Hi everyone,
This year’s fellowship match was our largest ever. Forty-seven current and former residents matched on a day bursting with smiles and hugs.
Though the day was magical, our success was no mystery. Yale residents offer what fellowships want: superb clinicians, scholars, and educators with the potential to become faculty.
Our residents are great clinicians, the products of rigorous training, which demands hard work, mastery of the literature, independence, and dedication to patients. Our graduates can meet any challenge they face.
Our residents are scholars, presenting their work at national meetings and publishing in major journals. In addition to traditional research, they create educational curricula and lead quality improvement efforts. Fellowships know our graduates will advance the science and practice of medicine.
Our residents are leaders, serving on committees, participating in teaching conferences, and advocating for change. Citizenship is crucial to any program’s success.
Our residents can articulate a vision for their careers. They can describe how fellowship will give them the tools they need to contribute to academic medicine. They know training at a leading institution is a privilege, and they can show fellowship directors how they’ll capitalize on the opportunity.
Most importantly, our residents are wonderful people: honest, friendly, and humble. They listen well, collaborate, and step up when there’s work to do. Fellowships want trainees who will contribute to the spirit of their program, and this is what our residents offer.
We should not take success for granted, especially given how competitive some specialties are. Sometimes outstanding trainees go unmatched the first time around, especially in GI, cardiology, and oncology. Usually, with some thoughtful counsel and portfolio tweaking, the second time is a charm.
In addition to the residents pursuing fellowship, many others are pursuing academic careers as hospitalists and primary care physicians. Like our fellowship-bound residents, these residents are being recruited by top programs. They don’t have to go through a match, but the formula for success is the same: become a superb clinician, scholar, and leader; hone your vision; and be a decent person. That’s all there is to the magic.
Congratulations again to our residents and thank you to everyone who contributed to their success- especially the faculty who nurtured our residents’ clinical, research, and leadership skills and gave them the feedback, advice, and support they needed to flourish.
There’s nothing more exciting than seeing so many happy faces looking forward to the future.
Enjoy your Sunday, everyone. I’ll be biking on the Farmington Canal before sitting down to prepare for Tuesday’s big interview day.
Mark