Morehouse School of Medicine Students Light Up Match Day
98 Percent of Eligible Fourth-Year Medical Students Qualify for Residency
Morehouse School of Medicine is celebrating Match Day 2020 with 98 percent of eligible fourth-year medical students, 87 in all, successfully matching to residency programs nationwide. More than a third of these future doctors will continue their medical training right here in Georgia and the majority—82 percent—matched to primary care and core specialties, a reflection of MSM’s training mission.
Match Day, conducted by the National Resident Matching Program, is an annual rite of passage for medical students at schools across the United States and around the world. The 2020 Main Residency Match was the largest in NRMP history. A record-high 40,084 applicants submitted program choices for 37,256 positions, the most ever offered in the Match.
This year, as the world grapples with wide-ranging impacts of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, students received their notifications from the NRMP via email and received a congratulatory message from President and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD.
The pandemic forced MSM officials and Class of 2020 leaders to forego the normal campus celebration with family and friends, in accordance with local, state and federal guidelines as well as those from the American Medical Association and Association of American Medical Colleges.
“We understand the extraordinary circumstances surrounding COVID-19 prevented us from celebrating your milestone in our usual fashion. That is disappointing for us all, but in no way does it diminish your achievement. In fact, your flexibility in the face of adversity speaks volumes about your resiliency,” Dr. Montgomery Rice said. “As you prepare to take your place among the medical teams working on the front lines of this global crisis, we could not be more proud to have you represent Morehouse School of Medicine.”
MSM is committed to increasing the number of doctors in Georgia, and especially in rural areas where medical access has been historically limited in order to promote health equity. MSM students matched to prominent medical centers across the country from Oregon to Miami including Duke University Medical Center, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medical Education (MN) and Tripler (HI) Army Medical Center, while 16 graduating seniors chose to remain at MSM and serve their residency at Grady Hospital.