Today many medical students and aspiring Doctors all over the USA will find out today if they “matched” into a Medical specialty training program, where they will spend the next 3-7 years becoming a full fledged Doctor working long hours day and night perfecting the practice of medicine in their chosen specialty.
I remember that day so vividly, my story was unlike most students in the match, I had graduated from Medical school in Cuba where I lived for 7 years on full medical scholarship, my medical training almost ended abruptly due tightened US embargo restrictions until the former Secretary of State General Colin Powell granted me and a handful of other US students full exemption to complete our medical studies to return back to the USA and practice medicine in our communities.
At the end of my training in Cuba I was a new mother to a toddler, Bilingual having done all of my medical training in Spanish and completely determined to Match into a Family Medicine Residency program. It was not easy parenting while working and studying to pass all three of the board exams needed to match into a residency program. When the day came to find out if I had “matched” into a program I decided not to open the email until I had convinced myself that the end result had no bearing on my effort! I reflected on my time in Cuba, the responsibility we were given on day one to act and think as Doctors and to treat every patient as if they were our family members. I thought of the moments right before I prepared to possibly go to jail for violating new US embargo restrictions to living in Cuba….and then the news that we could go back to class and full fill the promise we made to our Professors, families and future patients back home to return as Doctors and practice in our communities. I was not going to let the fate of that email determine my destiny as the journey had been amazing and a privilege to experience. I handed my daughter the email to read back to me and she said in her soft voice “Mommy too many words”. End result I matched into my first choice Family Medicine program and my daughter now a pre teenager has very few memories of the many nights we were apart. If you know a Medical student or new Doctor entering the match, check in on them, remind them that whatever the result of the email is, their efforts out way the outcome. I believe medicine is a calling and the chosen few who choose this path make it a lifelong commitment. Happy Match Day to all the aspiring Doctors!!
