at Massachusetts General Hospital and Kim at Boston University Medical Campus.

READ MORE: On Match Day, Houston medical students take next step toward careers inspired by personal experience

“Honestly, I couldn’t hear anything. There was too much cheering,” Pathak said. “But I could tell how happy she was.” 

Pathak is among hundreds of medical school students from the Houston area who were assigned to residency training programs Friday for Match Day, an annual rite of passage organized by the National Resident Matching Program. The path to become a doctor is unique compared to other professions, as students across the country open envelopes the moment the clock strikes 11 a.m. Central Time to learn where they’ll be continuing their education for the next three to seven years 

Baylor’s 191 matches include 90 assigned to residency training programs in Texas and 53 remaining at Baylor. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston had 245 matches, including 137 in Texas and 49 staying at McGovern.

All 51 graduating students from the University of Houston's Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine matched, with more than two-thirds staying in the state. Texas A&M University’s School of Engineering Medicine had 42 matches, with 28 remaining in Texas.

Many of the students who matched on Friday were ecstatic to continue to pursue careers that were inspired by their personal experiences or challenges they’ve overcome. 

McGovern student Priscilla “Polly” Haff decided to become a dermatologist after being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, at 14 years old. The San Antonio native appreciated the way her dermatologist helped her get through a scary time in her life. 

“My dermatologist made me feel so comfortable and so safe,” said Haff, who is now cancer-free and matched to dermatology at McGovern. “That’s when I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life.” 

A desire to give back to communities 

Some students who were matched Friday want to practice medicine to give back to the community. 

McGovern student Juan Garcia wants to become a doctor to help provide health care to underserved communities. As a first-generation Mexican American, he saw family members struggle with language barriers and access to affordable health care while growing up in the Houston area. 

“I feel like that’s an experience that’s not an isolated one. It’s widespread here in Houston,” he said. “Having that experience made me realize there’s a lot of potential for me to help out these communities and make a difference.” 

READ MORE: On Match Day, Houston medical school couples learn they'll be moving on to residencies together

Garcia has been working with the community through the HEAL Program, where he mentored Houston ISD high school students and introduced them to careers in health care. He’ll be remaining in Houston after matching in family medicine at Baylor. 

Pathak initially wanted to work for the U.S. government before his internship at the State Department was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic. He pivoted to medical school but also joined the U.S. Army Reserve to maintain a connection to federal service. 

His experience as a reservist led him to choose clinical rotations at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, where he was inspired by the U.S. military veterans he met at the hospital. 

“Getting to hear all the stories from the veterans, from World War II to the war on terror, is just an immense privilege to get to be there and care for them,” Pathak said. 

How the match works 

Medical students interview with residency training programs prior to Match Day and submit a ranked list of their preferred assignments. The programs also rank applicants, and a computer completes the pairing. 

Historically, nearly three-quarters of applicants have matched to one of their top three choices, according to the American Medical Association. Less than 10% of applicants fail to match, but they can still be assigned to an unfilled position through the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program. 

“There’s an awkwardness to match. Very few other professions do this. Actually, almost none,” said Dr. Lindsey Pershern, the assistant dean of student affairs at Baylor. “But ultimately the match kind of does its magic.” 

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Some medical students learned their matches long before Friday. McGovern student Viana Phan has aspired to become an ophthalmologist since she was a child who was fascinated by the tools and gadgets used by eye doctors. Ophthalmology is among the specialties that operate outside of the main residency match, along with urology and military medicine. 

Phan learned she’d be staying at McGovern when she opened an email in late January. She shared the news with friends that night by playing a party game where her friends had to deduce her match from a list of schools where she’d interviewed. 

“We were brainstorming creative ways to do it, and I thought one-by-one ruling out programs would be interesting,” Phan said. “I feel like the earlier specialties, since we don’t find out on Match Day, have reveals like gender reveal parties these days.”

A bittersweet occasion 

Many Houston medical students said they were both nervous and excited before they opened their envelopes on Friday. 

“Coming into the day I was very peaceful and very calm, but as soon as I started speaking the flutters and the butterflies started happening because there was so much anticipation,” said Christiana Peek, a Kansas native who matched in general surgery at Indiana University. 

The event is the culmination of a four-year journey for medical students before they embark on the next phase of their education. 

Many said they’ll be happy to say goodbye to the long nights – or early mornings – of studying. But they’ll miss the bonds they’ve forged with their classmates and mentors. 

“This feels like the beginning of a little goodbye to your friends,” said Nabor Mireles, a Baylor student who is staying at the medical school after matching in dermatology. “(It’s) definitely bittersweet, but definitely exciting to see where everyone’s going, because we’ve worked so hard for this.”