We sat next to a few of our best med school friends, the Gertschs next to us, and the Hertzbergs in front of us. We were asked to arrive one hour prior to the actual Match, so we all came, kiddos in tow, and sat together, nervously chatting, laughing, and getting more and more excited as the minutes passed. The class president reviewed some important graduation information, then he was followed by a Disability Insurance speaker ( which, by the way, had to be the dumbest idea EVER to have right before the Match! NOBODY listened to the poor man, I'm still not sure why they thought that would be a good time to have that). After he spoke, we had about a 20 minute break before the actual handing out of the envelopes would begin. We went out of the room for a bit to let Boston run around and then went back and took our seats, ready, but not so ready, to see what was inside of our envelope.
As soon as the clock struck 12, a blue screen popped up on the computer screen that said Match Day 2011...wait what?! Isn't it 2012? It was kind of funny. The Dean fixed the screen to make it say 2012 and then it officially began!
It seemed like days as the names scrolled through on the screen, in no particular order, as we waited for Josh's name to be called. With over 160 students, it would take about an hour to show all of the names. This whole time, a constant stream of screams, cries, and celebrations was the emotion of the room. I think we waited about 30 to 40 minutes by the time his name popped up on the screen. I was dying. I don't do well with suspense!
Iowa was our second choice, and actually as far as Orthopedic residency programs go, our first choice. It is the best program in the nation, so we feel super blessed to have been Matched at such an amazing place. We ranked Utah number one, in hopes of getting back to our families, but ranked Iowa number 2, in hopes that if the Lord for some reason didn't want us back in Utah quite yet, he would give us the opportunity to go to Iowa, where Josh could get the best training possible, and where we would be most happy as a family. The Univ. of Iowa's program is a very family oriented program. The call schedule is unlike any other in the country, as they spend little time on night call and are very good to not let their residents work too long and be away from their families too much. From what I hear and read, Iowa city appears to be a very family friendly town, similar to Chapel Hill ( although not quite as beautiful, im sure). There are lots of graduate students, young families, and professionals. I think and hope that the transition should be a fairly easy one.
Later that night on Match Day, once the reality of all of it had sort of started to sink in, we went over to the Gertschs house to share in some more excitement of our Match Day results. Congrats to the Gertschs on matching at Harvard! We are so excited for them and will surely miss them when our time in Chapel Hill is over.
Holding up our Match Day letters!!!