Resident applicants at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership gathered March 16 at noon in George Hall on the UGA Health Sciences Campus for Match Day, an event celebrating the next step in their medical careers.
Sealed envelopes addressed to each member of the class of 2018 were opened at noon, and inside each envelope was a personal letter revealing where the student will pursue his or her postgraduate medical education.
An annual event, Match Day takes place after students participate in interviews and visits to residency programs in Georgia and across the country. To determine the postgraduation assignments, the students ranked residency programs where they would like to complete their training, and the residency programs ranked the student applicants. The lists are then submitted to the nonprofit organization National Resident Matching Program in Washington, D.C., which uses an algorithm that aligns the choices of the applicants with those of the residency programs.
Mark Zapata opens his envelope to find his match with Boston University Medical Center in general surgery. (Photo by Chad Osburn/UGA)
The final pairings are announced simultaneously across the United States at noon on the third Friday in March.
“This is the fifth successful match in Athens at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership,” said campus dean Shelley Nuss. “The accomplishments of the 34 MCG students that spent the majority of their time learning medicine at the Partnership have landed them at top-tier residency programs across the US. The students will be going to 17 different states in 14 different specialties with 53 percent staying in the southeastern United States and 59 percent joining primary care programs. Thank you to the faculty, administrators, staff and mentors in our community who have devoted their time to educating our future physicians.”
Residency appointments
AU/UGA Medical Partnership participants in Match Day 2018 are honored with the following residency appointments, listed by name, residency institution and program name:
- Stephen Ballis, Medical University of South Carolina, Pediatrics
- Justin Belk, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard, Internal Medicine
- Jonathan Bradberry, Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion, Internal Medicine
- Matthew Broggi, Emory University, Orthopedic Surgery
- Andrew Brooks, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical Center, Pediatrics
- Joseph Burch, Carolinas Medical Center, Internal Medicine
- Ebony Caldwell, Howard University Hospital, Psychiatry
- Andrew Caudill, US Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Family Medicine
- Lucia Cotten, Emory University, Internal Medicine
- Amelia Donlan, University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Pathology
- Wesley Durgin, Kent Hospital Program, Emergency Medicine
- Waldo Floyd, NY Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia & Cornell, Emergency Medicine
- Caroline Geiger, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Obstetrics-Gynecology
- Angela Holder , Emory University, Family Medicine
- Dane Johnson, University of Alabama Medical Center-Birmingham, Internal Medicine
- Louis Kerkhoff, WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center, Internal Medicine
- Arjun Kumar, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Medicine-Pediatrics
- Kevin Lee, Brookwood Baptist Health and University of Alabama Radiation, Transitional/ Oncology
- Hamzah Mansoura, Florida State University, General Surgery
- Kyla Mohler, Halifax Medical Center, Family Medicine
- Bradley Parke, Oregon Health & Science University, Internal Medicine
- Deeran Patel, Grand Strand Regional Medical Center and Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University, Transitional/Anesthesiology
- Kayla Perry-Walker, Pennsylvania Hospital, Obstetrics-Gynecology
- David Phillips, University of New Mexico, Family Medicine
- Anne Robinson, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Family Medicine
- Blake Rudeseal, Anderson Medical Health, Family Medicine
- Jonathon Seawright, University of Florida–Shands Hospital, Internal Medicine
- Erin Shumans, University of Florida–Shands Hospital, Pediatrics
- John Thomas, University of Alabama Medical Center-Birmingham, Internal Medicine
- Alexandra Vagasi, South Nassau Community Hospital, General Surgery
- Jordan Ward, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Medicine-Preliminary
- Christopher Witt, Duke University Medical Center, Internal Medicine
- Kathryne Wood, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, Neurology
- Mark Zapata, Boston University Medical Center, General Surgery