Pack 159 graduating Penn Med students and their very interested families into an auditorium used primarily for more sedate academic matters, and there’s bound to be anxiety, anticipation, excitement, and – finally – exhilaration. It’s Match Day, 2015. Where will they be doing their residency training? Envelope by envelope, all of them will learn if they get their top choices. As the auditorium fills, the support among the students is palpable.
This year, there are 24 states where students will begin their residencies. Penn, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Scheie Eye Institute account for 41 students. The top three specialties in the Class of 2015 are internal medicine, general surgery, and pediatrics, and 46 percent of these industrious graduates head off having completed certificates or advanced degrees in addition to their M.D. degrees.