Friday marked a glorious occasion for aspiring radiologists as fledgling physicians celebrated their Match Day. But for many, the merriment was muted because of restrictions on larger gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials said Friday that 2020 marked the largest main residency match in program history, with 40,084 applicants submitting program choices for 37,256 positions. In diagnostic radiology, programs offered 990 positions—25 more than last year—with 97.6% filled, according to the National Resident Matching program.
"NRMP is proud to congratulate thousands of young physicians as they celebrate their transition to residency," President and CEO Donna Lamb said in a March 20 statement.
The group also noted that the number of radiology positions filled by U.S. MD seniors has dipped each year since 2018. However, DO seniors have picked up the slack, filling an increasing number of opening annually since 2016.
Match Day is typically marked by elaborate celebration at schools across the country. But with heath officials discouraging gatherings of 10 or greater, 2020 has seen students turning to Zoom, Twitter and Facebook instead to stage their festivities, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported in a March 20 news item. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, for one, held a “virtual match” celebration for its radiology residents Friday afternoon to honor the occasion while also practicing social distancing.
“Today’s crisis puts America’s need for well-trained clinicians in stark relief,” AAMC Executive Vice President Atul Grover, MD, PhD, said Friday. “While we know the traditional celebrations must be postponed, we congratulate the more than 30,000 doctors who matched today; they enter healthcare at a time none of us could have imagined when they began this journey.”
Joining the virtual celebration, the American College of Radiology congratulated new rad residents on Twitter Friday, too. It’s also offering an updated suite of educational materials free to residents and fellows who are sheltered in place but seeking online learning opportunities “given present circumstances.”
Amy Patel, MD, medical director of Liberty Hospital Women’s Imaging in Missouri, also applauded her peers for taking the leap into imaging.
“Although these are definitely unusual and exhausting times, we must take a moment and celebrate these #medstudents who have worked so hard to get to where they are today. They are the future of #medicine,” tweeted Patel, who is also the subject of Radiology Business Journal’s latest cover story.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.