Dear Colleagues,
On March 18, we hosted Match Day at the School of Medicine. Our 110 medical students found out where they will be doing their residency and where they will be living and learning for the next several years. It was an emotional day as the students opened their sealed envelopes at the same time to reveal their futures.
For the first time since the pandemic, we were able to mark the occasion with a traditional in-person event. Students could have their family members there with them and some of them had extended family entourages. The opening of the envelope was often accompanied by hugs and tears. Dr. Laine Young-Walker, our associate dean for student programs and chair of our Department of Psychiatry, served as master of ceremonies of the joyous event.
The 2022 class of medical students from the MU School of Medicine was highly sought after: 96% of the class received a residency program match, meaning many hospitals and health systems chose graduating MU medical students as their top residency candidates.
The next day, we hosted an event called "Second Look." We have accepted 128 candidates into the MU School of Medicine class of 2026. Over the next few weeks, these students are deciding if they will accept our invitation to attend our medical school. Of course, we want them to come to Mizzou! Second Look is an event where these students visit our campus to get a "second look" at us. It is an important opportunity for them to get to know us better.
The potential incoming students spend a lot of time with our current medical students and get to meet some of the faculty and learn more about our curriculum. They get to tour some of the laboratories they will be learning in and even get to try on a variety of sizes of white coats!
Dr. Young-Walker led the event and Dean Steven Zweig and I were able to say a few words about the excitement of Match Day and what they have in store for them at the end of the next four years. We also were able to tell them what an amazing place this is to learn to become a physician. It was great to tell them about our medical school, but I believe our current medical students are our best ambassadors for helping them make their decisions.
It is always so refreshing and replenishing to observe the next generation of health care providers reach milestones in their careers during these rites of passage. I am very proud that at MU we have an outstanding medical school program that can train young women and men to become physicians for the state and for the country.
Sincerely,
Rick Barohn, MD
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
University of Missouri
rbarohn@health.missouri.edu
