As fourth-year medical students at The University of Toledo opened the envelopes that revealed where they will train for their residencies, shouts of “Congratulations!” began to fill the Great Hall of Stranahan Theater.
Aaron Shmookler hugged his sister, Annie, after opening his letter. He matched in neurology at the Mayo Clinic.
“I’m proud to say that the UT Medical Center remains the most popular institution, with 11 students matching to our hospital and that 38 percent of the students will remain in Ohio,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, chancellor, executive vice president for biosciences and health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
“Across the country, nearly 1,000 medical students did not match as this process becomes more and more competitive, but our UT medical students continue to match into prestigious institutions and their top choices.”
Dr. Patricia Metting, vice chancellor and associate dean for student affairs, said that Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Dartmouth, New York University, the University of Michigan and Mayo Clinic are just a few of the prominent institutions where the students matched.
Jeremy Stoller, originally from Van Wert, Ohio, selected UT Medical Center as his first choice for a general surgery residency.
“I like the faculty and the residents here, and I think it’s a fine program that is going in a really good direction,” he said.
There are 11 students who will train at UTMC, which is 7 percent of the class. In total, 14, or 9 percent, will stay in northwest Ohio and 59, or 38 percent, in Ohio.
Sophia Afridi, of Toledo, is following in her father’s footsteps to be a vascular surgeon. She is the first UT student to match into the new vascular surgery residency specialty and will train at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati.
“It’s exciting there is now the opportunity to streamline with a residency directly into vascular surgery, rather than completing a general surgery residency followed by a fellowship in vascular surgery,” Afridi said. “As I understand it, there are less than 30 of these spots in the country, and I’m pleased I received one of them.”
Michigan remains the most popular state outside Ohio with 19 students training there, followed by California and Pennsylvania, each with nine, and New York with seven. Overall, the students matched with programs in 33 states, which is an increase from 25 states last year.
The 2011 class set records for matching into the specialties of anesthesiology with 14, neurology with eight, and obstetrics and gynecology with 14.
The students matched into 19 different specialties with 58, or 38 percent, in primary care fields and 96, or 62 percent, entering other specialties.
