Although the Renaissance School of Medicine’s 2021 Match Day for fourth-year medical students remained a virtual event, with a record 149 students receiving their residency assignments, there was much cause for celebration. In addition, a record 30 percent (20 of 66) of the students matching to New York State assignments will be staying at Stony Brook Medicine as physicians.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a transformation of medical services and has increased the need for more physicians and healthcare professionals. Match Day marks the entry of fourth-year students into the medical profession as physicians.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught all of you, and all of us, so much about the importance of medicine in our society, and now you are well prepared for your residencies and to enter medical specialty programs,” said William Wertheim, MD, interim dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine. “We congratulate all the matched students at this unprecedented time as each of you move forward into your careers.”
The students collectively matched to programs in New York State, 23 other states, and Washington, DC. Forty-five percent matched to programs in New York State. The leading residency programs matched to included Internal Medicine (30), Anesthesiology (17), Emergency Medicine (16) and Psychiatry (15). Thirty percent will be entering primary care practices, which have a growing role in medicine due to the pandemic and complexities around COVID-19, primary care, infection prevention and vaccine rollout.
Among a number of native Long Islanders matching to residencies is Alyssa Mangino, who grew up in Commack, NY. She matched to Emergency Medicine, a field the pandemic has brought to the forefront, and will be practicing at Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts. Since the age of 15 when volunteering in Long Island ERs, Mangino has been pursuing her dream of becoming an emergency physician.
Mangino has been responsible for organizing all the medical student volunteers taking part in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. When fourth-year medical students received an email in December asking for volunteers who would be willing to vaccinate healthcare workers, she signed on and then saw how much help was needed. From that point forward, she took on the task of recruiting and organizing all medical student volunteers, which has resulted in more than 80 medical student vaccinators working at various vaccination PODs (point of dispensing) events thus far this year.
Other native Long Islanders matching include: Jessica White, a mother of two children who will earn her MD and MPH in May. She chose medicine after pursuing a career in acting in New York City and matched to Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
Jordan Lastra has a long history at Stony Brook. It started when he was treated for a brain tumor as a 10-year-old boy, which helped inspire his pursuit of medicine. He matched to Internal Medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.
Match Day is an annual, nationwide event that is administered by National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and coordinated through the Association of American Medical Colleges. This year some 35,000 matched to residencies nationwide. For more details on the national match, see this press release.
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