UCF Medical Students Celebrate Residency Matches

At the University of Central Florida (UCF), years of dedication culminated in a moment of exhilaration and anticipation as medical students opened their envelopes on National Residency Match Day. The annual event, a pivotal step in a physician's journey, reveals where graduating medical students will spend the next three to seven years of residency training.

A Day of Dreams Realized

"It would have been my mom’s dream to see me match here,” said one student, moments after learning where he will do his residency. Dr. Deborah German, vice president for health affairs and medical school dean, addressed the students, acknowledging the significance of the day. Dreams, life, and inspiration were on her mind as she welcomed students and their families to UCF Match Day. As the clock struck noon EST, students eagerly opened their Match Day envelopes, revealing the results of their hard work and dedication.

The COVID Class Achieves Success

The Class of 2024 held a unique place in medical history, entering medical school in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Called the COVID class, they experienced an unconventional start to their medical education, forgoing the traditional White Coat ceremony. Instead, they drove through the Medical Education Building parking lot, where Student Affairs leaders and staff placed a coat, laptop, and orientation materials into each student’s car trunk. Despite these challenges, the class demonstrated resilience and determination.

One hundred and seventeen UCF seniors were placed into residencies. UCF’s Class of 2025 earned a 100% placement rate. M.D. graduates cannot practice medicine without first completing a residency in their selected specialty. They spend their fourth year of medical school interviewing with residency programs across the nation. They list their top choices and residency programs do the same. A computer then matches each list.

Expanding Residency Programs to Meet Growing Needs

Dr. Stephen Cico, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education with UCF College of Medicine, noted that Florida already faces a physician shortage, particularly in primary care, and that this shortage is projected to grow over the next decade. UCF has been actively working to expand their own residency programs to address this critical need. UCF began establishing residency programs in 2014 and has since grown from one program to 38 accredited residency and fellowship programs. The UCF-HCA Florida Healthcare GME program is one of the fastest growing in Florida, with programs in Fort Walton Beach, Gainesville, Kissimmee, Ocala, Pensacola, Sanford and Tallahassee. The consortium gained 276 new residents. By July, it will be training more than 720 physicians at 41 accredited programs across the state. Stephen Cico, UCF’s associate dean of graduate medical education and designated institutional official of the program, stated that “The UCF-HCA Florida Healthcare GME Consortium is meeting a critical need in training physicians in anticipation of the continued and growing physician shortage in the state”.

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Students Head to Top Programs Nationwide

Nationwide, in addition to Harvard, UCF students will train at programs including Baylor, Boston University, Duke, John’s Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Tufts, USC, Vanderbilt and Yale. Forty-one will do some or all of their training in Florida, in residencies that include University of Florida, University of Miami and University of South Florida. Five will train at UCF-HCA Healthcare residencies in Greater Orlando and Pensacola.

Psychiatry Attracts a Record Number

One notable trend was the high number of students choosing Psychiatry as their specialty. He was one of 117 UCF seniors placed into residencies Friday - every student secured a match - and one of a record 16 who are going into Psychiatry as their specialty of choice. Dr. Marcy Verduin, associate dean of students and a practicing psychiatrist, attributed this interest to the impact of the pandemic on mental health. “These students saw the impact the pandemic had on mental health for so many people and they want to be part of the solution,” she said. Matthew Caldwell, who will do his residency training at Dartmouth, said he fell in love with Psychiatry while caring for veterans at the Orlando VA Medical Center during his third-year Psychiatry rotation. “One of my favorite memories in med school was working with veterans and helping them get better,” he said. “I am so grateful to have that chance.

Orthopedics Remains Highly Competitive

Orthopedics is one of the most competitive specialties nationwide, and all seven UCF students who sought Orthopedic specialties placed on Match Day. Yamilet Gonzalez matched into Orthopedic Surgery at LSU. Gonzalez was motivated to pursue medicine based on her experiences as a child helping her immigrant family navigate the healthcare system. “Orthopedics is the coolest surgical specialty because mobility is very important to health and you can see the impact immediately. As a UCF undergraduate, Kyle Benkel was wide receiver on the team that beat Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl and was also an honors graduate at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences.

Personal Journeys and Inspiring Stories

Match Day is filled with personal stories of dedication, perseverance, and inspiration.

J.D. Schwartzman

An accidental meeting with an orthopedic surgeon changed J.D. Schwartzman’s life when he was in middle school. Friday, and 20 years later, the dream that encounter inspired became a reality during National Residency Match Day. J.D. Schwartzman matched into orthopedic surgery, one of the nation’s most competitive specialties. Schwartzman was in 7th grade in Bethesda, MD and his school held monthly cultural awareness fairs that included foods of a particular culture. One month, as he walked in, he discovered the fair had been replaced with a career lecture. “The food certainly wasn’t as good but I thought it would be rude to walk out, so I stayed,” he said. The speaker was an orthopedic surgeon. Schwartzman was the only teenager who wasn’t “grossed out” by the surgical photos. He went home that night and told his parents he was going to become an orthopedic surgeon. That dream never faltered. He came to UCF because of the medical school’s pioneering spirit and the chance to help create a program in an emerging Medical City at Lake Nona. Friday, after opening his Match envelope, he called the orthopedic surgeon who inspired him to say thank you.

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Kyle Benkel

When Kyle Benkel came to medical school, he traded his UCF football jersey for a white coat. A wide receiver on the team that beat Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl, Benkel was also an honors graduate at UCF’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. He matched into Family Medicine at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, FL, his first choice. “I wanted to go into family medicine just because of the variety of patients you have, from newborns to geriatric patients,” he said.

Hannah Sage

As a UCF undergraduate, Hannah Sage finished in third place at the Jeopardy! College Championship finals. Friday she matched into Pathology at Yale. “I have always been someone who really likes to solve puzzles,” she said. “For me, pathology is solving a puzzle, figuring out what kind of tumor it is or whether it’s benign or not. After eight years at UCF, Sage is looking forward to her residency. “UCF has been amazing,” she said.

Yamilet Gonzalez

Yamilet Gonzalez dedicated her medical school experience to improving health equity and advocating for more women in surgical specialties. Gonzalez, a first generation Dominican American, was motivated to pursue medicine based on her experiences as a child helping her immigrant family navigate the healthcare system.

Valeriya Prytkova

Valeriya Prytkova thought she wanted to be an OB-GYN, but then on vacation during her first year of medical school, her father was shot during a robbery. He survived but the experience taught Prytkova the importance of emergency care and how traumatic incidents impact families. Friday, she matched into Emergency Medicine at Orlando Health, her first choice.

Claudia Orozco Vega

Claudia Orozco Vega is a double Knight - she earned her undergraduate degree from UCF before entering medical school. She trained at a pediatric pulmonary clinic during her third year of medical school and cared for children suffering from cystic fibrosis. The challenge, she said, is when such children reach 18. “There’s a huge gap for these kids once they reach adulthood,” she says. She discovered the Internal Medicine Pediatrics specialty, which trains doctors who care for patients from child to adulthood for conditions like CF, diabetes, sickle cell anemia and cancer.

Kaitlyn Gregorio and Gera Fisher

Kaitlyn Gregorio and Gera Fisher couples matched at Mt. Sinai West in New York. Gregorio will train in Neurology, Fisher in Interventional Radiology. The two met at the White Coat ceremony four years ago and quickly became best friends, before dating during their third year. “The couples match process is arduous and time consuming but it was worth it to get to spend the next four years together,” Gregorio said.

Rhea Choudhury

Rhea Choudhury matched into OB-GYN at HCA Florida North Florida Hospital in Gainesville. “I had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Asmar how all the systems of the body work together and I found it to be very fulfilling,” she says. “I am so grateful to have the opportunity to continue working with Dr.

The Significance of Residency

Residency is a crucial step in a physician's training. M.D. graduates cannot practice medicine without first completing a residency in their selected specialty. They spend their fourth year of medical school interviewing with residency programs across the nation. They list their top choices and residency programs do the same. A computer then matches each list. David Lebowitz leads the emergency medicine residency at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital. “Matching two UCF medical students into our emergency medicine residency is really special. I had the chance to see them grow as medical students, and now they get to build on that foundation as resident physicians. It’s an incredible full-circle moment. Alan Keesee, CEO of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, stated, “HCA Florida Ocala Hospital is grateful for our partnership with the UCF College of Medicine that enables these outstanding doctors to continue their healthcare career journey with us,” “As part of HCA Healthcare, the nation’s leader in graduate medical education, our hospital is honored to further the expertise of these doctors in vitally needed disciplines while teaching the highest standards of exceptional, compassionate care. Cheryll Albold, vice president for GME for the consortium and HCA’s North Florida Division, noted the critical need for emergency medicine physicians given the region and state’s growing population and the increasing number of patients seeking care in emergency departments.

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