USA Match Day 2011

Fourth-year medical students at the University of South Alabama gathered March 17 at the USA Mitchell Center, anxiously awaiting the results of Match Day.

In this annual tradition called the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), or more commonly termed Match Day, future doctors at medical schools across the United States and Canada simultaneously learn where they will be doing their residency training.

“Match Day is like a national competitive dating service,” said Dr. Maggi O’Brien, associate dean of student affairs at the USA College of Medicine. “It’s a big day because they will find out where they will be for the next several years. There is a lot of nervousness here today, but it is always such an exciting event.”

The Match works like this. After interviewing with several different residency programs - both near and far - students provide a ranking of their top-choice programs in order of preference. The training programs, in turn, rank the students who interviewed. The NRMP matches applicants’ preferences for residency positions with program directors’ preferences for applicants. Each year, thousands of medical school seniors compete for approximately 24,000 residency positions across the United States.

Mary Beth Dearmon, a fourth-year medical student at USA, said Match Day is a celebration of tenacity, determination and hard work. “It’s the accomplishment of a lifetime,” she said. Dearmon, whose father passed away in December, said her father always supported her dreams. “It’s hard because he is not here today, but my parents did everything they could to support my goals.”

Dearmon matched in internal medicine at USA. “It’s such a wonderful program, and USA was my top pick. The program here nurtures each resident and their development. I’m looking forward to being here for several more years.”

The NRMP also allows couples to form pairs of choices on their primary rank order lists. The couple will match to the most preferred pair of programs on the rank order lists where each partner has been offered a position.

Christin Davis and Brandon Taylor will be tying the knot on March 26, 2011 – just a few days after Match Day. “It’s been a stressful last few months, but we’re excited,” Davis said. “Match Day is really a big day for us.”

Both Davis and Taylor matched at USA – Davis in obstetrics and gynecology and Taylor in orthopaedics. “We are really excited to stay here together,” Taylor said.

USA medical student Grant Zarzour, who has had a lifelong dream of becoming an orthopaedic surgeon, said Match Day is a culmination of several years’ work. “I feel lucky to go anywhere, but USA is my top pick. Over 10 percent of this year’s class wanted orthopaedics, and they all matched. It’s a huge testament to the program here. USA has done a great job in preparing us to be top notch physicians across the country.”

After matching in orthopaedics at USA, Zarzour said he was ecstatic. “I feel like the luckiest guy in the room right now,” he said. “I’m incredibly fortunate.”

USA president V. Gordon Moulton presented Jason Fletcher’s parents with the envelope containing his match. Fletcher was injured in a car accident March 3. He matched in general surgery at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Ga.

In honor of Fletcher, the medical students wore blue ribbons throughout the Match Day ceremony. “The entire class feels like he is here with us today,” said medical student Geoffrey Hancy. “He has worked just as hard as all of us, and he deserves to be honored.”

To view more photos from Match Day, search "USA College of Medicine Match Day 2011" on Facebook.

For more Match Day news coverage, click the following links:
http://vimeo.com/36841253

WALA-FOX 10

WKRG-TV5 

Bayside Academy Students Present USA Family Medicine Clinic with Artwork

Students at Bayside Academy in Daphne recently presented the University of South Alabama Family Medicine clinic with a piece of Andy Warhol art, titled “Maurice.”

One of the patients at the clinic, who is also a teacher at Bayside Academy, saw the need for more artwork in the clinic areas. As a result, she encouraged her class to raise money for the good cause.

“I am overwhelmed by the students and their generosity they have shown to our clinic,” said Dr. Allen Perkins, chair of family medicine at USA. “The visual aspect is just as important as everything else, and the artwork is a great contribution to our patients’ well-being.”

Bayside Academy’s donation is part of an ongoing service project, and the students will continue to raise money to provide the clinic with additional artwork.

USA Biomedical Library To Host Campus Preparedness: Community Day Event

The University of South Alabama Biomedical Library, along with the University Library and other campus entities, is hosting a Campus Preparedness: Community Day Event to raise awareness for students, faculty, and staff about how to prepare for possible emergencies related to campus life.

The event will take place April 13, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the USA Student Center.

This year’s Community Day will emphasize campus procedures and emergency plans, warning signals, evacuation routes, emergency shelters and other safe procedures and preparedness for weather related emergencies. Local media personality and meteorologist Alan Sealls will give an informative talk at 1 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

Special exhibits will be held throughout the day with librarians and other campus entities providing information about preparation for weather related emergencies as well as for preventing identity theft, using electronic health records and using mobile applications for emergency related information needs.

Community Day is a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s "Ready America" nationwide effort encouraging all Americans to prepare for possible emergencies in their homes, businesses, schools, and in their communities.

The goal of Community Day is to promote libraries as active partners in a community's emergency preparedness, response and recovery planning. National Library Week is celebrated this year from April 10 to April 16, and librarians from the University Library will be on hand to promote this annual celebration and the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians.

For more information, contact Beverly Rossini at brossini@bbl.usouthal.edu.

Next Week's DSS - Dr. Joseph P. Mizgerd

The next Distinguished Scientist Seminar at the USA College of Medicine will be presented by Dr. Joseph P. Mizgerd, professor of medicine and microbiology and director of the pulmonary center at Boston University School of Medicine.

His lecture, titled "Transcriptional and Post-Transcriptional Regulation of Innate Immunity During Infection," will take place March 24, 2011, at 4 p.m. in the Medical Sciences Building auditorium on USA's main campus.

Dr. Mizgerd's research focuses on several special areas including acute lower respiratory tract infection, cytokines, innate immunity, neutrophil recruitment and activation, pneumonia, and transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.

He received a B.A. from Amherst College and a Sc.D. in physiology and cell biology from Harvard School of Public Health, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pulmonary pathophysiology.

For more information on Dr. Mizgerd's research, visit http://www.bumc.bu.edu/pulmonary/people/faculty/josephmizgerd/

For additional information on the lecture, contact Natalie Kent at (251) 461-1548.

USA's Match Day To Be Streamed Live

For the first time ever, USA Match Day 2011 will be streamed live to the web for those who can't make it to the event. 

We will not go "live" streaming on the web until around 10:40 a.m. CDT. 

Click this link at the appropriate time:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/usacom2011

Congratulations seniors!

A Day & and Hour - USA Senior Medical Students Await Residency Assignments

Senior medical students from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine will gather tomorrow at 11 a.m. (CDT) at the Mitchell Center to find out their residency training program assignments.

In this annual tradition called the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), or more commonly termed Match Day, future doctors at medical schools across the United States and Canada simultaneously learn where they will be doing their residency training.

The Match works like this. After interviewing with several different residency programs - both near and far - students provide a ranking of their top-choice programs in order of preference. The training programs, in turn, rank the students who interviewed. The NRMP matches applicants’ preferences for residency positions with program directors’ preferences for applicants. Each year, thousands of medical school seniors compete for approximately 24,000 residency positions across the United States.

The NRMP also allows couples to form pairs of choices on their primary rank order lists. The couple will match to the most preferred pair of programs on the rank order lists where each partner has been offered a position.

There are 11 distinct residency training programs in the USA Health System. On Match Day, these programs also compete to fill a total of 69 entry-level resident positions in family medicine, internal medicine, med/peds, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopaedics, pathology, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology, and surgery. There are a total of 240 residents currently enrolled in these training programs.