Every year, the third Friday in March is an especially momentous day for graduating fourth-year medical students across the country: Match Day, where students learn where they will spend the next three to seven years of residency training in a specific medical specialty area.
At OU’s two Match Day events, graduating medical students from the OU College of Medicine at the Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City and the OU-TU School of Community Medicine in Tulsa were each handed an envelope with their fate enclosed. Following a countdown, the students opened their envelopes at the same time, followed by cheers, laughter and a few gasps.
The College of Medicine’s 131 graduating fourth-year medical students matched for programs in 31 different states. In Tulsa, the OU-TU School of Community Medicine’s 29 graduating medical students matched for programs in 13 different states.
OU’s new doctors are heading east as far away as New York, Vermont, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., and others are going the other direction to California, Oregon and Utah. The largest number of graduates will stay in Oklahoma, with 39 from OUHSC and 12 from Tulsa pursuing the completion of their medical education here. A total of 54 OUHSC graduates and 12 from Tulsa will pursue residency training in primary care specialties, including family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.
According to the National Resident Matching Program®, there was a record number of primary care positions offered in the 2023 Main Residency Match across the country – 571 more primary care positions than 2022, an increase of 3.2% over last year and an increase of 17% over the last five years. This is significant, as the Association of American Medical Colleges reports an estimated national shortage of primary care physicians up to 48,000 by 2034. In Oklahoma, it is estimated that less than 40% of the primary care need in the state is currently being met, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This year’s College of Medicine event was held at the Oklahoma City Embassy Suites on Northwest Expressway. The inspiring stories of two students are below, as well as photos from the event.
