Year 4. March 24. Match Day 2025 – Hard to get better than this!
Last Friday, we experienced the annual tradition in academic medicine when senior medical students learn where they will be spending the next period of their lives training to become specialists and sub-specialists in their chosen area. It is wonderful to see the joy of our students as they share with their families the outcome of many years of study. For the UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM), Match Day also represents a much-anticipated time of revelation and celebration as we see who will become our next generation of colleagues. The mutual selection of our incoming interns based on our ranking and theirs, represents the culmination of a long period of intensive review of hundreds of applications and a three-month long recruitment season where each applicant had the opportunity to meet with many of our faculty to determine if UCLA was the best fit for them and as we believe, one of the best places to train in medicine, medicine-pediatrics, dermatology and physical medicine and rehabilitation. We were outright ecstatic by the results, so much so that we made a movie…
New Residents are a Match Made in Medicine
Break open the pods and get your roses ready: A new batch of residents has matched in the DoM! On March 21, we learned the names of the trainees who will be joining our internal medicine, dermatology, medicine-pediatrics (med-peds), physical medicine and rehabilitation and STAR Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) residency programs in July. I am very grateful to the education team, residents and faculty members who made this year’s recruitment so successful!
Our incoming class of residents is nothing short of phenomenal. I am honored that our department will guide them through this challenging yet rewarding part of their medical journey and cannot wait to see the physicians and scientists they become. Like all of our trainees, they are ardent champions of our core values and our mission to lead in innovation, transform care and advance health for all.
It was easy to don a tux and reveal our new residents before a studio audience on “A Match Made in Medicine” with the help of my co-host Lisa J. Skinner, MD, director of the internal medicine residency program. This could be a Hollywood moment, and yes, I am giving out autographs!
And now, allow us to reveal the residents who received the final rose…
Eight-three physicians and physician-scientists will join us across eight residency programs. They come from 20 states and four countries. Fourteen of them hold advanced degrees on top of their MDs, and 23 identify as underrepresented in medicine.
I am happy to share that nine soon-to-be graduates from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) will continue their careers within the DoM. One of them, Bethlehem Michael, has been a Bruin for a decade.
“This place has been home for me for so long. I feel like there are so many amazing residents and attendings,” said Bethlehem, who will be training in the categorical internal medicine residency program. “It just felt like the right fit. I’m excited to be staying here.”
For Allyson Malone, who will enter the categorical internal medicine residency program as well, the relationships she has formed at UCLA played a big role in her decision to stay.
“I’ve found so many friends, colleagues and mentors here and the faculty have been so supportive,” Allyson said. “I’m so excited to continue serving the population here in Los Angeles.”
A third incoming categorical internal medicine resident, Tara Shahrvini, also cited friends and mentors as her reason for remaining at UCLA.
“I’ve been blessed with such wonderful mentorship, and I feel like it’s just been a great four years,” Tara said. “I’m so happy to stay with the people I’ve grown so fond of.”
Our new class of residents also includes fifty-one trainees who are returning to California or coming for the first time. Sheena Kalagara, who will be coming back to Los Angeles from the east coast, is looking forward to the sunny weather, beaches and big city life.
“In addition to its exceptional clinical training and research, I was really drawn to UCLA during my interview day during which the resilience, humanism, and sense of community in the faculty and residents truly shined,” Sheena said. “I am very excited to meet all of my future co-residents and my new home at UCLA."
Jarrod Moore will be moving to California for the first time from Boston. He is especially looking forward to working with outreach programs to increase interest in medicine among Black communities.
“UCLA offers the best balance of rigorous clinical training and a welcoming, supportive environment of any program I interviewed with,” Jarrod said. “My fiancée and I couldn’t picture ourselves anywhere but Los Angeles."
New Jersian Nikita Nangia, who attended medical school in Chicago in a joint MD/MBA program, had a page-long list of reasons why she wanted to train in the DoM. Diversity in training programs and in the treatment population was top among them, as were the people she encountered at UCLA.
“I truly loved the people I met on my interview day,” Nikita said. “During the lulls between sessions, it felt like I was watching close friends hang out over Zoom. I left feeling like this was a family I would be so lucky to join."
I am delighted that so many exceptional new residents from both near and far will be training with us in the DoM. The future of our field holds much to look forward to!
Once again, let me extend a special thanks our residency program directors, their teams and volunteer faculty who undertook our robust holistic review process of residency applicants, along with the education team, residents and staff who took part in recruiting our incoming class. In total, 232 faculty volunteered to interview applicants and 80 participated in screening and ranking the candidates. Your tireless dedication makes it possible for us to consistently attract the brightest minds in medicine to UCLA!
Check out the video below which captured the reactions of DGSOM medical students and a few of our future colleagues as they learned where they will be starting their journey as physicians. Enjoy!
Program Directors React to a Fantastic Match
Last fall, some of the DoM residency program directors shared their hopes for the incoming class of residents. Here are their reactions to their new trainees.
Gifty-Maria J. Ntim, MD, MPH, Med-Peds
“We achieved a fantastic match this year and this is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our residents, faculty, staff and department leadership. This accomplishment stands as a bright spot for our program, especially considering the challenging start to 2025 and the unique challenges posed by the current political climate. As we navigate some of these uncertainties, it is essential to recognize the resilience and commitment demonstrated by our entire community. Our successful match reflects not only our program's strength but also the unwavering support we offer each other. Together, we have built an environment that fosters excellence and innovation in medical education, and it makes me proud to celebrate this achievement and continue to work collaboratively towards our shared goals. I am super excited to welcome our new interns and look forward to the contributions they will make to our program and the communities we serve. Go UCLA Med-Peds!!”
Mina W. Ma, MD, Primary Care
“We are excited to welcome our new residents to the UCLA Primary Care Residency Program and are proud that we attracted such a talented and diverse group of future primary care leaders who share our commitment to providing exceptional patient care. Our new residents bring their unique experiences and perspectives that will continue to enrich our close-knit community. We look forward to working alongside these amazing individuals as we continue our mission to shape the next generation of healers, educators, and advocates.”
Dixie Aragaki, MD, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
“We are thrilled with the UCLA/VA GLA PM&R Residency Match Day results and are eager to congratulate and welcome our newest additions to our UCLA PM&R family. This huge success was made possible by vital contributions from our current residents, alumni, faculty, recruitment team, leadership and administrative support crew.”
Marcia Hogeling, MD, Dermatology
“We are absolutely thrilled in dermatology with the stellar outcome of our match!”
I want to publicly acknowledge and thank all the leaders of our training program, for your commitment and dedication to training the next generation of LEADERS. Your efforts in recruiting an outstanding class of incoming residents have paid off! We can’t wait to welcome them in person in late June!
Internal Medicine Residency Program
Lisa Skinner, MD
Mina Ma, MD
Wendy Simon, MD
Edward Lee, MD
Kelley Chuang, MD
Casey Kaneshiro, MD
Kristin Schwab Jensen, MD
Rachel Brook, MD
Bear Waters
Education Team
Dermatology Residency Program
Marcia Hogeling, MD
Christopher Song
Julie Lopez
Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program
Gifty-Maria J. Ntim, MD, MPH
Vanessa Galvan
STAR Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP)
Quen Cheng, MD, PhD
Amy Cummings, MD, PhD
Nadia Barreda
UCLA/VA GLA Physical Medicine Program
Dixie Aragaki, MD
Kim Vu, MD
Quynh Pham, MD
Sara Flores, MD
Elite Ben-Ozer, MD
Rebecca Ovsiowitz, MD
Resa Oshiro, MD
Anne Nastasi, MD
Teri Johnson
Armando “Mondo” Medina
Amanda Patrick
One last THANK YOU to all who were involved in residency recruitment. We cannot wait to welcome our incoming class to the DoM!
DoM Faculty Help DGSOM Students Find Their Way
In all the excitement around Residency Match Day, let me take a moment to recognize the DoM faculty who take part in a special program that helps medical students find their way there. The Specialty Advisors for Career Exploration (ACE) Program at DGSOM pairs third- and fourth-year students with practicing physician mentors in a specialty they are interested in.
Internal medicine physician and health services researcher Allison Diamant, MD, MSHS serves as the ACE program’s third and fourth year mentor director . In this role, she works directly with Lee T. Miller, MD, the associate dean for student affairs, and helps to ensure successful matches for students in the DGSOM across all specialties as well as faculty development for the Specialty ACES for all the different departments in the DGSOM.
Other “ACES” who take part in the program include internist Rachel P. Brook, MD; hospitalist Alexandra M. Glaser, MD; Edward Ha, MD, MEHP, hospitalist and assistant dean for medical education at DGSOM and Marmar Vaseghi, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist, and co-directors Jodi Friedman, MD and Neveen El-Farra, MD.
“Seeing our students happy on Match Day when they open up their letters and see the result of all their hard work during medical school, brings us a feeling of joy that never gets old, no matter how many years we have been mentoring,” Dr. Brook said. “I love being an Internal Medicine physician, and I feel so grateful to have done my residency training at UCLA, because I know I’m a better doctor for it. Helping students find their UCLA, wherever it might be, is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.”
Thank you Allison, Rachel, Alexandra, Marmar, Jodi and Neveen for the time you have dedicated to helping the next generation of physicians succeed!
Dale
P.S.
I ran ~ 20 miles this weekend. It was quite foggy on Sunday morning. I had some company in the fog.
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