"Medical March Madness" as Perelman School of Medicine Students Countdown to Match Day

Annual Ceremony Marks Transition into Graduate Medical Training

PHILADELPHIA — At the stroke of noon on Friday, March 16, 140 Perelman School of Medicine students (70 women and 70 men) will gather in an emotion-filled ceremony to open their "residency placement" envelopes and learn where they will spend the next few years receiving their advanced medical training.

Known as "Match Day," the annual ceremony is the culmination of a process that began in the fall through the National Residency Matching Program, which helps pair graduating medical students with the hospital or medical center of their choice.

The ceremony is as action-packed and exciting as an NCAA tournament game — with students rushing up and down the aisles of the auditorium, accepting their match letters, as friends and families cheer and wave posters with words of support.

This year, four students at the Perelman School of Medicine are sharing their thoughts and perspectives during this exciting week of their lives — in their own written words — via a special Match Day blog and live tweets throughout the day. Family, friends, and news media can follow the excitement via the blog and by using the #PennMatch hashtag on Twitter.

Match Day was established in 1952, at the request of medical students, to provide a fair and impartial transition to the graduate medical education experience.

WHERE:

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Dunlop Auditorium — Stemmler Hall
3450 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Across the courtyard from the Rhoads Pavilion at HUP

WHEN:

March 16, 2012
12 p.m. — 1 p.m.

WHO:

Introduction by J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Gail Morrison, MD, senior vice dean for Education and director of the Office of Academic Programs, Perelman School of Medicine

Jon Morris, MD, associate dean for Student Affairs, Perelman School of Medicine

###

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.