Year 2. March 20. Match Day 2023.
Each year in mid-March, we experience anticipation and exhilaration in the department of medicine as we learn who will be coming to UCLA to train in medicine and also where DGSOM students will move on to for the next phase of their clinical training. After months of interviewing hundreds of medical students who applied to the UCLA Internal Medicine Residency Program, students, faculty, and trainees all eagerly 0awaited the 2023 Match Day results which were revealed at 9 am on Friday, March 17th. It was a suspenseful morning but as you can see from our “Match Madness” reveal video below, we achieved an outstanding match of incoming physician and physician- scientist residents who will be joining the DoM community in July 2024. Although, we were confident in an outstanding result we were surprised to see that we filled our complement of trainees by matching all of our incoming residents from the top 40% of our submitted list of compelling candidates. This is unprecedented and reveal that our program is becoming increasingly competitive.
Overall, 73 students matched into our categorical program, ProSTAR-PSTP, primary care tracks, medicine-pediatrics, and dermatology. Across the five programs, 18 states and 28 medical schools are represented, 47 incoming residents are women, and eight identify as underrepresented in medicine. These statistics represent much to celebrate, but also represent some challenges for future recruitment. I am pleased to see that majority of our categorical and primary care residents are women. 13% of our categorical residents and 16% of our primary care residents identify as under-represented in medicine. We will double down in future years to attract a diverse class of candidates to consider training at UCLA, as we play our part in increasing the diversity of the internal medicine workforce. We have doubled the size of our physician scientist intake this year, as a first step in increasing the proportion of future physician scientists who choose to train here. As we grow these ranks, we will continue to focus on showcasing the tremendous opportunities at UCLA for research training and our commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive environment with a strong commitment to mentorship that will ensure future career success.
I am also pleased to share that the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program at the UCLA/VA Greater Los Angeles (VA GLA) Health System achieved an excellent match that includes eight future physiatrists, representing seven medical schools, and 50% are women. Meet the cohort of incoming trainees at VA GLA and will be joining us in July 2024:
The success of our match would not be possible without our faculty, staff and leadership participating in the recruitment efforts with the goal of attracting the best and brightest to UCLA. Over 80 faculty participated in the recruitment efforts under the leadership of Program Director Lisa Skinner, MD, Associate Program Director Kelley Chuang, MD, Faculty Pod Leaders, and the chief residents, who reviewed the candidate pool holistically, and Recruitment and Onboarding Coordinator Bear Waters. The dermatology match was successfully executed under the leadership of Program Director Marcia Hogeling, MD. The physical medicine & rehabilitation medicine residency match was spearheaded by Program Director Dixie Aragaki, MD. Together, these leaders, their teams, and volunteers reviewed hundreds of applications, produced virtual open house events, and served as distinguished representatives for the department of medicine and the VA GLA. Now, we prepare to welcome this spectacular cohort of new bruins and train them to become the next generations of leaders in medicine and research!
I also congratulate the DGSOM students who successfully matched this year. I am pleased to see that nearly one-third of the graduating DGSOM class have chosen to pursue careers in internal medicine. I applaud all of our DoM faculty who play critical roles in medical student training and to all our faculty who precept and train our medical students during their rotations on our inpatient and ambulatory medicine sites. I include below a summary that was included in the email announcement last Friday from Dean Dubinett.
Here are some interesting facts about our graduating students:
- 60% of the class will stay in California.
- 33% of the class will train in the UC System
- 22% of the class continuing their training at UCLA Health
- Of those that are leaving California, the top choice city is Boston, with a record number of the class training in the Harvard system, followed by a close second of 14 students heading to New York City
- 36% of the class will train in a primary care discipline.
- 30% of the match cohort will be surgeons.
- See the full Match Day 2023 results here
In reflecting on the match results, I believe that one of the drivers of our success, are the innovative clinical programs and research training opportunities that are available at UCLA. Here are three examples.
“Long COVID now Looks like a Neurological Disease, Helping Doctors to Focus Treatments,” in Scientific American
As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, our understanding of the virus continues to grow thanks to clinical efforts and research by faculty in the DoM. As the pandemic evolves, our understanding of the long-term impact of COVID-19 infection, the development of new therapeutics and preventive options continues to be refined.
Thus, it is notable to highlight the work of the UCLA Health Long COVID Program, led by Program Director & Extensivist Physician Nisha Viswanathan, MD, FACP, that was recently featured in Scientific American. The article highlighted new research supporting the conclusion that long COVID could be a neurological disease. Our Long COVID Program at UCLA provides a multidisciplinary approach to treatment that includes pulmonology, cardiology, neurology, and other specialties. Physicians are finding that many long COVID patients are frequently affected by dysautonomia, an impairment of the autonomic nervous system which can present as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS.
According to the article, many physicians are not familiar with conditions such as POTS. However, that is not the case among the faculty in the Long COVID Program who are working closely with patients to ensure that their voices are heard, experiences are validated, and their symptoms are treated.
Read the full article here:
Long COVID Now Looks like a Neurological Disease, Helping Doctors to Focus Treatments
Tara Ghormley has always been an overachiever. She finished at the top of her class in high school, graduated summa cum laude from college and earned top honors in veterinary school. She went on to complete a rigorous training program and build a successful career as a veterinary internal medicine...Read More.
“Could implantable artificial kidneys end the need for dialysis?” in Nature.
Chief of the Division of Nephrology Ira Kurtz, MD was recently featured in Nature for his work to create a portable dialysis machine which could replicate kidney activity therefore improving the quality of life for individuals in need of a kidney transplant or regular access to a dialysis center. In collaboration with researchers at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Dr. Kurtz is developing a device, similar to the size of a suitcase, to mirror how a kidney functions without the need for living cells. This innovative device could be small enough to be conveniently used throughout the day, and a goal is to eventually create one that could be wearable or implanted into the body. This could certainly be a game-changer for the millions of people living with a kidney condition or in need of dialysis. Read the entire highlight below:
Could implantable artificial kidneys end the need for dialysis?
Richard Stacewicz knows how much dialysis alters a person's life. He first underwent the procedure after his kidneys inexplicably failed in 1982, cutting short a motorcycle trip through the southwestern United States. He spent more than a year visiting a haemodialysis centre three times a week, for...Read More.
“Bringing Academic Medical Centers into the Retail Setting,” in NEJM Catalyst
Over the years, our footprint across the southern California region has grown tremendously as we work towards expanding our community practices which permit us to provide high-quality health care services to a greater number of people. Part of our expansion has been notable in retail settings. As we look to continue this momentum, we are partnering with the ambulatory care network in a strategic planning process to map out what our continued expansion will look like. It was interesting to see a recent report co-authored by DoM faculty, Mark S. Grossman, MD, MBA,director of the Primary Care Network, and Jeffrey Fujimoto MD MBA, one of our primary care faculty in Santa Monica, along with Jeff Butler, interim chief of operations community clinics, in the New England Journal of Medicine who explored whether academic medical centers can successfully provide the depth and quality of services offered in a traditional setting in a retail space.
Recently, retail spaces have served as an opportunity for growth as consumers seek convenient access to care. In this publication, the team identified that academic medical centers hosting clinics in retails settings have the ability to serve as the patient centered medical home, offering comprehensive primary, specialty and ancillary services. This model allows clinics to host expanded hours which can drive new and diverse patient mix to seek services.
Dr. Fujimoto noted:
“What stood out is the ability to reach patients in the community in a new way- through extended clinic hours (particularly important for those who work full time), ancillary services in a "one stop shop" model, and natural synergies with the mall space (parking, other retail shops, restaurants, etc.). I'd want to also acknowledge James Weinberger who is a UCLA urology resident and Brandon Scott, Director of Special Projects at UCSF who were key collaborators and colleagues in putting this all together. They're a great group of guys…”
As we continue to re-imagine how we deliver care, it is encouraging to see that the department and UCLA Health are at the forefront of meeting consumers where they are at and ensuring that we are providing the highest quality of comprehensive care. I look forward to seeing this continued growth, serving new communities and patient populations.
Dale
P.S.
My grand-daughter (and her parents) are arriving this weekend and staying with us for a week. This will beat the video visits on Zoom.
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