ORLANDO, Fla. — Match Day is arguably one of the most anticipated days in a medical student’s journey to becoming a physician.
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Through the National Resident Matching Program, every medical student in the U.S. learns the results of their residency program placements simultaneously.
The reveal happens on March 15 at noon.
“There’s a lot of nerves, a lot of anxiety, anxious anticipation,” Marcy Verduin, an Associate Dean for Students and Professors of Psychiatry at UCF, said.
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At that time, University of Central Florida College of Medicine students will learn where they’re going to spend the next three to seven years of their lives. It’s a high-stakes day with a lot of pressure.
“It is so important,” Verduin said. “It’s the culmination of everything they’ve been working for. All their dreams, the kind of doctor they hope to become. Where they want to live and train.”
There are 117 students matching at UCF.
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Sixteen of them applied to psychiatry. It’s the second-largest specialty at the college, next to internal medicine.
Kelsey Manko and Matthew Caldwell both applied to match in that field.
Its popularity has grown since the pandemic.
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“There’s a lot more emphasis on mental health,” Manko said. “I think people in general started realizing how important mental health is after being isolated for so long.”
Both Manko and Caldwell are from Orlando and hope to match in Florida or the Southeast.
They both told us UCF has set them up for success, but the nerves are still running high.
“I’m a little nervous,” Caldwell said. “Mostly excited. I’m more excited about finding out where I’m going to go for the next four years.”
UCF’s College of Medicine Match Day festivities will begin at 11:30 Friday morning on Tavistock Green.
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