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School of Medicine to Hold Virtual Match Day Ceremony on Friday

by Maggie Rotermund on 03/16/2021
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Maggie Rotermund
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maggie.rotermund@slu.edu
314-977-8018

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03/16/2021

Fourth-year students from Saint Louis University’s School of Medicine will participate Friday, March 19, in “The Match,” which is the culmination of placement into a residency position in the students’ preferred specialties. The Match is administered by the National Residency Match Program (NRMP).

Schwitalla Hall

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony will look a bit different this year. Typically, students and faculty gather with parents, friends and family to celebrate as the envelopes are opened and matches are announced. 

This year, the day will start at 9:30 a.m. with a virtual morning ceremony over Zoom. It will include addresses from Christine Jacobs, M.D., acting dean of the School of Medicine; Jamie Sutherell, M.D., M.Ed., associate dean for student affairs; and the class presidents, Zoe Fisher and Jake Lee.

At in-person Match Day events, Sutherell starts calling out names at 11 a.m. Students would come to the front of the room while a “walk up song” played.

Each student would receive a sealed envelope containing a letter announcing their residency match. The envelopes remain sealed until everyone has received their letter and then the class rips open their envelopes together.

This year will feature an hour-long PowerPoint show that will include a slide of each student with the embedded “walk up song” of their choice. At 11 a.m. students will get to log into the Match website to see where they matched. 

A small socially-distanced event will be held later in the evening for students.

Prior to Match Day, medical students apply to and interview at residency programs in the specialty of their choosing. They then rank their preferences for  medical institutions. Hospitals and other medical institutions also list their preference for residents. The rank lists are matched through the NRMP, which results in the selection of students for residency positions.


Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first medical degree west of the Mississippi River. The school educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health care on a local, national and international level. Research at the school seeks new cures and treatments in five key areas: cancer, infectious disease, liver disease, aging and brain disease and heart/lung disease.