Celebrating in person with family and friends, 144 physicians-to-be learn their residency placements.
For the first time in two years, The Warren Alpert Medical School held its Match Day celebration in person, complete with a customary Champagne toast, much to the community’s delight. The mood was festive and emotions ran high as 144 fourth-year medical students—along with classmates, faculty, staff, and, best of all, friends and family—stood in Sayles Hall, waiting to learn where they would be matched for residency and spend the next few years of their lives.
Match Day is the culmination of four demanding years of classes and clinical rotations, which ends with an arduous nine-month residency application process. Students rank their top choices for residency—post-graduate training for newly minted physicians—based on program type and career aspirations, but geography plays a large role, too. Since students will spend several years in residencies, most seek programs in locations near family members and romantic partners, or in communities where they would like to stay.
“It was so exciting to learn that Match Day was finally coming back to a version it was pre-pandemic, and it is also such a nice thing that we can bring guests!” says Sachit Singal ’18 MD’22, whose visitors included his parents from New York, his partner from Connecticut, as well as his sister and brother-in-law, who live in Rhode Island.
It was especially important to Singal to bring these particular guests, since he was, “not the first, not the second, and not even the third doctor in my family,” as his parents had worked in India as physicians, and his sister and brother-in-law are also doctors.
Singal is planning to train in internal medicine and eventually specialize in cardiology—which is exactly what his sister and brother-in-law have done. In fact, they’re also Brown alums who have remained in the Providence area.
“This is such an important milestone in any med student’s career, and to be able to share that with the people you love and trust, as well as medical advisers and mentors, is so special,” Singal says.
Singal says that having his loved ones present was almost more important than finding out where he matched, but he was nevertheless thrilled to find out he matched to Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s internal medicine residency program with Harvard Medical School.
“It was important to me to be surrounded by thoughtful mentors who are experienced in their field,” he says. Also key: Being a car ride away from family. “I’m so happy to be sticking around New England for a few more years.”
See the full match list.
