The winds of change were in the air for 210 graduating medical students students from the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, who gathered March 21 at Chicken N Pickle to learn where they will complete their medical residencies and begin the next chapter of their careers in medicine.
According to the American Medical Association, Match Day happens on the third Friday of March every year. It’s a time when medical schools throughout the country commemorate this day with a nationwide live event where students receive their residency assignments.
The future of Texas physicians
The class of 2025 saw a 100% overall match rate.
Of the matched students, 61% matched to Texas programs, helping to meet the state’s critical need for quality physicians. Outside of Texas, students will travel far and wide, with the top states including California, Tennessee, New York, North Carolina, Washington and Illinois. The top specialties matched included internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology.
In addition, a quarter of matched graduates, 53 students, will remain at UT Health San Antonio, helping to retain a quality health care workforce for the San Antonio and South Texas community.
Lifelong learning
In his remarks to the crowd, Robert Hromas, MD, dean of the Long School of Medicine, urged students to never stop learning.
“This is not the end. This is the end of the beginning,” Hromas said as he addressed the students before the envelope opening ceremony began. “Next year will probably be the hardest year of your entire medical training. Medical knowledge is now doubling every two months, and that can seem overwhelming. But you are lifelong learners, and there has never been a more exciting time to be in medicine than right now.”
Hromas also spoke about the importance family and having a strong support system during this time of change and new challenges.
“Many of you are here today with your loved ones. Never forget that your family is more important than any specialist you might consult or any nurse who carries out your orders,” he said. “You will be as good a physician as your family allows you to be. Build them up, and they will help you become a great doctor.”
Francisco Cigarroa, MD, senior executive vice president of health affairs and health system at UT Health San Antonio, also attended the event and spoke words of inspiration to the students.
“You’re going to be extremely well prepared for any residency position, and you’re going to go on to make a world of difference, to make lives better,” Cigarroa said.
With that, the matching commenced, and the class of 2025 began the next step of their journey in medicine.
The Long School of Medicine congratulates its newly matched senior students!
