Match Day Joy at Yale as Medical Students Learn Their Futures

Shouts of joy filled Harkness Lawn at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) at noon on March 17—Match Day for the MD class of 2023. After four or more years of hard work, more than 100 soon-to-be graduates learned where they will train for residency.

In the lead-up to this moment, the excitement built as students, faculty, staff, friends, and family—including many small children—arrived for the annual celebration and mingled on the lawn. Associate Dean for Student Affairs John Francis, MD, PhD, and Dean Nancy J. Brown, MD, welcomed everyone, and at 10 seconds before noon, Francis led the crowd in an energetic countdown. When the count reached zero, Brown spiritedly rang a cowbell, students tore open envelopes, and the celebratory shouting and hugging began. The sun broke through the grey sky just as students learned their match results.

The positive mood reflects the outstanding Match results. Twenty-three members of the class matched in Harvard-affiliated programs, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Following close behind, 15 students matched at University of California, San Francisco, with six more nearby in the Stanford University Program at Stanford Health Care. Twelve students will have ongoing training in New Haven, having matched in the Yale New Haven Medical Center Program in a range of specialties including anesthesiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, internal medicine, internal medicine-pediatrics, orthopaedic surgery, psychiatry, and urology.

The largest number of students (21) chose to go into internal medicine, with psychiatry and dermatology following in popularity, at 12 students each.

Students could literally pinpoint their future destination, by placing a push pin on a large map of the United States set out on the lawn. Handsome Dan XIX was a popular photo op attraction, both in his cut-out form and actual dog-being. Many students posed with “I Matched” signs, with their specialty and program result filled in with magic marker.

Reflecting on the day, Francis proclaimed, “Congratulations to the Class of 2023! What an incredible match list! As you prepare for the next chapter of your journey, we hope you take with you many fond memories of your years at Yale. You have accomplished much, and we are so very proud of each and every one of you!”