Match Day, a term used widely in the graduate medical education community, is when the National Resident Matching Program releases results of applicants seeking residency and fellowship training positions in the United States. When Dr. Lindsay Huber, Dominican’s Assistant Principal over Classroom Supervision and Curriculum Development received a request from Dr. Brian Credo, director of Archbishop Rummel’s Bio-Med track in the pre-professional program for help implementing a lesson plan by the American Association of Medical Colleges to interest high school students in a career in medicine, she connected him with science teacher Janine Koenig.

Dr. Credo, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Tulane School of Medicine, talked with students in Mrs. Koenig’s Bio II Honors class about medical school and their interests. Before their Match Day at Dominican, all students researched a medical specialty they were interested in and locations throughout the country with residency programs in that specialty. They ranked the programs in order of preference and on Match Day opened their envelopes to see if they matched with their program.

“Staying in character of a Dr., the students asked others about their chosen residency programs,” said Mrs. Koenig. “They had to meet with Drs. in at least five other specialties. The lesson ended with a shared lunch as Match Day is a celebratory event in the real world. Both our students and Rummel’s really enjoyed it. They learned much about medical school and medicine in general.”