What is Match Day? It’s Like the NFL Draft for Medical Students

Every year from October to February, medical students across the U.S. interview at residency training programs.

For medical students across the U.S., NFL Draft Day this year falls on Friday, March 17.

That might sound ridiculous, because, of course, that’s not when the NFL draft actually starts. But that’s what March 17 feels like for graduating medical students across the nation. They’ve put in the work, the years of education, the blood, sweat, tears and high-stakes interviews – and on the equivalent of draft day, they finally find out where they will be going to complete their residency training. It’s a big day because residency is a vital step in their journey to becoming a fully licensed physician.

Medical Student Match Day

From October to February every year, thousands of medical students interview at residency training programs across the country – including with the Internal Medicine Residency Program here in Athens. They are competing for a training spot in their chosen medical specialty: internal medicine, neurology, dermatology, family medicine, etc.

It’s like the NFL Combine for medical education. Once they are invited to interview, they put on their best suits, give their best interview answers, and do their best to stand out from the crowd to earn a coveted training spot. All of the work done in the Combine – doing their best to stand out and earn that spot – comes down to Draft Day – or as we call it in the medical education community, Match Day.

At noon on Friday, March 17, medical students from across the country will all learn which residency training program they have matched with to complete their specialty training. Think of Match Day like the phone call football players receive when they’re drafted – the team is calling them to welcome them and let them know where they’ll be playing as a rookie in the NFL. Match Day is that phone call – or email in this case – letting medical students know where they will be training in residency.

But one difference from Draft Day is that Match Day is also the day the “teams” find out which “players” will be coming their way. Residency programs, like the Internal Medicine Residency Program here in Athens, rank the medical students they would like to recruit. On Match Day, they find out which of those students ranked them as the program they want to train with. Match Day is a surprise for students and programs alike.

Match Day Informs Medical Students Where They Will Be Training

Match Day is a celebrated event for the medical education community, but many people don’t know about it or what it means. It’s like a well-kept secret, a secret draft, but we’re letting you in on the special occasion. Medical students complete additional training, called residency, after they graduate from medical school. Match Day informs medical students where they will be training and what specialty they will be training in. Residency can last from 3-7 years depending on the specialty the medical student pursues.

Our internal medicine residency program at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership with St. Mary’s Hospital lasts for three years. During this time, our resident doctors are training with and learning from physicians in the hospital and in the Athens community. At the end of their three years of residency training, they may go into practice within the community or continue to specialize their training in another area, like cardiology, nephrology, or critical care.

Match Day is here, and we’re all waiting to see where the medical students at the AU/UGA Medical Partnership will match and which 12 medical students we will welcome here in Athens to the AU/UGA Internal Medicine Residency Program at St. Mary’s. It’s an exciting time for our medical community and we hope you’ll celebrate with us.