UAB medical students gathered with family, friends, and Heersink School of Medicine faculty and staff on Friday, March 15, 2024, to celebrate this year’s Match Day. Attendees were greeted shortly before 11 a.m. by Nick Van Wagoner, M.D., associate dean for students.
Van Wagoner reminded students that they enrolled in medical school under unprecedented circumstances in 2020. “With these challenges, you have come out as a stronger, more resilient, better prepared group of students,” he said. “I congratulate you, and we congratulate you, on the hard work that you’ve done as medical students but also as people.”
Anupam Agarwal, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medicine and Dean of Heersink School of Medicine, then took the stage to congratulate the gathered class on reaching this milestone event. “If I had to define this class in one word, it’s resilience.”
At 11 a.m., the 2024 graduating class learned the institutions where they will complete their residencies. Students were given the opportunity to announce their match on stage. Students then signed a map of the United States, placing their names in the specific state of their future institution.
In this year’s match cycle, UAB students are entering residency positions at 80 institutions across 26 states nationwide. For primary care residencies, 30 students matched in internal medicine, 17 in family medicine, 12 in pediatrics, and six in medicine-pediatrics. For non-primary care residencies, 14 students matched in surgery. Other non-primary care medical specialties included 13 in obstetrics/gynecology and in anesthesiology; 10 students in neurology; eight students in diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, and psychiatry; five students in orthopaedic surgery and preliminary surgery; three students in ophthalmology, otolaryngology, physical medicine & rehabilitation, urology, and vascular surgery; two students in child neurology and dermatology; and one student each in pathology, radiation oncology, and thoracic surgery.
Desalyn Johnson, an MS4 who matched into pediatrics, noted, “Match Day is a time to rejoice and celebrate the new season ahead. We all have invested a significant amount of time and educational training to reach this point. Experiencing this milestone is truly the culmination of the medical school journey--a joyous moment not only for ourselves, but also for our loved ones who supported and encouraged us throughout the years.”
Johnson will be completing her residency at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio. “I am honored to begin my pediatrics training at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. As I embark on the next step of my journey, I hope to improve the health outcomes for the patients and families I will have the honor of serving.”
View the recording of the Match Day live stream and see the full match results online at uab.edu/matchday. Learn more about making a gift to the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.
Look through additional photos from Match Day 2024.
