MATCH DAY 2019
Primary care leads the way - again - at ECU’s physician residency match event
Fourth-year medical students gathered in the auditorium of ECU’s Brody School of Medicine on Friday – surrounded by their peers, professors and family members – to open letters telling them where they would be spending the next three to seven years completing residency training.
All 73 students from Brody’s Class of 2019 who submitted a rank list in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) for the 2018-2019 application cycle learned during the school’s annual Match Day ceremony that they had matched to a residency program.
“This incredible accomplishment is a tribute to the hard work of the Class of 2019, as well as the incredible faculty and staff at the Brody School of Medicine who work tirelessly to educate and support all of our students,” said Dr. Susan Schmidt, Brody’s associate dean for student affairs.
According to the National Resident Matching Program, the postgraduate year one (PGY-1) match rate for U.S. seniors has historically been 92-95 percent.
In keeping with Brody’s mission to tackle North Carolina’s need for more primary care physicians, especially in rural and underserved areas, more than 50 percent of those 73 graduates – all of whom are North Carolina residents – will be entering primary care residencies.
“This year’s Match results highlight Brody’s continued commitment to our three-fold mission to increase the supply of primary care physicians to serve the state, improve the health of citizens in eastern North Carolina and enhance the access of minority and disadvantaged students to a medical education,” Schmidt said. “Brody delivers on its mission – it always has.”
Consola Esambe Lobwede crosses the stage with her 5-week-old daughter, Charlotte, during the Brody School of Medicine’s 2019 Match Day event.
Opportunities seized
When Consola Esambe Lobwede moved to Charlotte from Cameroon in 2004, the opportunities that the United States offered inspired her to pursue her education. After working as a nurse, she decided to apply to medical school.
“I felt it would be a waste not to seize this opportunity that God has given me,” she said.
Brody was the only medical school to grant an interview to Esambe Lobwede, who was a mother of four at the time.
On Friday, she held her 5-week-old daughter, Charlotte, in her arms as she found out that she was accepted into the Greenville Health System/University of South Carolina’s psychiatry residency program in Greenville, S.C.
“This is like the ultimate prize. It’s so wonderful,” said Esambe Lobwede, whose husband, Fidelis, supported her following her dreams by being a stay-at-home dad until the school and family demands eased enough for him to take a job as a cab driver.
“It was hard, it was really hard,” she said of juggling five kids with the demands of medical school. “I couldn’t have done it without my husband and had to rely a lot on family and friends. I made some amazing friends here in medical school, and it was that friendship that carried me through.”
As she looked forward to the next stage in her life and her family’s move to South Carolina, Esambe Lobwede said she was grateful for the opportunity that Brody provided her and that she hopes to return to North Carolina to practice.
“Brody means the world to me. It’s been like a great family for me. The staff, the faculty, everybody has been so very supportive,” she said. “If I had to do it all again, I would do it all the same way.”
Shahzeb Khan
Allyson Mentock
Lee Stanley
From the NFL to the ER
Adam O’Connor is also a “non-traditional” medical student. Not only did he earn his undergraduate degree in history, but he also spent time playing in the National Football League and NFL Europe before deciding to pursue a career in medicine.
When O’Connor opened his Match Day envelope, he learned that he matched with his first choice, University of Virginia, in emergency medicine.
“I’m in shock right now. Because after it’s all said and done, and you get your number one spot, you feel validated in many ways,” he said. “Emergency medicine is the perfect conglomeration of all the things I like about medicine. So this is a tremendous opportunity.”
Like Esambe Lobwede, O’Connor – a former standout at Ragsdale High School in Jamestown – said Brody was the first medical school to “choose” him.
Adam O’Connor reacts to finding out that he will complete his emergency medicine residency at the University of Virginia. (Photo by Rob Spahr)
“Brody right out of the gate gave me the opportunity, and I was kind of like, ‘I’m going to dance with the one who brung me,’” he said. “I could not have made a better decision. It’s a great group of folks, a great environment, and honestly, it’s gotten me where I want to be.”
While O’Connor admits there is not much overlap between playing professional football and practicing medicine, he said one of the reasons he was drawn to emergency medicine is “it’s a team sport, more so than in many other aspects of medicine.”
“You need to rely on others, as well as be able to rely on your own resources to understand the overall scheme,” he said.
The match process, however, was much more stressful than the NFL Draft process, he said.
“It’s not like football where you have game tapes and physical measurements that they can use to assess you and you really know where you fall,” he said. “The match process is like the Wild West.”
O’Connor’s mother, Janice, watched him from the stands during his playing days. On Friday, she was standing next to him with tears in her eyes as he learned where he’d be heading for residency.
“This is pretty special,” she said. “I think that it was really special watching him play, but this is even more special because this is what he’s going to be doing the rest of this life.”
‘A Whole New World’
Before they can independently provide direct patient care, U.S. medical school graduates must complete a three- to seven-year residency program accredited in a recognized medical specialty. The NRMP places applicants for postgraduate medical training positions into the various residency programs at teaching hospitals across the nation. Thousands of graduating medical students nationwide learned their destinations today.
Nearly 25 percent of Brody’s graduating students matched to residency programs within the state of North Carolina. Nearly half of those students will remain at Vidant Medical Center, Brody’s affiliated teaching hospital, for their residency training.
Jamie Hunter
Adrian Ambrose
Wesley Young
Jamie Hunter, who will be specializing in family medicine, said the Vidant/ECU program was her top residency choice. It’s close to her hometown of Kinston, but more importantly, she said she considers Brody and ECU part of her extended family.
“It’s like I’m still a part of this family,” Hunter said. “I know the faculty and residents here, and they already came over to congratulate me. It’s like coming home.”
Other students, like Adrian Ambrose, learned that they would essentially be moving to “A Whole New World.”
Ambrose matched in OB-GYN with Orlando Health in Orlando, Florida.
“I’m going to Disney World for the next chapter in my life. This is crazy. I’m blessed, absolutely blessed. This is what I’ve been praying for, and it worked out,” he said. “It’s been an anxious and nervous week, but to know where we’re going finally is a great thing, and I’m so excited to get started.”
The 2019 Main Residency Match was the largest ever, according to the NRMP. A record-high 38,376 applicants submitted program choices for 35,185 positions, which was the most ever offered in the Match. (For more info visit: www.nrmp.org.)
Results of the Main Residency Match are closely watched because they can predict future changes in the physician workforce.
ECU medical student Shannon Osborne celebrates on stage during the Brody School of Medicine’s 2019 Match Day event.