It was all smiles as University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (SOMG) medical students gathered for a group photo, despite the chilly and gray weather. Then a cheer rang out, a celebration of the major career milestone on this Match Day.
Match Day, the celebrated and anticipated culminative event, was held at Fluor Field on Friday, March 17. It was moved to the covered stadium concourse due to the rainy weather.
Moments later, students opened their envelopes, learning the next step in their medical training. This was the moment in which fourth-year medical students at SOMG learned where they will go after graduation for their residency training. Across the country, Match Day is an annual nationwide event at which students learn which residency program they will be attending.
“I am so pumped,” said SOMG student Elliott Cooper, after learning of his match at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis in Emergency Medicine. “This is literally the best day ever.” Cooper is grateful for all the support he has received over the past four years, thanking two of his mentors at SOMG in particular, Dr. Elizabeth Page Bridges, clinical professor in emergency medicine, and Dr. Phyllis MacGilvray, professor of family medicine and Sr. Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
100% of medical students in the SOMG Class of 2023 matched to a residency program. Matches included a range of medical institutions across the United States.
Click here to see the full list here of where SOMG students matched.
South Carolina matches included:
- 12 students matched with Prisma Health Upstate.
- 3 students matched with Prisma Health Midlands.
- 4 students matched with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
- 1 student matched at Lexington Medical Center.
- 2 students matched at Spartanburg Regional.
For Gene Langan, a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Langan matched at Prisma Health Upstate in General Surgery, his first choice. “I couldn’t be happier, it is beyond words,” he said, joined by his family and close friends.
Breauna Sanders acknowledged she will need to get a heavier winter jacket. Sanders matched at Case Western University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where she will start a residency in Obstetrics-Gynecology. “I am ready to start this new chapter!” said Sanders. “Case Western had everything I was looking for — advocacy, a great OBGYN program, diversity initiatives.”
Rhea Mathew matched at Prisma Health in Medicine-Pediatrics. The Fort Mill, South Carolina native is elated to stay close to her professional mentors and support. “There are so many people here in Greenville who are invested in seeing my professional and personal growth,” she said.
Kenzie Adams matched at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital in Internal Medicine, where she will complete a three-year residency. “I am so excited,” Adams said.
The journey leading up to Match Day is a rigorous one for SOMG students. Many hours of research have been performed, many questions asked, and many career decisions made. Add to that the process of residency program interviews and mutual rankings based on preference, and you can see why Match Day is such an exciting and emotional day for all involved.
Dr. MacGilvray, Sr. Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, congratulated the graduating medical students: “It has been a privilege to watch you develop into the physicians you have become.”
Clarence Richardson was one of the first people in attendance Friday. He was there to cheer on his grandson and fourth-year medical student, Chandler Richardson. “I am so proud of him,” said Clarence, who traveled to Greenville from Lexington, South Carolina.