LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Surrounded by friends, family, and fellow classmates soon-to-be graduate students at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine learned where they would be spending the next few years.
“We’ve been working towards this for four years so it’s nice to know where we are going to be,” graduate medical student Alexis Hilts said.
Students picked their name out of a field of lollipops to find out where they’ve been matched for their residency program to get their graduate medical training. It’s their final stop before becoming a doctor.
“I matched at my number one program Vanderbilt for anesthesiology,” student Camille Adajar said.
For Enes Djesevic, it’s a day he wishes his father could have seen.
“It’s indescribable. It’s definitely been a difficult journey with the passing away of my father. I wish I could share this moment with him,” Djesevic said.
Djesevic’s sister and mother were by his side celebrating his match at UC Davis for neurology.
“I’m super happy for everyone. I think we matched very well and it was very well deserved,” Djesevic said.
Medical schools across the country host the “Match” day simultaneously nationwide. The class at Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine matched their 66 students to hospitals here in Las Vegas and across the country. Around half the students matched specialties including internal medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry.
While these students are still a few years from becoming doctors, the Nevada Hospital Association said the state needs to add more than 1,500 doctors to the workforce to keep pace with the national average.
Staying here in Nevada can be difficult for these students due to the lack of federally funded residency positions.
“I always like to see them go to great programs. They got to come back we need doctors here and that’s what we really ask them to think about,” Dr. Marc J. Kahn, dean of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine said.
About 39% of these soon-to-be doctors matched locally with the rest matching at some of the most prestigious institutions across the country. With the hope that they’ll come back and fill the doctor shortage right here in Nevada.
The students will continue their studies for the next few months before graduating in May.