Match Day Blues Turned Blessing
Dear Dr. Fancy Collective,
Match Day is one of the most unforgettable moments in a physician’s journey. For those who may not know, Match Day is when graduating medical students across the country learn where they will complete their residency training. At Meharry, it’s a full celebration as you stand on stage in front of classmates, faculty, families, friends, and even students from other classes. You hold an envelope that contains the next chapter of your life. And when you open it, you read the words that begin with:
“Congratulations, you’ve matched at…”
It’s a moment filled with hope, nerves, and the weight of years of sacrifice.
When I stepped onto that stage, I was confident I knew exactly what my envelope would say. I had applied to Indiana University’s research track, submitted a competitive application, and had already been accepted. I was certain I would be training at IU. I had already imagined my life there. I had already told myself the story.
I appointed my 11-year-old sister to do the honors and open the envelope to reveal to the audience where I would spend the next 4 years of my life in a combined Internal Medicine – Pediatrics Residency Program. But when she opened the envelope, she looked over at me with a look of confusion, then placed it in my hands. I read the words “Congratulations, you’ve matched at… “Ohio State University / Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” and I froze.
I was shocked. Confused. And honestly…disappointed.
This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t the story I had written for myself. This wasn’t what I expected after all the work I had put in.
But what I didn’t know then. What I couldn’t have known, was that this unexpected match would become one of the greatest blessings of my life.
The Ohio State University shaped me in ways I’m still grateful for.
I met incredible people, mentors, co-residents, and friends who poured into me. I cared for patients and families who taught me what compassion looks like in its rawest form. Nurses in the ICU told me I had the “critical care bug,” that my presence at the bedside brought calm to chaos, that my voice and my bedside manner were exactly what families needed in their hardest moments.
At OSU, I received exceptional training. I became proficient in procedures and skills that would later set me apart during fellowship. I learned to trust my instincts, sharpen my judgment, and step into the physician I was becoming.
But the blessing didn’t stop at the hospital doors.
I found community in Columbus. I made friends who became family. I connected with a church that grounded me spiritually and emotionally. I built a life there, one I never would have experienced if my envelope had read anything different.
Looking back, I realize something important:
Sometimes God reroutes you not to deny you, but to prepare you. Sometimes the blessing is in the place you never planned to go. Sometimes the “wrong” match is the right destiny.
Match Day didn’t give me what I expected. It gave me what I needed.
And that has made all the difference.
Signed,
Your favorite doctor’s favorite doctor – Dr. Fancy