March 19, 2021 – The annual Match Day ceremony, in which fourth-year medical students learn the locations of their future residency training programs, may have been held virtually via Zoom for the UF College of Medicine Class of 2021, but no amount of audio delay or technical difficulty could prevent the new doctors from whooping with joy or crying happy tears while they announced to their classmates where their medical careers will take them next.

142 students matched this year, a process that began with the students interviewing and applying for residency programs months ago. The National Resident Matching Program then used its algorithm to match them with resident programs, taking into account the students’ and the institutions’ top choices. During the virtual Match Day ceremony held March 19, Associate Dean for Student Affairs William Patrick Duff, M.D., noted that each one of the students matching into highly competitive specialties like dermatology, ophthalmology, plastic and reconstructive surgery and urology matched successfully. He also noted that more students matched into family medicine than he can remember in his two-decade tenure at the UF College of Medicine.

Before the students began announcing their residencies, UF College of Medicine Dean Colleen Koch, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., gave the students her well wishes.

“I’m so thrilled we found a way to celebrate this year while keeping everyone safe,” Koch said. “This was such an important day in my professional career, and I can’t wait to hear where you all will be heading.”

Shivani Hanchate looks forward to a career in internal medicine that will combine leading research projects and serving as a mentor to others. When she reflects on lessons learned over her medical training, one line comes to mind. A certain young wizard with a forehead scar once said, “Working hard is important. But there is something that matters more: believing in yourself.”  She also gives thanks to her classmates who have become “incredible, lifelong friends.”

“I had the privilege of comforting patients, suturing surgical incisions, performing a bronchoscopy and assisting with a double lung transplant among many other experiences. This is what I’ve wanted to do for so long,” says Hanchate. “The education I’ve received these past four years has been phenomenal. I learned how to be a compassionate and reflective caregiver and skilled physician. I know residency will be tough and I will learn more clinical information as I progress through training, but I feel very confident moving forward knowing that the UF College of Medicine has ingrained in us the values of a well-rounded physician.”

Read about Shivani’s first impressions of the UF College of Medicine as a first-year medical student here.

Cynthia Guerin is crystal-clear on what her calling is and what her future holds. Last month, she received word that she matched into an ophthalmology residency at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where she will continue her work restoring and improving patients’ vision in both the clinic and operating room. Guerin says her UF training provided her with invaluable mentorship from faculty, attending physicians and residents who not only educated her but believed in her ability, allowing her to perform key aspects of memorable procedures like a blepharoplasty, commonly known as an eyelid tuck.

“For most people, vision is the most frequent way they interact with the world. Therefore, improving vision really enhances the human experience. People can go from almost blind to near-perfect vision in short, highly effective surgeries. It’s very exciting to be able to help restore that gift to patients,” says Guerin. “When I reach the end of my career, I hope that people will say that I helped restore vision in as many people as I could, that I inspired the next generation of ophthalmologists to lead fulfilling careers and that I improved my community through volunteering and advocacy.”

Read about Cynthia’s first impressions of the UF College of Medicine as a first-year medical student here.

Patricia Miller (Sacks) knows a steady hand and an exacting eye are two key ingredients to becoming a neurological surgeon, and she feels prepared to take the next step toward achieving her career goals thanks to both her medical training and the unexpected experience she gained in spring 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled clinical rotations. Sacks applied the same precision necessary in the operating room to baking in her home kitchen when she started Cookies to the Frontlines, a student-run volunteer venture that delivered over 1,500 cookies to doctors, nurses and paramedics at UF Health Shands Hospital.

“What I love most about baking is how precise you have to be: a teaspoon too many of baking powder or the slightest slip of hand with a piping bag and your recipe is ruined. This emphasis on exactness and attention to detail is also what drew me to the field of neurological surgery,” says Sacks. “Neurosurgeons are in charge of the most amazing thing we know: the human brain. Patients entrust us to operate on the part of themselves that makes them who they are — their personalities, dreams and memories — so in neurosurgery, the stakes really could not be higher.”

Read about Patricia’s first impressions of the UF College of Medicine as a first-year medical student here.