More than 160 match at Baylor's first in-person Match Day in two years

Fourth-year medical students at Baylor College of Medicine today learned where they will continue their medical training at the first full in-person Match Day ceremony in two years.

Match Day, held today at medical schools across the country, marks the culmination of the annual National Resident Matching Program that pairs fourth-year medical students with residency programs throughout the nation.

At Baylor, 163 students matched, and 43% of them will begin their residencies in the primary care fields of family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, internal medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology or emergency medicine. Forty students will continue their training in residencies at Baylor College of Medicine, and 63 matched with residency programs in Texas.

Before envelopes were opened and students’ lives were changed, Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean of the College, said this particular cohort had lived through the most difficult medical school experience of all time, with events like a tropical storm, a freeze and a global pandemic.

Klotman remembers his Match Day like it was yesterday, he said, including the fact that he did not match into his first-choice school. But he understands now that the day is about matching into a program that is excited for a new doctor, not a student selecting where they will learn to be a doctor.

“It’s really important to know wherever you go, whatever it says on that envelope, that the people on the other side are happy about you joining them,” he said. “People are really excited about you coming to them. Once you open your envelope, be really happy.”

In 2020, days after Harris County went on lockdown at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Baylor made the decision to hold Match Day virtually. Last year, only students were invited to participate in an intimate in-person ceremony.

This year, however, all students were invited to attend with an unlimited number of friends and family. For many, this made the day more special and their futures in medicine more solidified.

As the students prepare for their next step, whether it’s in Houston or elsewhere, Dr. Lee Poythress, associate dean of student affairs in the School of Medicine at Baylor, said it’s important to not forget what they learned at Baylor.

“This is a day of ‘what’s next,’ but you should carry the culture of being a Baylor College of Medicine student with you,” Poythress said. “You are hardworking, industrious with energy and positivity that is palpable. Be bold and a changemaker for excellence.”

Scroll through a photo album capturing the excitement here.