Upholding the Values of Medicine and the Nation: UIWSOM Hosts Military Match Day Ceremony

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, the UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) hosted its Annual Military Match Day ceremony. The UIWSOM Office of Student Affairs and the UIW Office of Military and Veterans Affairs have hosted this ceremony since December 2020 to reveal and celebrate the placement of military-affiliated applicants seeking residency or postgraduate positions in military programs. This opportunity is exclusive to service persons eligible to participate in the residency match season, meaning they have completed all the requirements of their respective medical programs.

Unlike the traditional UIWSOM Match Day celebration, during which, medical students learn where they matched for residency at the same time as thousands of their peers across the country, Military Match Day participants come to their ceremony already knowing their placement. The ceremony is a moment for them to reveal their match with their loved ones, mentors and community.

"For us it's a flipped experience where the students surprise us with their placements, and we get to feel that giddy excitement and pride," said LaDonna Davidson, UIWSOM director of Student Affairs. "I love how seriously they take their announcement - not giving us a hint of their placement until it's time. That rush of pride and energy in knowing that we've been a small part of our students' journeys makes this one of my favorite events of the year."

This year, 15 participants were honored at the ceremony, representing military branches including the United States Air Force, Coast Guard, Army, Marine Corps and Navy. These newly matched medical residents will be entering specialties such as emergency medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics/gynecology and diagnostic radiology.

"This milestone represents not just the culmination of four years of rigorous study, dedication and sacrifice, but the beginning of an extraordinary path as physicians and medical officers," stated Dr. John T. Pham, UIWSOM dean during remarks addressing the new residents. "The practice of medicine has long been regarded as a sacred calling. To choose this path is to commit to a relentless pursuit of healing guided by compassion, integrity and knowledge, but for you, there's an added layer to this commitment. By serving the military, you have also sworn to defend our Constitution and take care of our military personnel and their families. You will uphold our Nation's values not because they are written in the handbook, but because they are written in your character."

The room was filled with a sense of pride and anticipation as friends, family, and fellow medical professionals gathered to celebrate the hard-earned milestone of the honorees. The proud smile that each participant wore was a small, yet undeniable representation of the immense joy they felt as they celebrate the start of this exciting new chapter in their lives.

Congratulations to this year's Military Match Day honorees!