Friday, March 20, 2020
  Community

By News and Internal Communications

By Dimitra Trejo

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – This year marked a special Match Day for UTRGV’s fourth-year medical students, as 100 percent of them successfully matched to a residency program within the United States.

UTRGV's School of Medicine inaugural class participated in Match Day 2020. One hundred percent of them successfully matched to a residency program within the United States, with four students matching to residency programs in the Rio Grande Valley. Match Day, a national day of recognition for medical schools, is the day fourth-year medical students read their letters from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which determines the best possible matches for them to fill available training positions at hospitals around the country.
UTRGV's School of Medicine inaugural class participated in Match Day 2020. One hundred percent of them successfully matched to a residency program within the United States, with four students matching to residency programs in the Rio Grande Valley. Match Day, a national day of recognition for medical schools, is the day fourth-year medical students read their letters from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which determines the best possible matches for them to fill available training positions at hospitals around the country.

Ramiro Tovar, one of the medical students who participated in UTRGV’s School of Medicine Match Day 2020, said he couldn’t be happier.

The Brownsville native, like thousands of other fourth-year medical students across the country, opened his letter from the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) and learned that he has been accepted to the medical residency program he wanted.

“I am so blessed and thankful to my family, professors, and the UTRGV School of Medicine as a whole,” Tovar said. “I am happy to announce that I have matched to DHR Health’s residency program, where I will be focusing on family medicine.”

Match Day, a national day of recognition for medical schools, is the day fourth-year medical students read their letters from the NRMP, which determines the best possible matches to fill available training positions at hospitals around the country.

This was UTRGV’s first ever cohort of medical students to take part in a residency Match Day.

“This is one of the most important days in our students’ journeys to becoming medical professionals,” said Dr. John H. Krouse, dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine and executive vice president for Health Affairs. “It is an honor to bear witness of this historic day, not just for our medical students but also for our UTRGV community.

“What an achievement for our inaugural class to have had a 100 percent match rating. Every one of our students will now go on to their designated residency programs and continue making UTRGV proud.”

UTRGV's School of Medicine inaugural class participated in Match Day 2020. One hundred percent of them successfully matched to a residency program within the United States, with four students matching to residency programs in the Rio Grande Valley. Match Day, a national day of recognition for medical schools, is the day fourth-year medical students read their letters from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which determines the best possible matches for them to fill available training positions at hospitals around the country.
UTRGV's School of Medicine inaugural class participated in Match Day 2020. One hundred percent of them successfully matched to a residency program within the United States, with four students matching to residency programs in the Rio Grande Valley. Match Day, a national day of recognition for medical schools, is the day fourth-year medical students read their letters from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), which determines the best possible matches for them to fill available training positions at hospitals around the country.

Of the 39 medical students who matched to residency programs, 27 of them matched to programs in Texas. Of those 27, seven will participate in programs in the Rio Grande Valley. Notable matches include four students who will head to emergency medical residencies throughout the United States; seven who will participate in family medicine residencies; and 13 who have matched with internal medicine residency programs that include Columbia University’s New York Presbyterian Hospital Residency Program.

“I still remember vividly the White Coat Ceremony in 2016 that welcomed the charter class into the medical profession, as they prepared to become practitioners of the art and science of medicine,” said Dr. Leonel Vela, UTRGV senior associate dean for Educational Resources and senior associate vice president for Education.

“Match Day celebrates a wonderful and significant achievement as students enter the next phase of their journey, as they transition to residency programs for training in their chosen medical specialties,” he said.



ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.