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Where are you going for residency?
MedStar-Georgetown University in Washington D.C. for OB-GYN.
What factors went into selecting your Match choices?
We both understood that it was difficult to couples match and that we were going for some pretty competitive specialties so we set up a lot of sub-internships or audition rotations to try and help us figure out where we liked and also to get a foot in
Tom Gallant, DO '18
the door when applying for the match. I can say that this definitely helped because I was able to rotate at Georgetown and loved their Ob/Gyn program. I was able to work closely with the current residents and attending physicians. Often times you are offered a "courtesy interview" if you do a sub-internship at a program you are applying to. Luckily both Ivy and I were able to interview at Georgetown and both loved the program so everything worked out. As Ivy mentions, it was key for us to tell programs that we were couples matching because then the Ob/Gyn department would talk to the Anesthesia department or vice versa. We also focused on programs that had a lot of surrounding programs. For example, there are some great programs out west but it would be hard to make any combinations if most of our programs are on the east coast.
How did you feel as you opened that envelope on Match Day?
Wow, such a wave of relief! I think it is perfectly summed up by the video the school captured of Ivy jumping up and down (ha ha). Honestly, you put in so many hours throughout medical school and you never really know if you're on the right path. I think there may have been at least a thousand times throughout our four years where we thought we made mistakes that would keep us from matching. Were our board scores good enough? Did we set up enough sub-internships? Did we do the sub-internships at the right place? Should I have sent everyone a thank you card or just the program director? The questions were endless. Opening that letter and seeing that we both got our top choice was extremely rewarding.
What specialty did you decide on and how did you decide on it?
I will be going into the field of Ob/Gyn. It was the first rotation I had in my third year...honestly I set it up first to be a good "warm-up" rotation for surgery but I was hooked. From deliveries to primary care to complicated surgical cases this field really has everything. It is a field where things can change on a dime and I love that intensity. I also love how important advocacy is in this field in particular. Anesthesia and Ob/Gyn really complement each other well as specialties so that worked out well. I hope that anyone who decides to go into this field feels free to reach out if they have questions about the application process. I also think it worked out well.