A Day Like No Other: Match Day Reminds Us Why We Do This

For a physician, there’s no other day like Match Day. Even decades later, I still remember the excitement of holding that sealed envelope and imagining how it would soon change the direction of my career and my life.

It’s the same each year for the roughly 48,000 people across the country who will open their envelopes on March 15 at the same time to learn where they’ll be completing their training to be a physician.

Whether you think the match process is mostly fate, a scientifically accurate algorithm, or even “Survivor” for MDs, the day marks a special rite of passage.  For me, Match Day has become a way for me to reflect each year on how much progress we’ve made in medicine over the years—and how that impacts the lives of both physicians and their patients. Consider this:

At the time of my Match Day in 1990, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer was a little under 4 percent. Now, through lots of smart science and laboratory research, we’ve been able to improve that to 12%. That means I can help more of my patients live to see their kids get married, their grandkids born, and many other important milestones. But it also illustrates that our work is far from done and that we need fresh ideas and new innovations.

Also, personalized medicine was just a dream in the ’90s. Now we have procedures, infusions, and treatment plans targeted not only to a patient’s genetic makeup but the particular genetic makeup of the disease they have.  Again, more lives able to experience special moments.

And the exploration of synthetic mRNA was just beginning when I was a resident, which would of course become the foundational science behind the COVID-19 vaccines. According to the CDC, the vaccine was associated with over 8 million fewer confirmed cases, over 120 thousand fewer deaths, and 700,000 fewer hospitalizations in the first six months of 2021.

That’s not to say everything has progressed perfectly. Our health care system is under more strain now—from workforce shortages to employee burnout. But that’s also a sign of how vital the work is, and what’s at stake.

One thing hasn’t changed over the decades. Being a physician continues to be a truly noble profession. We work in a world brimming with possibility, discovery, invention, and attention that can directly change someone’s life and future.

As physicians, we see people at their most vulnerable—and at their strongest. We take part in tragedies and triumphs. We live among tears and laughter, anger and understanding. It’s the daily wonder of doing all we can to help people when they need us most.

To you physicians on Match Day, you are walking a path of true honor. In the spirit of Meliora, I wish you good luck and safe travels.