Fellowship Match Day on November 28, 2018 was a momentous occasion: the date on which medical fellowship programs across the nation found out how their institutions fared in recruiting physicians who are pursuing advanced training in dozens of different internal medicine specialties and subspecialties.

For fellowship programs in the Department of Medicine that participated in the Match, the result was outstanding.

"I want to congratulate all our fellowships as we matched significantly above the national mean in all specialties, and our programs consistently matched highly on their lists," wrote Bennett Vogelman, MD, professor (CHS), Infectious Disease, vice chair for education, and program director, Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Organized by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), the Match 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 thousands of 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 press release by NRMP noted that this year’s Medical Specialties Matching Program (MSMP) was the largest in history, with 5,881 applicants (a 7.1 percent increase), 1,839 participating programs (a 11.0 percent increase), 5,215 positions, and 4,579 positions filled (both 7.9 percent increases).

Fellowship Programs Fill at Rate Substantially Higher Than National Average

According to the NRMP analysis, 4,579 (87.8 percent) of all medical fellowship positions offered through the MSMP were filled. Several filled 97 percent or more of all positions offered. These competitive programs included Allergy and Immunology, Cardiovascular Disease, Gastroenterology, Hematology and Oncology, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and Rheumatology.

In contrast, programs in Geriatrics and Nephrology across the nation have had more struggles with filling positions. In those specialties, less than two-thirds of positions posted were filled.

Eleven internal medicine specialty fellowship programs in the Department of Medicine filled all available positions. Amidst a competitive landscape, the Nephrology program filled completely (an achievement only shared by 38.5 percent of all Nephrology fellowship programs in the nation), and the Geriatrics program filled 3 of 4 positions (also significantly out-performing the national mean for Geriatrics training programs).

“We are very excited about the strong incoming cohort of fellows, who will join our programs next summer,” said Kara Westmas, fellowship programs coordinator. “Our incoming fellows come to us from 19 different residency programs, including nine physicians who trained here at UW.”

Incoming Fellows:

Each individual’s medical school and residency are listed in parentheses.

Allergy and Immunology

• Vinay Goswamy, MD (Residency: Rochester General Hospital; Medical school: M.S. Ramaiah Medical College)
• Mohamed Taki, MD (Residency: Children's Hospital of Michigan; Medical school: Wayne State University)

Cardiovascular Medicine

• Peter Haigh, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: Indiana University)
• Anupama Joseph, MD (Residency: University of Chicago; Medical school: Ohio State University)
• Belinda Vuong, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: University of Michigan)
• Kelly Schmidt, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: Ohio State Unviersity College of Medicine)

Endocrinology

• Summaya Latif, MBBS (Residency: University of Connecticut; Medical school,Aga Khan University)
• Elizabeth Pahomov, MD (Residency: University of Chicago - NorthShore; Medical school: Rosalind Franklin University - Chicago Medical School)
• Rachna Unnithan, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school, University of Colorado)

Gastroenterology

• William Barge, MD (Residency: Rush University; Medical school: University of Tennessee)
• Patrick Hoversten, MD (Residency: Mayo Clinic - Rochester; Medical school: University of Minnesota)
• Alexander Lee, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: Tufts University)

Geriatrics

• Brian Lewis, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: Case Western Reserve University)
• Katherine Hoversten, MD (Residency: Mayo Clinic; Medical school: University of Minnesota)
• Beata Kis, MD (Residency: St. Mary Health Center, St. Louis, Missouri; Medical school: University of Pécs Medical School)

Hematology and Medical Oncology

• Matthew Brunner, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: Tulane University)
• Elyse Harris, MD (Residency: University of Cincinnati; Medical school: University of Texas-Houston)
• Danubia Hester, MD (Residency: INOVA Fairfax Hospital; Medical school: Howard University)

Hospice and Palliative Medicine

• Maureen Bruns, MD (Residency: Providence St. Vincent Medical Center - Portland and previous fellowship at UW-Madison in Geriatrics; Medical school: Florida State University)
• Muhammad Deen, MBBS (Residency: University of Illinois-Peoria; Medical school: Ziauddin Medical College)
• Aaron Kuntz, MD (Residency: University of Pittsburgh; Medical school: Northeast Ohio Medical University)
• Tom Miller, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: University of Pittsburgh)

Infectious Disease

• Matthew Lambert, MD (Residency: University of Cincinnati; Medical school: McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston)
• Swapnil Lanjewar, MD (Residency: St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts; Medical school: Indira Gandhi Medical College)

Nephrology

• Adil Ghaffar, MD (Residency: St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts; Medical school: King Edward Medical University)
• Pye Oo, MD (Residency: Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, New Jersey; Medical School: University of Medicine 1, Myanmar)
• Ravi Patel, MD (Residency: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Medical school: Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College)

Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

• Kaitlin Bradley, DO (Residency: Doctors Hospital Internal Medicine Program, Ohio; Medical school: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• Will Bringgold, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: University of Washington)
• Juan Rey-Mendoza, MD (Residency: John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County; Medical school: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Facultad de Medicina Alberto Hurtado)

Rheumatology

• Ann Margaret Chodara, MD (Residency: University of Wisconsin; Medical school: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health)

Sleep Medicine

• Syed Jawad Shah, MBBS (Residency: Michigan State Internal Medicine Residency; Medical School: Aga Khan)

Photo (top): During a May 2018 Quality Improvement (QI) showcase event, fellows join residents, faculty, and other health care professionals and administrators to share their QI projects. Photo credit: Clint Thayer/Department of Medicine