Match Day reveals next stop on students' medical journeys - VUMC Reporter

Somto Ukwuani reacts after learning she will be staying at Vanderbilt for her pediatrics residency. (photo by Susan Urmy)

by Kathy Whitney

Vanderbilt's Match Day celebration was held in person this year and allowed for family and friends to gather in Langford Auditorium to support the fourth-year medical students as they learned which residency programs they matched into.

Held on March 18, Match Day was the crowning moment of the National Resident Match Program, which matched thousands of medical students with residency programs at medical centers and hospitals across the country.

Amy Fleming, MD, MHPE, associate dean of Medical Student Affairs, randomly called student names, and one by one, 88 of the graduates revealed on stage where he or she had matched and into which specialty. Donald Brady, MD, senior associate dean of Health Sciences Education, placed a pin on the U.S. map documenting each student's residency placement.

Lex Erath and Alan Makhoul are one of four couples who participated in a Couples Match. They are headed for the University of Pennsylvania. (photo by Susan Urmy)

"We are grateful to be able to celebrate the class of 2022 in person, surrounded by their family, friends, peers, teachers and mentors," Fleming said. "Each of our students has continued to learn, grow and serve, completing their MD training despite many obstacles.

"We are proud of their accomplishments in service, clinical care, research and innovations as well as their deep investment in the care of our patients. This graduating class helped spearhead efforts that provided exceptional care to patients during the pandemic including telemedicine access, COVID vaccine clinics, and care for the underserved. Match Day was a celebration of their efforts and accomplishments and allowed us, as faculty, to thank them for their service to Vanderbilt, to our patients and to our community."

This year, of the 99 members of the class, 22 will stay at Vanderbilt for residency, and five will stay for their preliminary year before going elsewhere for residency. A higher-than-average number of students — 12 — matched into pediatrics, and 10 matched into anesthesiology. Four couples participated in Couples Match, including Alan Makhoul and Lex Erath.

Christian Nguyen celebrates with his family after finding out he matched in interventional radiology at UCLA Medical Center. (photo by Susan Urmy)

The couple met at the School of Medicine's orientation in 2017 and will marry in May. Makhoul matched into plastic surgery and Erath into anesthesia, both at the University of Pennsylvania. The couple extended their time at VUSM by a year to allow Erath to earn her dual MD/MBA degrees.

"You have to be willing to compromise," Makhoul said of participating in Couples Match. "The whole idea of the Couples Match is that you're going together, so all of the combinations on your list should be choices that you've agreed on. You should both feel comfortable."

Steven Scaglione will return to his home state of Michigan for his residency in pediatrics at the University of Michigan. He and his twin brother were the first in their family to attend college. He hopes to eventually do a subspeciality fellowship and serve as a mentor in

Steven Scaglione is headed back to his home state for his pediatrics residency at the University of Michigan. (photo by Susan Urmy)

academic medicine.

Somto Ukwuani will be staying at Vanderbilt for her pediatrics residency. As a medical student, she served as co-chair of the social mission committee and plans to continue her work in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

"There was a lot that went into my decision of wanting to stay at Vanderbilt for residency, and I am so excited to have this opportunity," Ukwuani said. "I think there are a lot of actionable steps the pediatric residency program has taken to intentionally increase their DEI efforts. I'm really excited to get to know my future co-residents, their passions, and work together to make change that will benefit our patients, program and our community at large."

The Breakdown of Match Specialties for Residency: Anesthesiology: 10; Dermatology: 4; Emergency Med: 4; Family Medicine: 1; Internal Medicine: 10; Interventional Radiology: 2; Medicine/Pediatrics: 3; Neurological Surgery: 3; Neurology: 4; OB/GYN: 3; Ophthalmology: 3; Orthopaedic

Kia Quinlan will do her pediatrics residency at Baylor College of Medicine. (photo by Susan Urmy)

Surgery: 5; Otolaryngology: 5; Pathology: 2; Pediatrics: 12; Pediatrics/Medical Genetics: 1; PM&R: 1; Plastic Surgery (Integrated): 3; Psychiatry: 5; Radiology-Diagnostic: 2; Surgery-General: 4; Urology: 1.

Residency assignments

Abin Abraham – Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pediatrics

Ryan Ahmed – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Psychiatry

Amany Alshibli – U.C. San Francisco, Anesthesiology

Alexandra Alving-Trinh – U.C. San Diego Medical Center, Plastic Surgery

Santiago Angaramo – Ohio State U. Medical Center, Internal Medicine-Preliminary/Ophthalmology

Jacqueline Antoun – Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Pediatrics

Landon Fike celebrates with his wife, Kennedy, and son, Asher, after learning he'll stay at Vanderbilt for his residency. (photo by Susan Urmy)

Marc Blatt – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Emergency Medicine

Alexandra Brito – Brigham and Women's Hospital, Internal Medicine-Preliminary/Neurology

Sarah Brown – Massachusetts General Hospital, Internal Medicine

Lin Cao – VUMC, Internal Medicine

Heidi Carpenter – George Washington U., OB-GYN

Carsen Cash – VUMC, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Rachel Chang – U.C. San Francisco, Internal Medicine

Michael Clark – Hospital of the U. of Pennsylvania, Surgery-General

Jordan Clawson – VUMC, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Benjamin Coiner – Brigham and Women's Hospital, Pathology-Anatomic and Clinical

Patrick Donegan – U. of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Internal Medicine-Preliminary/Ophthalmology

Leland Dunwoodie – Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Pediatrics

Hatice Eken – UPMC Medical Education, Psychiatry

Lex Erath – Hospital of the U. of Pennsylvania, Anesthesiology

Caroline Erickson – U.C. San Francisco, Surgery-General

Zachary Feldman – Yale-New Haven Hospital, Internal Medicine

Landon Fike – VUMC, Internal Medicine-Preliminary/Radiology Diagnostic

Elizabeth Flook – Hospital of the U. of Pennsylvania, Psychiatry

Morgan Flynn – VUMC, Psychiatry

Jessa Fogel – U. of Maryland Medical Center, Orthopaedic Surgery

Caleb Ford – Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Orthopaedic Surgery

Rachel Fortner-Goddard – U. of Cincinnati Medical Center, Anesthesiology

Hernan Gonzalez – U.C. San Diego Medical Center, Neurological Surgery

Tavia Gonzalez Pena – VUMC, OB-GYN

Alan Grusky – UCLA Medical Center, Family Medicine

Cihang Gu – UPMC Medical Education, Internal Medicine

Bradley Guidry – U. of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Neurological Surgery

Veerain Gupta – VUMC, Urology

Roman Gusdorf – VUMC, Pediatrics

Briana Halle – Scripps Mercy Hospital, Transitional; U.C. Irvine Medical Center, Dermatology

Noah Harrison – Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Orthopaedic Surgery

Stephanie Hart – VUMC, Pathology-Anatomic and Clinical

Olivia Henry – Weill Cornell Medical Center, Anesthesiology

Adam Hetzler – Geisinger Health System, Transitional/Dermatology

Meredith Huszagh – U. of Minnesota Medical School, OB-GYN

Sharon Kam – California Pacific Medical Center, Internal Medicine-Preliminary; Massachusetts General Hospital, Dermatology

Hannah Kay – U. of Michigan Hospital, Otolaryngology

Nicole Kloosterman – Medical University of South Carolina, Otolaryngology

Beatrice Konrad – VUMC, Surgery/Preliminary

Victoria Lawson – VUMC, Pediatrics

Chi Le – Mount Sinai Hospital, Neurological Surgery

Katherine Lee – U. of Maryland Mercy Medical Center, Internal Medicine-Preliminary; Johns Hopkins Hospital, Anesthesiology

Sean Lee – U. of Arizona College of Medicine, Neurology

Zi Wei Liao – U. of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, Anesthesiology

Aaron Lim – UT Ascension St. Thomas, Internal Medicine-Preliminary; Brigham and Women's Hospital, Radiology Diagnostic

Yangzi Liu – Hospital of the U. of Pennsylvania, Surgery-General

Clair Lo – VUMC, Internal Medicine

Joseph Luchsinger – Yale-New Haven Hospital, Psychiatry

Emily Mace – VUMC, Otolaryngology

Caroline Maguire – Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Pediatrics

Alan Makhoul – Hospital of the U. of Pennsylvania, Plastic Surgery-Integrated

Kevin Manz – Yale-New Haven Hospital, Internal Medicine-Preliminary/Neurology

Cooper March – U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Emergency Medicine

Victoria Martucci – U. of Colorado School of Medicine, Pediatrics-Medical Genetics

Katlyn McKay – VUMC, Surgery-General

Mallory McKeon – U. of Cincinnati Medical Center, Otolaryngology

Evan Mercer – VUMC, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics

Elizabeth Moore – Brigham and Women's Hospital, Internal Medicine-Preliminary/Neurology

Cullen Moran – VUMC, Surgery-Preliminary/Ophthalmology

Christian Nguyen – UCLA Medical Center, Interventional Radiology-Integrated

Matthew Nordness – VUMC, Anesthesiology

Jessica O'Shea – Hospital of the U. of Pennsylvania, Emergency Medicine

Thomas Perez – Virginia Mason Medical Center, Transitional; U. of Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Interventional Radiology-Integrated

Sarah Pourali – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Internal Medicine-Preliminary; VUMC, Dermatology

Kia Quinlan – Baylor College of Medicine, Pediatrics

Rahul Ramaswamy – Barnes Jewish Hospital, Internal Medicine

Benjamin Reisman – Johns Hopkins Hospital, Internal Medicine

Chelsea Rogers – MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Internal Medicine-Preliminary; Johns Hopkins Hospital, Anesthesiology

Sounak Roy – U. of Florida College of Medicine, Anesthesiology

Pooja Santapuram – New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia U. Medical Center, Anesthesiology

Katherine Sborov – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Orthopaedic Surgery

Steven Scaglione – U. of Michigan Hospitals, Pediatrics

Hunter Sceats – Stanford Medical Center, Surgery-Preliminary

Andrew Schaffer – VUMC, Internal Medicine-Preliminary

Timothy Schurz – U. of Michigan Hospitals, Pediatrics

Cody Stothers – U. of Cincinnati Medical Center, Emergency Medicine

Aisha Suara – VUMC, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics

Emily Thomas – Indiana U. School of Medicine, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics

Austin Triana – VUMC, Internal Medicine

Somtochukwu Ukwuani – VUMC, Pediatrics

Dakota Vaughan – U. of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Internal Medicine-Preliminary

Kelly Vittetoe – VUMC, Otolaryngology

John Walker – Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, Pediatrics

Alexander Wells – U.C. San Francisco, Internal Medicine

Colin White-Dzuro – U. Texas Southwestern Medical School, Plastic Surgery-Integrated

Rachel Windmueller – VUMC, Orthopaedic Surgery

Raymond Zhou – VUMC, Surgery-Preliminary

Ryan Zinone – Tripler Army Medical Center, Pediatrics