MATCH

It's hard to explain the excitement that I felt as I was walking up the steps to the student lounge to check my MATCH results. All along I said any of my top six ranked programs would make me content, but I was still nervous about the prospect of disappointment after four grueling months of "audition" rotations and thirteen interviews. What would the next couple minutes mean for my life? Where could I possibly get placed; a community center in Chicago, a knife-and-gun club in New York, or a highly respected university hospital in the Northeast?

I'm not one for emotional displays of happiness and yet today I was choked up on the treadmill just realizing the gravity of the day and recognizing how privileged I was to have made it this far in my education. Having helped a good friend with the SCRAMBLE a few days before I also recognized that any residency that wanted me would be acceptable. Any program would beat the feeling of rejection and utter disappointment of not getting placed at all. What a horrific experience that was!

I reached the student lounge found my computer, got on the phone with my husband, and went to the NRMP website hitting refresh, refresh, refresh over and over again. UNBELIEVABLE. I couldn't believe it when I saw the bare bones post

Congratulations, you have matched!

Program Code: ********************
Program Name: Emergency Medicine
Institution Name: ******************

The rest of the night was a haze. Our class has never been one to hold back and I can only imagine our MATCH night was one the first, second, and third years will remember for some time to come. There was a lot of screaming, dancing, crying, and mostly relief. Relief to be done with four years of exams, stress, and uncertainty. It's so gratifying to know that I put everything I have to show for the last eight years of my life on the table and someone knew it was Ivy League material. Whew!