India Rogers-Shepp, wiping happy tears from her face, was surrounded by grinning family members and friends, a few of them recording her on their cell phones. They had all just learned that she will train as an OB-GYN at Stanford Health Care.

“I’m very, very happy. Very grateful,” she said about remaining at Stanford Medicine, her first choice. “I’ve had such great mentorship here, and I didn’t think I’d get that anywhere else.”

Gathered at Berg Hall on the Stanford School of Medicine campus, the Class of 2025 learned on Friday morning where they will complete their training. When the students arrived, most with family members and friends, their advisers handed them sealed envelopes, each containing a brief letter stating where they will spend their residencies.

As the students waited nervously for envelope-opening hour – 9 a.m. – Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the medical school and vice president for medical affairs at Stanford University, encouraged them to embrace new developments in the field. “This is the most exciting time ever to go into medicine,” he said. “Technology is actually enabling us to connect better, more effectively with our patients. You’re going to be the generation that deploys that technology.”

Reena Thomas, MD, PhD, senior associate dean of medical education, acknowledged the students’ nerves. “The anticipation in this room is palpable,” she said. “This is the moment when your future takes shape.”

After the speeches, the students still had a few moments to wait. Many kept their eyes on two large screens counting down the minutes and seconds. Then, at the appointed hour, they opened their envelopes. Screams of joy filled the room.

Sol Savchuk learned she was assigned to her first choice: neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Medical Center. “I loved the program and really connected with the faculty,” she said. “I love the city of Boston and am ready for a change.”

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Steve Fisch

The algorithm has the say

As has been the custom since 1952, graduating medical students in the United States interview for residencies in their chosen specialty, then submit their choices in order of preference with the National Residency Matching Program. The residency programs do the same with the students, and an algorithm matches the students with positions, ensuring the greatest satisfaction possible all around.

Then, on the third Friday in March, all at the same time (noon on the East Coast), the medical students learn their fates.

This year, 81 Stanford Medicine graduates matched to residency programs in specialties ranging from psychiatry to ophthalmology to pediatrics. About 40% are staying at Stanford Health Care – a typical proportion.

After learning where they will spend their residencies, the students circled the room, hearing which programs their classmates had been matched to and offering hugs and congratulations. Meanwhile, Champagne flutes filled with sparkling wine were passed around to students, friends, and families.

The room was still buzzing when Thomas invited everyone to raise a glass: “To our students who have matched today … congratulations!” she said. “You are ready for this moment.”

Basil Baccouche (who matched to internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s), chosen by his classmates to speak at the event, highlighted emotional moments during medical school. 

“Medical school was the first time many of us saw the beginnings of life and the coming of death. The astonishing responsibility of caring for another person,” he said.

“I’ll never forget the first time I delivered a baby. Suddenly, there was one more of us in the room, and I began to cry.”

Alex Doan, born at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and educated at the Stanford School of Medicine – “I’m as local as can be,” he said – is staying put. He will remain on home turf to train in general surgery and is glad to stay close to his partner and friends.

As a high school student, two people close to Doan developed brain cancer. One was a classmate; the other, a teacher. It inspired him to switch his career plans to medicine, and now he plans to pursue surgical oncology.

He said he was moved by hearing his teacher say how grateful he was for his doctors. “The man was dying, and his only thought was his gratitude for his physicians,” Doan said. “I want to be the kind of person who can bring light no matter how dark things are.”