How did you feel as you opened that red envelope? Opening the red envelope, I initially felt super nervous. I actually took a second to watch my peers open theirs first and then I got around to opening mine about 30 seconds later. It was so surreal to know what I’d been waiting to find out was written on a piece of paper in an envelope! When I finally read it, I was immediately relieved and so excited! It felt like the culmination of so many hours of classes, so many clinical patients, so many tears, laughs, ups, and downs. At this point, I already knew I had matched, so I was mostly relieved even before coming in, but to find out I had matched to my number one program was surreal! And then of course once I’d found out about Baystate, I wanted to know where everyone else was going. I think I was mostly in a happy state of shock about my placement that I felt more excitement about finding out where my friends and girlfriend had gotten residency.
What excites you about your residency program? I’m really excited about the family. The afternoon of Match Day I received a phone call from Baystate welcoming me- it was reaffirming to the family vibe I felt when I went to visit. I’m also really excited about the potential to learn. Finally knowing where I am going to residency made everything seem real, and now I am just excited to go and learn a lot and be the best EM physician I can be. I am also really looking forward to intern orientation to meet everyone and go on retreats!
To top it off- my partner also matched to Baystate so we are looking to buy a house in Northampton, our ideal location for outside of residency activities!