More than 97% of UT Southwestern medical students match to residency programs nationally, across Texas
DALLAS – March 18, 2022 – More than 200 UT Southwestern medical students matched to more than 80 programs across the nation, including Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins, as well as a dozen medical programs across Texas.
For 2022, more than 97% of UTSW students matched to residency programs above the national average (94%). Of those, a dozen students matched to programs affiliated with the top 20 academic medical centers in the nation, and nearly half matched to programs in Texas. More than 60 medical students from UT Southwestern matched to UTSW-affiliated residency programs, which are ranked among the best in the nation.
“This is not only an exciting moment for students, but also an important reminder of the nation’s urgent need for more highly-trained physicians for primary and specialty care,” said Angela Mihalic, M.D., Dean of Medical Students and Associate Dean for Student Affairs at UT Southwestern Medical School, and Distinguished Teaching Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The United States could see an estimated shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034, including shortfalls in both primary and specialty care, according to predictions from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Top selections for UTSW students included internal medicine, family medicine, anesthesiology, pediatrics, orthopedics, psychiatry, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and radiology. Matches ranged from New York to Hawaii, Florida to Washington State, including four Harvard-affiliated institutions, Mayo Clinic, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Stanford, UCLA, UCSF, and Yale.
UT Southwestern’s Class of 2022, which graduates in May, were among more than 42,000 medical students nationwide matched to residency programs as part of the National Resident Matching Program.
“The advances in basic science research, technology, and patient care that are reported on an almost daily basis make now an exceptional time for the study of medicine. Never before in the history of medicine have the opportunities been so great to understand and cure disease. It is within the context of these limitless possibilities that UT Southwestern seeks to educate the physicians and scientists for a new millennium.”
UTSW Training Opportunities
UT Southwestern offers training facilities that include its William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, one of the nation’s busiest public hospitals, and one of the nation’s largest children’s hospitals, and boasts a 49,000-square-foot Simulation Center – one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
U.S. News & World Report ranks UT Southwestern among the top 25 hospitals nationally in eight specialties, ranging from brain to heart to cancer care, and the No. 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth – the nation’s fourth-largest metro area. UT Southwestern also has the top-ranked programs in Texas for cardiology and heart surgery, and neurology and neurosurgery; is listed among top 5% of hospitals nationally for consistent delivery of clinical quality; and is among top hospitals for patient experience and routine specialty care in areas including cardiovascular, gastroenterology, orthopedic, and neurosurgical care.
It is one of the 10 best large employers in the United States and among the top five health care employers, according to the America’s Best Employers 2022 list compiled by Forbes and Statista.
UT Southwestern Medical Center also includes more than 5,800 research projects fueled by more than $450 million in funding, and ample opportunities to participate in research, including a Scholarly Activity period with multiple research tracks available and more than 450 labs on campus.
UTSW graduates routinely secure residencies in top-rated national programs across the United States, typically in more than 20 specialty areas, and students score higher than the national average for both Step 1 and Step 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. UT Southwestern rates No. 1 among global health care institutions in the 2021 Nature Index for its published research, UT Southwestern Medical School rates nationally among “Best Graduate Schools,” and the Medical Center has nationally rated programs in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
UT Southwestern’s Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the region – one of 51 in the nation, placing it among the top 4% of the approximately 1,500 cancer centers in the United States. UT Southwestern is designated an Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, and has one of the nation's leading epilepsy clinics – a Level 4 center, the highest possible level by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers – part of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. The O’Donnell Brain Institute recently completed a $1 billion campaign to fuel its commitment to advance brain research and clinical care, making it one of the largest brain-focused investments at a U.S. academic medical center.
“Going into medical school, I did not know what kind of doctor I wanted to become – so it was important for me to find a school where I would be offered exposure to the full repertoire of specialties. Between UT Southwestern and Parkland, students receive such broad experience that I knew I would be getting the most exposure here. Moreover, so many faculty members are leaders in their respective fields. At UT Southwestern, I was confident that I would receive the broadest exposure from those at the very top of each specialty.”
UTSW Match Day successes
Clifford Rodgers, who matched in Emergency Medicine, said “I look forward to practicing medicine on the front line of health care. The emergency department is often the only way uninsured patients are seen, and this can be a unique opportunity to address health disparities. I am excited to train as an emergency physician due to the unique mix of trauma, medical illnesses, and the social impact I can have on some of the most vulnerable patients.”
Mr. Rodgers, who was born at Parkland Hospital, noted that the patient population at UTSW is largely from the same communities that he grew up in. “So many of our patients come from South Dallas neighborhoods where I was raised. I knew I wanted to work with these communities in the future, which factored into my decision to study at UTSW,” he said.
Austin Moore, an Austin native who is scheduled to graduate in May from UT Southwestern’s distinctive M.D./Ph.D. program, matched in Pediatrics. The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), one of about 50 such programs in the country, offers a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree from UT Southwestern Medical School and UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and is one of three dual-degree programs offered at the Medical Center. Others include dual M.D./M.B.A. and M.D./M.P.H. programs. The Medical Center encompasses four schools, including a School of Health Professions and the new Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, which recently received a $100 million gift for endowment and programs.
“I think the relationships you build when taking care of pediatric patients are truly unmatched. You get to connect with not only the child but their family as well, and you get to support them throughout their lifetime,” Mr. Moore said. “It is an exciting privilege and one that I am greatly looking forward to.”
Alejandro Rodriguez, who matched in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, said he most looked forward to working with residents and health care professionals who share similar interests. “I also look forward to being able to provide patient education and connections to resources in their communities that can lengthen not only their life span, but their health span.”
Born in Detroit and raised in Mexico, he said he found solace in numbers, which led to STEM programs and eventually to UT Southwestern.
“Going into medical school, I did not know what kind of doctor I wanted to become – so it was important for me to find a school where I would be offered exposure to the full repertoire of specialties. Between UT Southwestern and Parkland, students receive such broad experience that I knew I would be getting the most exposure here,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “Moreover, so many faculty members are leaders in their respective fields. At UT Southwestern, I was confident that I would receive the broadest exposure from those at the very top of each specialty.”
UT Southwestern faculty, including more than 2,800 full-time faculty members, has received six Nobel Prizes and includes 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 16 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. UT Southwestern has more National Academy of Sciences members and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators on faculty than all other medical institutions in Texas combined. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 117,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 3 million outpatient visits a year.
Louise Atadja said her family is originally from a small village in Ghana, Africa, where there was no major hospital nearby. Her grandfather decided to build a clinic where people could access medical care, then went back to school and trained as a nurse so he could work more hands-on, as well as being involved in cancer research.
“These influences exposed me to science and medicine in my formative years while instilling the importance of serving others, especially in underserved populations,” said Ms. Atadja, who faced her own health challenges with hip dysplasia – an abnormality of the hip joint preventing the thigh bone from properly connecting to the pelvis. “The anatomy of my hip was so complex that my doctors printed a 3D model of it to explain the process to me,” she said. “I got to see the biomechanical complexity of the surgery, and I just knew that orthopedics was for me.”
Friday, she matched in Orthopedic Surgery.
“Women currently make up about 6.5% of practicing orthopedic surgeons in the United States, with even fewer being African American, and so I am really looking forward to adding to those numbers,” she said. “I’ve been so grateful for my mentors who have always made me feel welcomed and supported. I hope to continue this legacy and pave the way for those like me who don’t fit the look of the traditional orthopedic surgeon. The privilege to actively be a part of “the fix,” to be involved with seeing a patient take steps that no one ever thought was possible or returning to excel in their sport of choice, is an amazing opportunity that I can’t wait to be a part of.”
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes and includes 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 16 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,800 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 117,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 3 million outpatient visits a year.