Earlier today, graduating medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine learned where they will start the next phase of medical education as resident physicians at hospitals around the nation.

Students and their families, friends, and mentors gathered in Einstein’s Central Courtyard for the annual Match Day celebration, one of the most significant professional milestones in a physician’s life. Members of the Class of 2026 lined up in front of envelopes containing their match results which, along with their baby pictures, were hung on a line stretched across the courtyard. After a countdown to noon, they removed the envelopes, ripped them open, and discovered their matches. Joyous screams erupted across the lawn as students learned their results.

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Sarah Romanelli, who matched in dermatology at Montefiore, celebrated with family and friends, who clutched pompoms, bottles of champagne, and paddles adorned with her photo. “Montefiore was my first choice—it was the nicest, most positive environment I could have experienced,” Ms. Romanelli said, adding, “I would come back to medical school here one hundred times over.”

Ms. Romanelli said she looked forward to the procedural aspects of her upcoming residency along with the meaningful impact of working with patients. “It’s the highest honor for a physician to help patients connect with their true self-identity and self-image and to be a partner in their healing.”

Successful Matches

This year, 188 students matched to a residency. The top residency match for the class of 2026 was internal medicine, with 49 students going into the field. Rounding out the top specialties are: psychiatry (18); anesthesiology (15); surgery (14); obstetrics and gynecology (14); pediatrics (12); emergency medicine (9); family medicine (8); radiology-diagnostic (7); dermatology (5); ophthalmology (5); orthopaedics (5). Thirty-nine students will join an Einstein-affiliated residency program, including Montefiore.

Lesley Coe, who matched at Montefiore, decided during her first rotation that she would pursue a career in general surgery. “I love surgery because you can make an immediate difference in a patient’s life,” she said.

In addition to starting her residency, Ms. Coe is looking forward to other milestones: a potential publication in a research journal and her upcoming marriage next month to fiancé Jack Grimes. A California native, she said she enjoyed her education and training in the Bronx and looked forward to many more years in the area. “I’m going to be a true New Yorker!” she joked.

Celebrating the Journey

“This year’s theme, ‘Your Match, Your Moment, Our Joy: Celebrating Moments of Joy,’ captures the spirt of today,” said Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn & Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein and chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein. “It reminds us that this is your time to shine, and that our joy comes from watching you embrace it.  The entire Einstein community celebrates the perseverance, commitment, and camaraderie that brought you to this day.”

Brett Bell’s journey to a match in radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) began over a decade ago when he spent time as a high school student in the lab of Chandan Guha, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiation oncology, and associate director of innovation/tech transfer at the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“I always wanted to be a radiation oncologist, and had great exposure to the field early on,” he said. As an M.D./Ph.D. student, Mr. Bell participated in research, volunteered at the ECHO clinic, and took a lead role in volunteer initiatives aimed at combating vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. He’ll spend an intern year at Georgetown, where his wife, Octavia Martin is a current medical student, and then will return to New York at MSKCC. “It’s a great place to train,” said Mr. Bell, “and I’m excited to learn more and develop as a doctor.”

Other speakers at the event were Philip Ozuah, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Montefiore Einstein, Dr. Tomer; Yoon Kang, M.D., vice dean for education and the Ruth L. Gottesman Chair in Education at Einstein; Jeremy I. Nadelmann, M.D. ’85, assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine and a noninvasive cardiologist at Yale Medicine; Amanda Raff, M.D. ’98, senior associate dean for medical education; and Mimoza Meholli, M.D., assistant dean for student affairs.

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) conducts the match using a computerized mathematical algorithm to align the preferences of applicants with the preferences of U.S. residency programs seeking new trainees. According to the NRMP, 38,354 applicants matched to a post-graduate year-1 position.

Residency training for most graduates will begin about six weeks after Einstein’s May 20 commencement ceremony.