After a successful run that spanned five decades, the final Impact was published in January 2020.  Impact was UTMB Health’s employee newsletter. It evolved from a one color printed tabloid newspaper to a full color magazine with a digital component. We’ve archived the past several years on these pages for your review and enjoyment.

Match Day 1

It's a Match!

Apr 20, 2017, 12:49 PM by Simone Parker

Match Day 1

On March 17, more than 200 School of Medicine students gathered in Levin Hall to learn where they will do their post-medical school training, or residencies. Known as “Match Day” across the country, the annual event happens on the third Friday of March each year to announce the results of the National Residents Matching Program.

One-by-one, graduating UTMB students walked to the front of the Galveston auditorium to pick up their “match” envelopes, which revealed the residency program that accepted them. It was a party atmosphere, with faculty, friends and family included in the celebration.

UTMB Match Day 2017 093Ashlee Gourdine, a fourth-year medical student and aspiring anesthesiologist, applied to more than five residency programs. She cried tears of joy upon opening her letter and discovering she was accepted by her first choice—Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

“It’s incredible to be able to go where you want to go!” Gourdine said. “You work four years, through all the classes and board exams. I’m glad that it turned out this way. Medicine is a difficult field but it’s worth it.”

Gourdine celebrated the good news with friends and family, including her father, Charles Gourdine. He was excited for Ashlee to move and work closer to the family’s home in Washington, D.C.

“It is truly a blessing,” said Gourdine. “She has worked extremely hard to achieve her goal of becoming a doctor. As a parent, I am excited to see her dream come true.”

Match Day UTMB’s Match Day ceremony was extra festive this year, since it coincided with St. Patrick’s Day—a day commonly known for people wearing green and shamrocks. Joseph Baratt and Kathryn Brand, also fourth-year medical students, coordinated matching green outfits to celebrate the holiday and their residency assignments. The couple had been anxiously waiting for several months to find out where they will live and work for the next three to four years. Both were matched to programs in Texas.

“We decided not to couple’s match so we’re just excited that we ended up in the same state,” said Brand. “It’s been a stressful time. We’re thankful to be going to such great programs.”

Brand was accepted at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin and Baratt will be working at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Congratulations to all UTMB graduating medical students as they prepare for this next stage of their careers.
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