It’s a ‘match’: Dell Medical School class of 2021 helps local need and nationwide shortage
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — You’ve probably heard of the Dell Match Play golf tournament which tees off this week at Austin Country Club, but what about Dell Match Day?
The latter could have a bigger impact on most of our lives.
The 2021 graduating class of Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin is coming off a weekend of celebration after finding out where they’ll do their residency assignments.
Graduating medical students across the country opened emails and envelopes Friday morning revealing where they would spend the next stage of their medical careers. Some Dell Med students recorded the moment:
All members “matched” and will join residency programs following their May 20 graduation, Dell Med said.
19 of the 47 fourth-year students set to graduate will enter primary care fields ranging from family medicine and pediatrics to internal medicine, gynecology and more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has added special meaning to the medical school experience for many. Dekoiya Burton, who earned M.D./MBA degrees during his four years as a student, said it’s “bittersweet.”
“Although there’s a ton of uncertainty and grief, our dreams of becoming physicians are coming true,” Burton said.
Burton learned Friday he will embark on a combined internal medicine/pediatrics residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center – Ohio. His and other graduates’ plan to specialize in primary care will help a nationwide shortage.
The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts the shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S. will grow to between 21,100 and 55,200 by 2032.
Local impact
32% of those who matched will stay in Texas, Dell Med said. Eight of those will remain in Travis County. That group will continue learning from Dell Med faculty as part of jointly-led residency programs with academic medical partner Ascension Seton.
Students who matched to residencies in Austin will bring more care providers to the area’s community, the school said. The number of medical residents providing care in Travis County has grown from 218 in 2012 to 320 residents in 2020.
Sue Cox, M.D., the executive vice dean of academics and chair of the Department of Medical Education at Dell Med, said that means “Travis County will continue to benefit from the investment in the community it made when voting to create this medical school way back in 2012.”
The rest of the Dell Med students are headed for academic medical centers across the country.
How Match Day works
As one class of graduating students goes, another takes its place to pursue medical residencies.
The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) connects more than 44,000 applicants and 34,000 training positions every year.
According to the NRMP, its “Main Residency Match” system uses a computerized mathematical algorithm to produce the best possible outcomes for filling training positions available at U.S. teaching hospitals. All participants follow the same rules and adhere to the same deadlines. Applicants and programs get to consider all options before making decisions. Results are binding for those who match.
Dell Med graduated its first class in 2020. That same year it earned full accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. You can learn more about Dell Med on its website.
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