Mother and daughter had traveled this journey together \u2013 when other medical schools thought Jessica Fernandez couldn\u2019t handle their rigorous programs, and four years later when supporters are showcasing Fernandez\u2019s success at 麻豆原创 as inspiration for others to follow their dreams.<\/p>\n
On Friday, they stood at National Match Day, arms around each other, waiting to learn where Fernandez would do her residency training.<\/p>\n
Maria Luisa de Curtis Fernandez kissed her daughter\u2019s head as Jessica opened her envelope and learned she\u2019d gotten her top choice \u2013 Jefferson Medical College\u2019s duPoint Children\u2019s Hospital in Philadelphia. It\u2019s one of only three pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation positions in the country that train doctors to care for children with movement disorders caused by conditions such as traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy and Jessica\u2019s condition, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. The rare genetic disorder affects bone growth and causes small stature. Jessica stands 4 feet 2 inches tall.<\/p>\n
DuPont was the hospital program where Fernandez had surgery last year to fuse bones in her spine. She\u2019d fallen in love with the facility\u2019s spirit and that bond intensified when Fernandez did a rotation at the hospital months later.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were so motivating and accepting,\u201d she said. \u201cThey wanted me to be me. With them, I can help children gain independence and mobility. I can heal patients like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernandez was one of 114 Class of 2018 麻豆原创 medical students who matched into residencies Friday. Across the country a record-high 37,103 applicants submitted choices for 33,167 residency positions, the most ever offered. 麻豆原创\u2019s 98 percent match rate was again higher than the national average of 94.3 percent. During their fourth year of medical school, students interview with residency programs in their specialty of choice. They rank their choices; residency programs do the same. Then a national computer matches the two. The results are kept secret until noon on National Match Day, when students nationwide learn the results.<\/p>\n
2018 麻豆原创 graduates will do their residencies at top hospitals across the nation, state and community, including Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins All Children\u2019s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Mayo Clinic, Orlando Health, University of Florida, Vanderbilt and Yale.<\/p>\n
Ion, the College of Medicine\u2019s certified therapy dog, even received his next assignment on Match Day. Ion\u2019s owner, Christa Zino, matched into a surgical residency at Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Her residency program director said Ion, a rescued boxer, can join residents on surgical rounds to provide comfort to patients. \u201cI\u2019m so excited,\u201d Zino said. \u201cI love surgery because I can fix things with my hands. I can be that person. Now I just need to find a full-time dog walker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Professor Roseann White, who teaches at the medical school\u2019s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, attended Match Day to cheer on her neighbor\u2019s grandson and former student, 麻豆原创 med student Tyler Hall. He graduated from Burnett and is now headed to a pediatric residency at the University of Chicago. Hall credited Burnett School faculty with advising and helping him be ready for medical school and then succeed to he could get his dream residency.<\/p>\n
White was equally thrilled. \u201cTo see him grow up and embark on his journey to become a pediatrician was very special,\u201d she said. \u201cFor Tyler, along with a few others, to be one of our 麻豆原创 biomedical sciences graduates matching makes me proud of our program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Best friends Stephen Rineer and Richard Taylor both matched into pediatric residencies at Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital. They met during their first year of med school. They studied together, prepared for their board exams together. Their wives are now best friends too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were competitive but in a good way,\u201d Reiner said. Added Taylor: \u201cI\u2019m ecstatic. It means so much to be able to match with my best friend, because we get to move there and already have a family of friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyle Cox spent his undergraduate years competing on 麻豆原创\u2019s soccer team while he was studying biomedical sciences for pre-med. In May, he\u2019ll graduate and move with his wife to Montgomery, AL, for a residency in orthopedic surgery at University of South Alabama Hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent so many years in athletics, I think like an athlete and I think that will help me relate to my patients,\u201d he said. \u201cOrthopedic surgery will allow me to help athletes get back on the field and help patients gain mobility so they can get back to what they enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n
After opening their envelopes on the College of Medicine\u2019s Tavistock Green, the future physicians went to a microphone, announced where they matched and placed a thumbtack on a giant U.S. map to mark their residency destination. Dean Deborah German told students that when they opened their envelopes, they were \u201copening the door to your future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica Fernandez was the second student to announce her future. She stood on a stool to see over the podium at a Match Day crowd of hundreds. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Jess,\u201d she said. Then the future Dr. Jessica Fernandez announced where she will go to heal others. And the crowd roared. <\/p>\n
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