| Match Day: Karen L. |
| During Gary's fourth year of medical school, we began to finalize the list of general surgery residencies in which he planned to apply. At the same time, we anticiapted the birth of our first child. Consequently, we decided that we only would consider programs within a reasonable distance from our home and families in Dayton, Ohio. Around the time that my belly began to swell to enormous proprotions, he began to go on what is known as the "interview trail". At first, I tried to be impartial and let him decide which programs he seemed to like. After all, I reasoned he would become the indentured servant for 5 years so he should have a little more say in the process than me. Of course, I secretly rallied for programs in Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Columbus. All of these cities were so close and we already had friends and family living there! He traveled to places like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and the Mayo. I could only go with him on a few interviews because we had limited resources, I was very pregnant, and I still worked full time in those days. While Sean was gone on one such interview in Minneapolis, I stayed with my parents. I was relaxing on their couch when I received a call form my exhuberant husband telling me that he thought he had found a residency program that he could call home. He told me that this progam is research-based and is heralded as one of the best programs for general surgery in the country. He said that he could even get a Ph.D in surgery at this program! Moreover, the Department Chair told him that he would help me get a job in my profession if we matched there. I thought to myself: "What? Minneapolis? Isn't that in Wisconsin? How did that get on the 'in close range' list? That sounds VERY far away. Isn't it REALLY cold there? He has got to be kidding. This has to be some sort of cruel joke!" Needless to say, I cried and cried about this unforeseen development. I wanted to give him his dreams, but I just didn't know if I could give him this. Minnesota was never my dream for our family. Late fall turned into winter and my due date approached. Gary went on his last interview in late January to a program in Cleveland. I wasn't thrilled about Cleveland, but it sounded a whole lot better than Minnesota, so I prayed that this program would resonate with his heart. As luck would have it, he did not care for this program. We delivered our baby boy on February first, the most joyous day of our lives. Over the next fifteen days we brought our son home, entertained an endless stream of visitors and new baby enthusiasts, learned how to be parents, and grappled with ranking the places that we would live for the next five to seven years. I wanted a program within a two hour driving distance from Dayton. He advocated strongly for Minnesota and stressed what a great opportunity it would be for us as a family. He talked about how the program was more "family friendly" (Isn't this an oxymoron when speaking about general surgery residencies?). Our final rank list was due on February 16th. Eventually we decided that having family nearby was the most important factor so we ranked Ohio State first. Ohio State seemed like a shoe in with Sean's credentials and hometown roots. We gave Sean's preference of the University of Minnesota second billing as a token gesture. We typed the residency number codes in the computer, put the baby to bed, and watched the clock tick down until midnight, the time when our preferences would become final. Midnight came and went. We continued to acclimate ourselves to parenthood and began to search for homes in the Columbus area. We enjoyed the slow pace of the last few months of medical school. Eventually, our uncertainty would be put to rest. Finally, March 17, 2000, the "match day" had arrived. For any non-medical types, the match day may be best described as the "Grand Drama" of the medical profession. At Wright State all fourth year medical students and their families and friends gather in the medical school auditorium to wait until 12 noon to open envelopes which state where these young doctors would train as residents. All of the envelopes are placed in a rotating lottery barrel where the dean of the medical school calls out each person's name as he draws his or her envelope. The victim walks down to the front of the auditorium, opens the envelope, and reads their fate. On our particular sentencing day, the dean praised this class as having the highest "match" rate to any other class to matriculate from this university. He cited that more than 50% of this class had received their first choice in residencies, a statistic that far exeeded the national standard. We felt confident that our buckeye status was secure. My little family sat towards the front and watched our freinds go one by one to receive their fates. Our name took so long to be drawn. A full hour passed before we were summoned to the podium. My husband's voice cracked as he opened the envelope that listed the city where we would be living in 9 short weeks. You could have knocked us over with a feather when the paper read, "Congratulations, you have matched in a general surgery residency at the University of Minnesota." We smiled for the crowd and returned to our seats to gather our wits. This is where the real story began. |
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