Primary care has strong showing at ECU’s annual Match Day event
For the first time since 2019, one of East Carolina University’s most exciting annual events returned to an in-person format Friday when 82 fourth-year medical students learned where they will be spending the next three to seven years completing residency training.
Surrounded by their family and friends during the Match Day event in ECU’s Health Sciences Student Center, the students simultaneously opened envelopes containing the location and medical specialty they will practice.
In staying true to Brody’s mission to increase the number of primary care physicians who serve North Carolina, especially in rural and underserved areas, 61% of this year’s students matched into primary care residencies. And 35% of the class matched into residency programs in North Carolina.
“We continue to excel in our mission,” said Dr. Michael Waldrum, dean of the Brody School of Medicine and CEO of Vidant Health. “So, this a special day filled with excitement, optimism and pride in what these students have accomplished and where they’re going. We trained them and now they’re ready to go.”
K’Shylah Whitehurst, a Greenville native and ECU chemistry graduate, wants to eventually practice in Pitt County with her family close by and the special patient base she spent years preparing to care for — children.
On Friday afternoon, she opened her envelope, read it and then flipped it over to show her family that she will complete a residency in pediatrics at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill. As she hugged one of her grandmothers, the tears began to flow and continued with each hug as she went down the row of her family members in attendance.
“I’m so excited. I’ll be close to home. My family will still be nearby. This is one of my top programs, so I’m really, really happy. I’m so excited to continue on this next chapter,” she said. “This will be my first time living outside of Greenville, but it’s not too far so that’s fine.”
Whitehurst said she looks forward to returning to eastern North Carolina after residency to care for children in this region.
“One of the main reasons I decided to go into pediatrics was how resilient children are. Most of the time the children that we’ve seen in the hospital here at Vidant are going through the scariest times of their lives,” she said. “Caring for children not only involves nurturing relationships with my patients, but also gaining the trust of parents to care for their little ones. I’m so excited to start my career as a pediatrician.”
Emmanuella Mensah’s journey from her hometown of Charlotte to the Brody School of Medicine has come full circle. After graduation, she will be returning to Charlotte for a family medicine residency with the Carolinas Medical Center Biddle Point Urban Track, where she will train to care for underserved populations.
The residency location was Emmanuella’s top choice, and after reading the match letter, everything was still sinking in.
“I’m very excited and I’m very grateful to know that someone wanted to train me,” she said.
Mensah earned her undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill and completed Brody’s Summer Program for Future Doctors, which helped her decide that ECU would be a good fit for medical school.
“The magic of Brody is the medical students, and meeting students during that summer, I really felt at home, and I really wanted to be a part of that legacy,” Mensah said. “Brody has meant everything to me. Brody took a chance on me when no one else would take a chance on me, and they’ve been instrumental in my growth as a student.”
Born and raised in Ghana before moving to Charlotte at 10 years old, Mensah believes she can make a difference through family medicine in communities near and far.
“Although I am nervous for my next step in my journey, I believe Brody has prepared me well to handle the stress and pressures of residency,” she said. “I will always remember to keep the patient and myself human first as I learn the intricacies of residency — extending grace where it is needed. Ultimately, I think Brody has prepared me to begin to effectively address both the science and art of medicine.”
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Contact: Rob Spahr, ECU Health Sciences Communications, spahrr18@ecu.edu
Telephone: 252-744-2482