The result of years of intense preparation and study came delivered in a long-awaited white envelope for 95 graduating students at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Hempstead on March 15. It was Match Day, a milestone for aspiring physicians across the country revealing where they will train for the next three to seven years as new doctors. The Class of 2019 celebrates this turning point in their medical school careers with a 100 percent match to residencies.
“As we come together for our fifth Match Day, I am struck by how far we’ve come,” said Zucker School of Medicine’s dean, Dr. Lawrence G. Smith, in his address before the official letter opening. “In a little over a decade [of existence], we stand here today as a successful, nationally ranked medical school because of you, our students. You are proof of principle that the way we teach students to be doctors is working.”
Zucker School of Medicine residency hopefuls landed positions in many of the most sought-after residency programs in the country, including placements within 17 different states and 21 specialty areas.
The Match Day 2019 breakdown for Zucker School of Medicine revealed
• 23% students matching to Northwell Health residency programs;
• Eighteen students in pediatrics, an additional two in combined internal medicine/pediatrics programs, and one in child neurology. Other top specialty areas for the graduating student body are internal medicine and psychiatry.
• Six couples who successfully secured residency spots via the “Couples Match,” where pairs of students, from engaged and married couples to close friends and rivals, can apply for residency together with the goal of matching in the same program and/or region for their training. This year featured the school’s first same-sex couples match.
• Two matches from Hofstra University’s 4+4 Program: BA/BS-MD, the first from Hofstra’s combined undergraduate to medical school curriculum and one of whom will continue his medical education in residency at Northwell.
• Residency spots obtained at leading institutions from East to West Coasts such as UC San Francisco, Massachusetts General Hospital, New York University, Mt Sinai, Yale University, Cleveland Clinic, Vanderbilt, Mayo Clinic, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC.
Match Day occurs on the third Friday of March each year at medical schools in the United States where the results of the National Resident Matching Program are announced. The Match process begins in the fall, usually in the final year of medical school when students apply to residency programs at which they would like to train. Program directors review applications and conduct candidate interviews. Applicants later submit their rank order lists of preferred programs to the NRMP, and program directors rank applicants in order of preference for training.
Depending on the program or specialty area, some residency candidates learn of their results sooner than later as was the case for fourth-year medical student and naval officer, Jessica Arrott, ENS, who entered a separate match for those serving in the armed forces.
“I wanted to make a difference and combining the military with medicine fulfills that need. I am excited for the future and my classmates today,” said Arrott, age 32, who will be shipping off to the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va., for a residency in emergency medicine. “My class has taught me so much about medicine and being a doctor in life—they are amazing people.”
For Arrott and fellow students at the end of their medical school journey, Match Day is a time to celebrate success and the support that made it happen. It is a sentiment that particularly resonates with Devora Lichtman, fourth-year medical student, and mother of three girls ages 8, 3, and eight months.
“[Throughout medical school], the faculty at Zucker have all been extremely supportive of me and my family, making them feel welcome and even allowing my kids to come with me to class once or twice. They were fully invested in my well-being along with that of my husband and children,” said Lichtman, who will be entering a residency in internal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “I am fascinated by cardiac physiology and the endless amount of medical therapies available to treat heart disease. I hope to do a subspecialty fellowship in adult congenital heart disease.”
With their matches made, the Class of 2019 looks forward to officially becoming our nation’s newest clinicians on May 13 at 2 p.m., Zucker School of Medicine commencement at Hofstra.
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About the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Established in 2008, the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell was founded by two equal partners: Hofstra University and Northwell Health. The Zucker School of Medicine is built upon the strong clinical and graduate medical education programs of Northwell, as well as the robust research and academic programs of both Hofstra and Northwell’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Currently, the Zucker School of Medicine ranks among the top 100 medical schools nationwide for primary care and research (2020 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools). The institution comprises nearly 3,200 faculty members across 25 academic departments and enrolls a diverse community of 400 students. For more information, visit medicine.hofstra.edu.
