Fellowship Match Day 2017: Toward a bright future

December 14, 2017

Throughout the U.S. medical community, the first Wednesday in December is filled with anticipation: it is the date on which medical residents pursuing any of 62 different subspecialties find out whether there is a fellowship position waiting for them. Match Day on December 6, 2017 on was a success for both Department of Medicine residents seeking fellowship training, and for the 12 fellowship programs in the department that participated in the Match.

Organized by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), the process involves applicants digitally submitting their profiles and ranking their preferences of available positions. After reviewing applications, program directors also submit their rank order of candidates. The NRMP algorithm then “matches” applicants to programs. The process is designed to fill approximately 9,766 fellowship openings in the United States, allowing early-career physicians an entry point to the additional training required for fields ranging from Allergy and Immunology to Rheumatology.

“A Beautiful Match” for Residents

A total of 20 Internal Medicine residents who sought fellowships were accepted at institutions including University of Illinois-Chicago, Baylor, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas-San Antonio, Medical College of Wisconsin, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It was a beautiful match for our residents. There was a lot of clapping in morning report on Match Day,” said Michelle Kipp, MS, internal medicine residency program manager.

Gastroenterology was the most popular subspecialty (six residents), followed by Cardiovascular Medicine (four residents), a three-way tie between Hematology/Oncology, Palliative Care, and Infectious Disease (two residents each). Additional areas include Nephrology, Geriatrics, Allergy and Immunology, and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. (For a full list of institutions, programs, and residents, see below.)

Fellowship Programs Fill at Rate Substantially Higher Than National Average

According to an NRMP analysis published in February, 2017 assessing the prior year’s match (held in December 2016 for fellowships that began in July 2017), only 51 percent of all participating programs in the nation filled all positions. By contrast, 11 of the 12 fellowship programs in the UW-Madison Department of Medicine that participated in the NRPM Match this year filled every available position in the Match. (Four of the department’s advanced sub-subspecialty programs do not participate.) Geriatrics, a field that has seen intense national competition for a small applicant pool, filled one of two spots. Across the US, only 27.5 percent of available Geriatrics fellowship openings were filled.

“This puts every one of those 12 programs in the department above the national average for fill rate in that subspecialty, some greatly above. We are still recruiting strongly, especially in specialties that have low applicant pools, as evidenced by either filling 100 percent of our posted positions or beating the national fill average in specialties with declining or lower applicant pools—namely Geriatrics, Nephrology, Infectious Disease, Sleep Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine," said Ian Todoro, MS, fellowship programs coordinator.

Names, Specialties, and Fellowship Match Institutions for UW-Madison Internal Medicine Residency Program Graduates:

Dr. Saad Arain, Hematology and Medical Oncology, University of Illinois-Chicago
Dr. Kenny Coggins, Gastroenterology, Baylor University
Dr. Jason Eccleston, Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Amber Hertz-Tang, Nephrology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Michael Kessler, Infectious Disease, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Jason Kirk, Palliative Medicine, University of Texas-San Antonio
Dr. Jacob Laine, Gastroenterology, Medical College of Wisconsin
Dr. David Lewandowski, Cardiovascular Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin
Dr. Joseph Longino, Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Megan Lutz, Gastroenterology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Daniel McCulley, Geriatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. John Miller, Palliative Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. John Nan, Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Dr. Matthew Rafn, Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Kentucky
Dr. Daniel Rosenberg, Allergy and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Peter Stadmeyer, Gastroenterology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Jessica Tischendorf, Infectious Disease, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Kevin Wenzke, Gastroenterology, University of Michigan
Dr. Yaoli Yang, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Luke Zurbriggen, Hematology and Medical Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison